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Lenovo has launched the ThinkCentre A61e, an ultra small desktop that combines a footprint the size of a telephone book, choices of energy efficient, 45-watt AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual core and AMD Sempron™ single core processors and an affordable price tag starting at $399 (£200).

Peter Schrady, vice president and general manager, Emerging Products Business Unit at Lenovo, said:
"The importance of maximising energy efficiency and being environmentally conscious is touching all aspects of our daily lives, from the light bulbs we use to light our homes to the hybrid cars we drive to the green technology we rely on to run our businesses. Lenovo is committed to providing an extensive menu of environmentally-responsible, energy efficient technology choices, and the ThinkCentre A61e is our signature item. For the first time, a major PC vendor has combined small size and consistently quiet acoustics with a light weight, highly energy efficient desktop offering all at an affordable price."

The ThinkCentre A61e desktop marks Lenovo's first product with EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) Gold status, the highest designation given by the tool. Operated by the Green Electronics Council, EPEAT ranks products on a variety of environmental attributes from energy efficiency and materials use to recyclability. Many organisations use the tool to help make purchasing decisions. Codenamed "Blue Sky" for its environmental attributes, the desktop uses up to 90 percent reusable/recyclable materials as well as 90 percent recyclable packaging. It also can be powered by an optional solar panel.

The desktop surpasses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star® 4.0 criteria with its 85 percent efficient power supply. As the first desktop in the industry to run on energy efficient AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual core and AMD Sempron™ single core processors, it can help users save up to 50 percent in energy costs annually over previous models.

The company claim that a user could save on average more than $20 a year in energy and the equivalent of the carbon dioxide emissions created by two round-trip plane flights from Boston to New York.  If you are a business deploying 50 of these desktops, you could expect to save over $1,000 a year - enough to buy 2.5 more computers.

Greg White, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD's desktop division, said:
"Lenovo and AMD have a shared commitment to providing customers the most secure, innovative and energy efficient computing experience that can exceed their unique business needs. The Lenovo ThinkCentre A61e desktop is an exciting milestone in our relationship as both companies continue to collaborate to raise the bar for PC design and energy efficiency."