LG is trying to extend the power of the Chocolate brand name, applying it to home theatre devices and now laptops, in addition to its popular line of cell phones. The LG Z1 Chocolate laptop is no slouch, its array of features are impressive for a solid, mid-range laptop. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the sleek, glossy-black laptop is attractive enough to draw early interest.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Z1 is its LCD on the outside of the case, mounted on the back of the main display and designed to take advantage of Windows Vista's Sideshow functionality; the laptop will ship with Vista Business preloaded. The 2.5-inch display will alert you to e-mails, upcoming appointments, and more, fully integrating with Sideshow. To the right of the display are touch-sensitive red buttons that look similar to the navigation buttons on the LG Chocolate cell phone. The Z1 also has built-in Bluetooth, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound, and a 5-in-1 card reader. The product announcement claims each Z1 will have a 120GB hard drive, but expect more sizes to be available at retail.

Each Z1 will have a Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 processor (sorry, no Santa Rosa here) that comes in at 1.83 GHz, and 1GB of RAM standard. Also included is a mid-range ATI Mobility Radeon X1350 graphics card. None of that is quite as impressive as other Vista laptops, especially the processor speed and the 1GB RAM preloaded, but it's designed to be a consumer or business machine, not a high-powered gaming system. Similarly, LG isn't known for high-end products--just for reliable, affordable ones, and this laptop meets that expectation nicely. No pricing has been announced yet, but I expect the Chocolate Z1 to be relatively affordable.

[ via PCLaunches ]