Lenovo is set to enter the consumer market in the Middle East, with the launch of its new netbook line.

The company launched the new IdeaPad netbook at GITEX, and plans to bring this first consumer product to the region by the end of next month.

Khaled Kamel, GM of Lenovo MEEP said: “IdeaPad netbooks are our first consumer product to be offered in the Middle East to date. Designed and developed through our heritage of technological innovation and exceptional engineering, they add another facet to the all encompassing suite that Lenovo offers.”

The IdeaPad S10 has been designed as a high quality netbook, with 10.2 inch, backlit LCD screen, built in camera, 1GB RAM, and either a 16GB SSD or a 160GB HDD, the largest capacity HDD to be integrated into the netbook format so far.

It also has Lenovo’s OneKey Rescue System for back up, and runs on Windows XP, and Intel’s Atom processor.Wang Wei, transactional marketing manager, Lenovo EMEA said: “We took the time to have a well finished product - what we are trying to do is not to rush in to the market -everyone is launching netbooks - we took our time, and we have a product that we think can be used by a teenager or the CEO of big company – it is addressing a huge range of customers.”

Lenovo is still establishing its retail presence in the market, and is therefore looking to partner with power retailers, said Kamel. The company is keen to sign retailers that are able to offer a full customer service experience, and is also expanding its reseller base to address the SME market.

The Idea Pad S10 will be available in black, white or red colours, with a retail price of $499. It will initially be launched in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.