Lenovo IdeaPad U110 overview and video
By Darren Murph 
posted May 4th 2008 8:04AM
posted May 4th 2008 8:04AM
We'll go ahead and get this out of the way: the U110 is no powerhouse (full specifications are listed here). Sure, it may posses a Core 2 Duo processor (rather than, say, a VIA), but it's not going to shatter any records in the speed department. Then again, the machine's purpose isn't to be exceptionally quick, only exceptionally nimble. At that, it succeeds. It handled basic tasks within Vista Home Premium (web browsing, Office work, dialing up a direct link to the International Space Station, etc.) with ease, though we won't say we didn't grow frustrated by the multi-second wait times as Word opened, Media Center launched and the ungodly amount of bloatware loaded when firing the lappie up for the first time. Here's a laundry list of impressions for those of you on the fence about dropping $1,899 / $1,999 on this wee machine:
- All in all, it's fairly sexy. Definitely sexy for a Lenovo.
- Too much gloss. It's overkill in its finest form, though some may enjoy it.
- It's a fingerprint magnet (shocking, we know) -- practically every square centimeter of this thing's insides grabs prints: the keys, the screen, even the palm rests.
- Extraordinarily sturdy. We really can't emphasize enough how solidly this thing is built.
- Appreciated accents -- the "floral swirl" motif flows from the top lid to the underside, all the way to the smattering of touch controls that sit sneakily above the row of Function keys.
- Very respectable port selection for its size.
- Sleek from one corner to the other, thoughtful bottom bumpers ensure a firm grip on your lap / table.
- LED-backlit display is gorgeous, sharp and bright. 'Tis a shame you see yourself and everything behind you entirely too much thanks to the ultra-glossy coating.
- Remarkable viewing angles -- if you can't see the on-screen action, you're not looking hard enough.
- Really dig the amount of recline available here. Sure wish the MacBook Pro's display could lean this far back.
- 1,366 x 768 resolution is outstanding for fitting a surprising amount of material onto an 11.1-inch panel.
- There's no latch present here to keep it clamped down. You simply pull the display away from the bottom casing to open it up. There's two tiny rubber bumpers on each side of the trackpad to keep it from slamming down when you shut it. Not a bother to us, though it may cause concern for others.
- We'll be honest: we're not a fan of the keyboard. The entire thing is covered in a hard plastic coating, which gives the keys a (gasp!) plasticky feel. They simply feel too slick to the touch, and there's definitely a clicky tactility -- can't say we're shocked that we felt the same way about the Optimus Maximus.
- We found our fingers sliding over to keys accidentally on a number of occasions. We're nitpicking, yes, but in cramped environments with this thing on your lap, you want a keyboard you can touch type on easily.
- The truncated Tab and Backspace keys in particular took some serious getting used to.
- We really like the dedicated Page Up / Page Down keys, though we wish the trackpad supported finger scrolling and multi-touch gestures.
- As is customary on Lenovo machines, the Function key is placed where the Control key is on many other rigs -- yeah, you can remap them if you so choose, but otherwise you'll be forced to rewire your mind for those copy / paste commands.
- The trackpad is understandably small, but it's definitely one of the best we've ever used. Great feel to the fingertips, very responsive.
- Right / left clicks are on the small side, thus they take some getting used to. Once you've adjusted, however, they're quite satisfactory.
- No need to double take, there's no Trackpoint here. Sorry, nipple fans! Personally, we're not bothered by this one iota, but we definitely understand that it will be a deal-breaker for others.
- Just to reiterate, this ain't the quickest whip on the block. It'll plow through basic chores, but you could easily find yourself frustrated with application launch times.
- Considering its ultraportable nature, however, we'd say it's no more sluggish than its most similar rivals. Just don't expect this to replace your XPS m1330.
- The GMA X3100 graphics set is fine for everyday tasks and watching back the occasional video clip / DVD. Just don't try to fire up Crysis.
- It's no lap-burner, but the U110 gets pretty toasty in extended use. Nothing out of the ordinary, though.
- You won't hear this thing hissing and purring much at all, it manages to stay wonderfully quiet the vast majority of the time. Really taxing it may get the wind a-blowin', but otherwise you'll barely notice that it's on.
- Bundled DVD burner worked like a charm, was just mildly noisy when reading a disc. We can't help but wish it was somehow stuffed within the frame (à la the X300), though.
