Taipei - Lenovo Group Ltd's Taiwan branch on Tuesday unveiled two new notebook computers as it ventures into the "mini- laptop" business started by Asustek Computer Inc in late 2007, a newspaper said Wednesday.

The two models - Ideapad S9, with a screen measuring 8.9 inches and Ideapad S10, with a 10.2-inch screen - both weigh less than 1 kilogramme and are powered by Atom processors and 1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM, the Taipei Times reported.

The S9 features 8GB of internal memory, a Linux platform and retails for 12,900 Taiwan dollars (420 US dollars). The S10 features 80GB of internal memory, Windows XP and retails for 17,900 Taiwan dollars (577 US dollars), Lenovo Taiwan said.

The two notebook computers will be available to the public in Taiwan next month at major consumer electronics stores, the company said.

Demand for mini-laptops is expected to grow substantially in the coming years because of their competitive prices and easy availability, the Taipei Times said.

Amy Wu, sales manager at Lenovo, said one primary client group for notebooks is working professionals looking for a second laptop that is easier for travel.

"An ideal customer can be a life insurance sales representative, a financial advisor or a traveling executive who spends lot of time outside the company," she said.

After conducting extensive market research, Lenovo is using its "sales channels to directly target these particular corporate and institutional groups," the daily quoted Wu as saying. (dpa)