LaVie Z Ultrabooks: Insanely Light Notebook & Convertible

Lenovo and NEC joined forces to deliver the Lenovo LaVie Z Ultrabooks, two incredibly thin and light Ultrabooks that offer a standard notebook option and a convertible notebook option that goes from laptop to tablet thanks to a swiveling hinge like on the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro and other Yoga notebooks.

The two new Ultrabooks for 2015 come as part of the NEC and Lenovo partnership that formed in 2011 and delivers the Lenovo LaVie Z HZ550 and the Lenovo LaVie Z HZ750. Both of these are incredibly lightweight at 1.72 pounds and 2.04 pounds. That’s significantly lighter than the MacBook Air that weighs in at 2.96 pounds for the 13-inch model. Both of the new LaVie Z Ultrabooks are thin as well, with a 16.9mm thickness.

These are the first Lenovo and NEC partnership notebooks to arrive outside of Japan and shoppers can buy both of these notebooks starting in May 2015 at $1,299 for the LaVie Z HZ550 and $1,499 for the LaVie Z HZ750.

The two Ultrabooks use a Magnesium Lithium body that is 50% lighter than aluminum and as strong as the Magnesium alloy laptops that many companies use. In order to make the LaVie Z HZ750 thinner the convertible device uses a, “direct bonded touchscreen that uses a film instead of cover glass.”

Both of these Ultrabooks feature a 13.3-inch display with up to a WQHD resolution and a touch screen on the Convertible notebook. The notebooks run on the latest 5th Gen Intel Core processors with up to a Core i5 on the LaVie Z HZ550 and up to a Core i7 on the LaVie Z HZ750. The devices feature 128GB SSD storage, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, a SD Card reader and headphone jack.

“We are thrilled to bring our first NECP products outside of Japan with the LaVie Z, two of the world’s lightest PCs in their class,” said Roderick Lappin, president and CEO, NEC Lenovo Japan Group and vice president, Lenovo in a press release. “The LaVie models are a true triple play – on the cutting-edge for thin, light and powerful – and the HZ750 adds another advantage – 360° mode flexibility – making these devices real game changers that stretch the bounds of innovation.”

Shoppers can buy these notebooks in May in the U.S. and in Spring 2015 in Japan.

LaVie Z HZ550 Specs

LaVie Z HZ750 Specs