Lenovo's new LaVie laptops are the lightest in the world

Someone call Guinness!

Someone call Guinness! No, not the beer company, the record book, because Lenovo says its now holds the title for lightest laptop with a 13.3-inch screen.

The new LaVie Z HZ550  weighs in at just 1.72 lbs. with the SSD empty. Fill that SSD up and it'll get heavier though. (Kidding, kidding.) 

To get to that weight, Lenovo used a Magnesium-Lithium alloy case. While others already use Mg-Li, Lenovo says the chassis is made using an exclusive forging process. Mg-Li is supposed to be about half the weight of aluminum yet as strong as more pedestrian magnesium alloy.

The LaVie Z HZ550's specs include a 5th-gen Intel part that we might as well start calling Broadwell instead of pretending Intel hasn't launched it's next CPU yet. The screen sports a 2560x1440 resolution, and the laptop packs in a 128GB SSD and 802.11ac Wi-Fi along with a miserly 4GB of DDR3L. The notebook also features two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, an SD card reader and analog headphone jack.

Despite the LaVie being being the lightest 13.3-inch laptop around, it's not the thinnest. Lenovo actually claims its cousin, the Yoga 3 Pro is the thinnest out there at 0.50 inches (or about 12.7mm). Though light, the LaVie Z HZ550 still shops at Lane Bryant and comes in at 16.9mm thick. The unit will cost about $1,300 when it starts shipping in May.

Living the LaVie Loca

Lenovo also introduced a second LaVie that also claims the world record for being the lightest convertible with a 13.3-inch screen. You may question that record, but well, there are actually Guinness records for male pogo stick jumping in a marathon and the most people performing synchronized backflips on a pogo stick, so who can complain?

The LaVie Z H750 convertible weighs about 2.04 lbs. and also uses a Mg-Li forged case. It's a Yoga-style folder rather than one that lets you remove detach the screen from the keyboard. It's also a Broadwell-based unit with similar internals and resolution as the non-convertible LaVie Z HZ550, but will cost $1,500. It also won't be avilable until May.

Just so you know, both products are the result of a partnership Lenovo has had with Japanese PC vendor NEC whose star has long faded in the US PC market. In Japan however, NEC is the No. 1 PC maker.