In a surprising move, Lenovo has put out word on their Twitter account of two new products to announce later this week: the IdeaCentre Q100 & Q110 nettops and the IdeaCentre D400 home server.

In their 140 character limited messages, LenovoPress identifies the Q100/Q110 nettops as some of the thinnest in the world. Looking at the pictures, we’d have to agree. These things truly look like a netbook with a slick table stand. Since these have been identified as nettops, we can expect the pokey, but cheap and power sipping Intel Atom platform. While it is possible these models could be based on Intel’s forthcoming Atom refresh, it is more likely they will feature the existing and ubiquitous N270 1.6GHz single core version, or perhaps the less common Atom Z520 which runs at a bit lower clock speed, but sports dual cores.

The D400 is a bit more of a conundrum. We don’t really have any perspective on size, but it’s a safe bet to assume this beast will be smaller than your ottoman. Given the use of the low cost, but plenty fast Pentium Dual Core processors in the IdeaCentre Q700 Home Theater PC (HTPC), they would be a logical choice for this entry-level home server. It looks like it could have room for 3.5-inch hard drives, which would be a must to offer sufficient storage. Hopefully this IdeaCentre won’t be limited to 4GB RAM like the Q700 HTPC, but the biggest hurdle Lenovo needs to overcome is making file serving an easy affair for the average home user. Oh, and effectively market to them about WHY they need this black cube.

I know it’s a bit early to pass judgment, but the D400 just does not strike me well. The face is interesting and the LED’s & subtle stripe a nice touch, but it looks like an 80’s reject. Time will tell I suppose.