Earlier this week, LG revealed three new notebooks under its Gram series that are set to compete with Apple’s Macbook Air (The Verge has a photo comparison of the two) and various Ultrabooks from other manufacturers (e.g. Lenovo and Asus). The new series includes one 13-inch and two 14-inch laptops that weigh in at 2.16 pounds and are 0.5” thick. The LG Gram with 13” display is the smallest of the bunch at 11.9” x 8.4” x 0.5” and the chassis is constructed of magnesium and polycarbonate (plastic). Meanwhile, the two notebooks with the 14” display measure 12.8” x 8.94” x 0.5” and feature a body made from a combination of carbon-magnesium and lithium-magnesium alloys. The difference in materials accounts for the larger notebooks hitting the same weight target (2.16 lbs).

The 14-inch LG Gram 14 (gram-14Z950-A.AA4GU1) notebook.

LG is packing every Gram notebook with a 1080p IPS display (13.3 or 14 inches), dual mics, a 1.3 MP webcam, six row island-style keyboard, and a spacious track pad. External IO includes two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI output, micro SD card slot, and a micro USB port that (along with the included dongle) supports the 10/100 Ethernet network connection.

The base Gram 13-inch comes in Snow White while both Gram 14-inch notebooks are clad in Champagne Gold.

The LG Gram 13 Broadwell-powered laptop (gram-13Z950-A.AA3WU1).

Internally, LG has opted to go with Intel’s Broadwell processor and its built-in HD 5500 GPU. The LG Gram 13 uses the Intel Core i5-5200U (2 cores, 4 threads at 2.2-2.7GHz). The 14-inch models can be configured with an Intel i5 or an Intel Core i7-5500U which is a dual core (with HyperThreading for four threads) processor clocked at 2.4 GHz that can boost to 3.0 GHz. Additional specifications include 8GB of DDR3L memory, a solid state drive (128 GB on the Gram 13, up to 256 GB on the Gram 14), Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and rated battery life of up to 7.5 hours (which is not great, but not too bad).

The Gram 13 starts at $900. Moving up to the base 14” model will cost $1,000. Finally, the top-end Core i7-powered Gram 14 has an MSRP of $1,400.

The Gram series is LG’s first major thin-and-light entry into the US market, and while there are some compromises made to get the portability, the price points are competitive and seem to be priced right. Interestingly, LG is aiming these notebooks as Macbook Air competitors, allegedly offering you a larger, yet lighter, notebook. It is not actually the lightest notebook on the market, however. Below is a brief point of (weight) comparison to some of the major recent thin-and-lights, the Gram is going up against:

  • 12” Apple MacBook: 2.03 lbs
  • 11” Apple MacBook Air: 2.38 lbs
  • 13” Apple MacBook Air: 2.96 lbs
  • 13.3" ASUS Zenbook UX305FA (Core M): 2.65 lbs
  • 13.3" ASUS Zenbook UX301LA (Core i7): 3.08 lbs
  • 13.3” LaVie Z: 1.87 lbs
  • 13.3” LaVie Z 360: 2.04 lbs
  • 12.2" Samsung ATIV Book 9: 2.09 lbs
     

We will have to wait for reviews to see how the build quality stacks up, especially the 14-inch models using the lithium-magnesium bodies which, while light, may not be the sturdiest flex-wise. If they can hold up to the stress of the daily commuter, the retail pricing is far from exorbitant and if you can live with the compromises fairly attractive.