Lenovo’s pitching the Q700 as an easy to setup PC, entertainment center, gaming station and music player combo device. And in terms of what it can do compared to other media streaming boxes and higher-end HTPCs, the Q700 does fill a void in the market, especially considering the $499 starting price point. There is a down side though; the Q700 does not have a Blu-ray player, which would have been very nice. Should the Q700 gain traction, I’m sure Lenovo will consider a higher-end version to complement this one.

Otherwise, the Q700 does have an HDMI output, along with eight USB 2.0 ports (four front, four back), microphone and headphone jacks (front and back), IEEE 1394 FireWire 400, eSATA, Ethernet, VGA monitor, AV IN port, TV IN port, SPDIF-out and two PCI slots that can be used for optional WiFi and TV tuner cards.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Q700 is shipping now via Lenovo.com.