Lenovo has launched the Ideapad S series of small form-factor notebooks.

One inch thick and weighing two pounds, the machines feature WiFi, Bluetooth and an Express Card slot to increase the speed of mobile broadband. The notebooks come with either Microsoft XP or Linux, have a built-in web camera and include two USB ports and a 4-in-1 multicard reader.

The Ideapad S9 has an 8.9-inch screen and Ideapad S10 has 10.2-inch screen. Both use Intel Atom processors and come with up to 1GB of memory and 80 GB or 160 GB hard disks. The machines come in deep blue, ruby red and black and will be available in India from September.

IDC has predicted worldwide shipments of ultra-low cost notebooks will rise from 430,000 units in 2007 to 9.2 million in 2012. X