- Built-in stereo speakers are shockingly loud. That being said, there's no attempt made to even hit the mids and lows. You're stuck with two high-powered (and very clear / crisp) tweeters, unfortunately.
- The 4-cell battery reported 1 hour, 45 minutes of life left upon unplugging the U110 at full charge.
- 31 minutes later, it showed 50% life left (and estimated 39 minutes before forced hibernation).
- Exactly one hour after it was initially unplugged, it went into hibernation with 3% left.
- Notes on those results: a playlist of MP3s were on half of the time, display brightness was maxed, the optical drive was used to transfer 300MB over to the HDD and then unattached, and we were surfing the web via WiFi the entire time.
- You could easily stretch that one hour into nearly two by dimming the display and turning your jams off -- we just wanted to stress it a bit and see how it held up.
- With light use, expecting 3.5 - 4.5 hours out of the 7-cell Li-ion isn't unreasonable, though really hammering it could drop you well below the 3 hour mark.
- Although the 4-cell pack is mildly disappointing, the longevous 7-cell unit that's bundled in is greatly appreciated. However, we get the idea it wasn't a freebie judging by the machine's cost.
So, did Lenovo hit a home run with the IdeaPad U110? All things considered, we might have to say no. Granted, that's based primarily on the dreadful keyboard and slightly underpowered feel. You just can't make an ultraportable that's tough to type on -- this class of machine, more than any other, requires the quality of the keys to be top-shelf. Unfortunately, we weren't able to adapt to the annoyingly slick coating, and we found ourselves frustrated by the inability to type for even short periods of time without accidentally inputting characters that we didn't intend to.
That being said, the U110 is otherwise still a solid machine. If the keys felt half as good as the trackpad, we'd feel totally different about the entire thing. Additionally, the absurdly glossy display doesn't help matters, as it's next to impossible to avoid seeing those ever-present reflections. We really dig the design and overall build quality, but at $1,899 (or $1,999 for the 3GB RAM model), it's a stretch to recommend it without qualifications. If you really, really like what you're seeing, we would suggest finding one and giving those keys a go on your own; for those not bothered by the coating, it's entirely more inviting.
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Great opening video and thanks for all the impressions. I've been waiting for this little guy to come out and to see some reviews. Bummer about the glossy screen in my book.
One question that wasn't answered in the gallery (not enough lighting on some of the shots to see clearly) or written impressions -- does the screen have a latch? one or two hooks?
Asking this because my friend has an 11" Toshiba Portege (Japan model) which has a latchless lid / screen. It's got an over-center action as you get it within an inch or so of being closed, but given that the screen is about as rigid as a sheet of single-ply cardboard, a latch on that unit would certainly give a bit of security when it's thrown in a backpack.
Good question -- there's no latch here. I updated the article with the details.
ya how is this compared to the macbook is it better or worse or what? and does it have a camera?
是有磁性的
"...I've been waiting for this little guy to come out and to see some reviews." lol
This is great! More useful than Air.
(no one can live without air though. ;)
No it isn't. The Macbook Air comes in a tad cheaper and both lack the optical drive.
Uhm, this includes the optical drive and an extended battery, is lighter, and is only a little more expensive.
Great design, sorry to hear that keyboard sucks as is quite nice on all other Thinkpads that I have bought over the years. That being said:
No Trackpoint = No Buy.
Seriously though, Trackpoints are so much quicker and more efficient that touchpad's it's ridiculous. Couple that with the middle mouse button underneath for scrolling, fageddaboutit! I even use my wife's work Lattitude and there's just something off about the way Dell's 'Trackpoint' is integrated. Not quite right, and uncomfortable. To each is own and that's just fine I just don't want to see nipple's disappear any time soon.
No Trackpoint = No Buy.
+1
Proud Thinkpad user since 2004, mouse-free since 2004
Why would you expect to see a trackpoint on this? Its the Ideapad line, not Thinkpad line, the former for consumers and latter of course for businesses.
When you see Thinkpads without trackpoints, then you can complain but don't expect to see them on consumer oriented notebooks!
I would not even consider this if it had a trackpoint. Completely useless, IMO, and it gets in the way of some of the keys on the keyboard.
To each his own, but most consumers seem to think like me in this regard.
iduno... I tried using them in the past and they always felt so sluggish...
I personally prefer the trackpad... now w/ that said I hated it back in the days when I used PC laptops, but ever since I gotten a Mac (macbook pro) the trackpad on this thing is just amazing - specifically the software support for it (I don't care about the whole flipping images over crap and zoom in/out but the 2 finger scrolling + right click is just awesome, tons better then using buttons...
