NEC is bringing its ultra-thin Lavie line of computers to the U.S. ahead of CES 2020. The Lavie Pro Mobile laptop, Lavie Vega laptop and Lavie Home All-in-one are the first U.S. models we’ll see.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | NEC Lavie Pro Mobile | NEC Lavie Vega | NEC Lavie Home All-in-One |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-8565U | Intel Core i7-9750H | Intel Core i7-10510U |
| Graphics | Intel UHD 620 | Intel UHD 630 | Intel UHD |
| RAM | 8GB LPDDR3 | 8GB DDR4-2666 | 8GB DDR4-2666 |
| Storage | 512GB SSD | Intel QLC 512GB SSD + 32GB Intel Optane Memory | 256GB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe + 3TB 5,400-rpm HDD |
| Display | 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 | 15.6-inch 3840 x 2160 OLED | 27-inch 1920 x 1080, IPS |
| Ports | USB Type-A, 2x USB Type-C, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD slot | 2x USB Type-C, 2x Thunderbolt 3, microSD slot, 3.5mm headphone jack | 5x USB 3.1 Type-A, microSD slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, Ethernet |
| Size | 12.1 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches | 14.2 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches | 24.2 x 11.3 x 13.5 inches |
| Battery | 49 Whr | 80 Whr | N/A |
| Weight | 1.9 pounds | 4.1 pounds | 23.4 pounds |
| Starting Price | $1,599.99 | $2,099.99 | $1,799.99 |
| Release Date | Mar 2020 | Mar 2020 | Mar 2020 |
The $1,599.99 Pro Mobile comes in “bordeaux” (read, “dark red”), using an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM soldered onto the motherboard, a 512GB PCIe M.2 2280 SSD, a 13.3-inch FHD display and Wi-Fi 5.
It’s less than 15.5mm thin and weighs just 1.9 pounds with its magnesium-lithium chassis. There’s a fingerprint reader on the power button, and the design has a hinge that tilts the laptop’s keyboard forward for comfortable typing.
There’s also the more powerful Lavie Vega ($2,099.99) with a 9th Gen Intel Core i7. The 15.6-inch laptop has a 3840 x 2160 display with OLED technology. It also has a 512GB QLC SSD, 8GB of RAM (soldered onto the board) and 32GB of Intel Optane memory, which is supposed to enable quick access to the SSD. It boasts Wi-Fi 6, four far-field microphones and a “Smart Light” to show when voice assistants are working.
The Lavie Home all-in-one (AIO) bakes Intel’s Ice Lake chips (up to an Intel Core i7-10510U), 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and 3TB HDD (5,400-rpm), plus a DVD drive into its 27-inch display. The 1920 x 1080 screen tilts, and this one also has Wi-Fi 6. It has far-field mics for Alexa and Cortana, and NEC says it can wake with a voice command.
Each of these devices is scheduled to launch in March 2020, so we’ll start to see how NEC performs in the U.S. in the next few months.
