Lenovo To Ship Laptops With Ubuntu In India, Starting At 48,000 INR

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Lenovo is preparing to ship laptops preloaded with Ubuntu in India. The first of these systems will be the Lenovo Thinkpad L450, featuring only one of two CPUs, but the selection may widen over time and expand to other countries.

The Thinkpad L450 is part of Lenovo's mainstream L-Series of notebooks, and the company already sells this system with Windows in India. The Ubuntu versions of this system will typically feature an Intel Core i3-500U or an i5-5200U.

The Windows version also includes a Core i7 option carried by retailers. Because the Ubuntu version of the system is targeted as a cheaper alternative to the Windows-based system, Lenovo doesn't plan to sell pre-configured systems with the Core i7 and Ubuntu, but if someone wants this setup, it can be purchased through Lenovo's Configure To Order (CTO) service.

The pre-configured systems available from retailers will also utilize Intel HD Graphics instead of a discrete GPU, but AMD GPU options are available under the (CTO) service also.

Regardless of the CPU used, the initial system offerings will contain a 500 GB HDD and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. Later, more models will be available with larger storage devices and more memory. The company might release the system with a wider range of CPUs in the future, too, but currently it's undecided. Likely, the popularity and sales of the system will determine if Lenovo designs systems with different CPU options.

Overall, switching to Ubuntu reduces the system cost considerably. Currently, the standard L450 system with Windows 8.1 Pro utilizing a Core i3, 4 GB of RAM, and a 500 GB HDD costs 59724 INR ($943.02 USD). An Ubuntu version of the system with the same hardware specs, however, will only cost 48000 INR ($757.91 USD). Although most people are accustomed to using Windows nowadays, that is a significantly reduced price.

It will be interesting to see if Lenovo decides to ship these systems anywhere else in the world, but for now an exact shipping date for the system in India has not yet been set. Likely, the success of this system will decide if Lenovo attempts more Ubuntu systems in other countries.

Follow Michael Justin Allen Sexton @LordLao74. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

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Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Michael Justin Allen Sexton is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers hardware component news, specializing in CPUs and motherboards.
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • expunged
    Wow they are getting ripped off over there. We can get s similar spec dell at $299
    Reply
  • mf Red
    I'm not sure if you're aware but a consumer unit is not the same as a business unit. They expect you to replace that $299 Dell after 1-2 years when the performance is terrible. A business class Lenovo will last 3-5 years easily and do all the word processing and spreadsheets you need it to.
    That being said, $900 for an i3, 4GB and a mech. drive is overpriced compared to here in the states.
    Reply
  • uglyduckling81
    It's not just over there. It's everywhere outside of the USA.
    $330 GTX 970 USA, $520 Australia. $650 GTX 980ti USA, $1000 Australia. $1000 Titan X USA, $1600 Australia. $50 GTA 5 PC USA, $90 Australia.
    Reply
  • expunged
    I'm not sure if you're aware but a consumer unit is not the same as a business unit. They expect you to replace that $299 Dell after 1-2 years when the performance is terrible. A business class Lenovo will last 3-5 years easily and do all the word processing and spreadsheets you need it to.
    That being said, $900 for an i3, 4GB and a mech. drive is overpriced compared to here in the states.

    no where in the article does it state that these are consumer or business units. Even on lenovo's website (us) they are at least $100 cheaper here. I know most of that price goes to export fees and govt fees to make sure certain components and encryptions don't leave the us. Either way from my experience the thinkpads have not been very good since the switch from IBM to Lenovo, maybe a bit before that.
    Reply
  • IInuyasha74
    I'm not sure if you're aware but a consumer unit is not the same as a business unit. They expect you to replace that $299 Dell after 1-2 years when the performance is terrible. A business class Lenovo will last 3-5 years easily and do all the word processing and spreadsheets you need it to.
    That being said, $900 for an i3, 4GB and a mech. drive is overpriced compared to here in the states.

    no where in the article does it state that these are consumer or business units. Even on lenovo's website (us) they are at least $100 cheaper here. I know most of that price goes to export fees and govt fees to make sure certain components and encryptions don't leave the us. Either way from my experience the thinkpads have not been very good since the switch from IBM to Lenovo, maybe a bit before that.

    Sorry guys, but actually in the article I did state that this is a mainstream system. Second paragraph, first sentence. So it is consumer oriented, not business. That being said, it is very common that the US gets computer hardware cheaper than most other countries. It isn't because of US export fees, as Lenovo is a Chinese company headquartered in Beijing, and most production, if not all, is done in China. It could be export fees from China however, as there are different trade agreements between different nations. Part of the reason the US gets cheaper hardware however is because we are currently the wealthiest nation and have been for several years now. Since there is more money to be made here, more companies send products here, and the competition drives down price. It is hard to say what the exact reason is for the cost increase though.
    Reply
  • whassup
    I'm not sure if you're aware but a consumer unit is not the same as a business unit. They expect you to replace that $299 Dell after 1-2 years when the performance is terrible. A business class Lenovo will last 3-5 years easily and do all the word processing and spreadsheets you need it to.
    That being said, $900 for an i3, 4GB and a mech. drive is overpriced compared to here in the states.

    no where in the article does it state that these are consumer or business units. Even on lenovo's website (us) they are at least $100 cheaper here. I know most of that price goes to export fees and govt fees to make sure certain components and encryptions don't leave the us. Either way from my experience the thinkpads have not been very good since the switch from IBM to Lenovo, maybe a bit before that.

    Sorry guys, but actually in the article I did state that this is a mainstream system. Second paragraph, first sentence. So it is consumer oriented, not business. That being said, it is very common that the US gets computer hardware cheaper than most other countries. It isn't because of US export fees, as Lenovo is a Chinese company headquartered in Beijing, and most production, if not all, is done in China. It could be export fees from China however, as there are different trade agreements between different nations. Part of the reason the US gets cheaper hardware however is because we are currently the wealthiest nation and have been for several years now. Since there is more money to be made here, more companies send products here, and the competition drives down price. It is hard to say what the exact reason is for the cost increase though.


    The main reason for such price difference is the import and customs duties of the country. As you said USA is the wealthiest nation govt can easily afford lower import taxes than India can.
    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    These are business laptops, reason for the Thinkpad branding and pricing.
    Reply
  • shiva92
    For those who are wondering why PC components are so expensive in India, there is a heavy tax on computer components imported from other countries. For example a 330$ GTX 970 costs approximately 28,000Rs(440$) in India. You guys(those who live in US) are so lucky :)
    Reply
  • Urzu1000
    Seems like a waste of money for a laptop of that quality to be honest. If you're looking to get something to last, you'd really want a Clevo workstation or something similar.
    Reply