Now w/ that all said I still use a mouse -- Logitech MX Revolution but not because of the trackpad,, but just because I work that much faster and precise when doing graphics/video...
I agree and specially on ultraportables where the majority of the touchpads could be described as postage stamp-sized, the trackpoint makes a lot more sense for this machine.
So no trackpoint, no purchase either.
Not that I'm in the market for $2000 mini-notebooks, but if I was, the lack of the Trackpoint would be a huge disappointment, and taken together with the ultra-glossy-ness, a deal breaker.
Shame though, the rest of the machine seems wonderful.
@Michael LaFramboise: The sluggish response is because they come from the factory set way too slow.
To make a TrackPoint really easy to use, open the Mouse control panel and go to the TrackPoint tab (or if there is an UltraNav tab, go there and then click the Settings button in the TrackPoint section). Move the slider all the way to the right for Light Touch.
Then go to the Pointer Options tab and slide the Motion slider almost all the way to the right (Fast). I like it just one notch from the right edge, but experiment with it to see what suits you. Also on this same tab, make sure the Enhance Pointer Precision checkbox is checked.
The TrackPoint may feel too sensitive with these settings if you've gotten used to the slow factory settings, but give yourself some time to get used to it.
While we're talking TrackPoints, let me put in a plug for a free program I wrote for ThinkPads and other notebook computers, JKLmouse:
http://www.jklmouse.com/
JKLmouse is a "mouse keys" program that's designed to work seamlessly with the TrackPoint or touchpad, so you can use the pointing device for large movements and the keyboard for fine pixel-by-pixel control.
++ About the multi touch trackpads on Mac portables. I can't live without two finger scroll/right click.
Never had a thinkpad and likely never will but I find it interesting so many ppl love the trackpoint. There must be something to it, I always found them awkward and slow. But I also never thought of changing the factory settings since I only tried them in passing.
The trackpad factory settings are also unbearably slow, you have to set it to one below fastest before things start to jive.
they'd pre-install a vista home basic, not the premium
how does the dolby audio sound though?, that appeared to big a big selling point...
"Built-in stereo speakers are shockingly loud. That being said, there's no attempt made to even hit the mids and lows. You're stuck with two high-powered tweeters, unfortunately."
a lenovo x61 is about $900 bux after coupon.
for $1,900, you're basically paying for nothing but gloss and .7 pound lighter. bummerr
that's one dreadful-looking keyboard.
" though we wish the trackpad supported finger scrolling "
To bad about the smudge factor. That's enough to keep ME away. Back to my HP 2133 Mini-Note for $600
When will the terrible glossyfication of stuff stop? Do so many designers have heavy stock investment in micro-fibre?
I don't know. i can't see this being a viable alternative for, well anyone. it's not like's it's that much faster than the hp mini note. it looks utterly ridiculous and dare i say, showier than a mac, and it costs as much as a macbook pro.
i just don't see it. not when there are so many similar options that do everything just as well or better for a good deal cheaper.
If you want to compare sizes just place it over the macbook the Lenovo will cover like 65% surface area since your camera doesn't quite capture depth the you should say pictures do that job
What can be gained by comparing the size of a 15" notebook to an 11" notebook? Hilariously useless review film.
You know, despite the weird floral patterns, that thing looks pretty good with the lid down. Open however it's a different thing entirely, glossy everything; looks like they took a hint from Windows VIsta.
Comparison with MacBook Air:
Pros:
Bigger HDD
Higher res display
Ethernet
Weighs .6 pounds less with the 4 cell battery
Lots more ports
Bundled external optical drive
Smaller footprint
Cons:
Less battery life
Shitty keyboard
No bluetooth as standard
Smaller screen (dimensions-wise)
Thicker
Costs $100 more
Same:
Processor speed
RAM
Graphics
No internal optical drive
So, given how close these two things are, in specs and price, and that you are essentially only choosing the difference in dimensions (thinner versus smaller) and whether your external optical drive comes bundled or not (bear in mind the difference in price), why the hell did Engadget hate so much on the MacBook Air while sparing this one the brunt?
Strikes me that they're both good machines designed for SLIGHTLY different audiences. This is for business roadsters, the Air is for consumer roadsters.
DIsclosure: written using my MacBook Air.
That $100 more got you the optical drive and an additional battery and a better warranty. This unit also seems to have a reason to have optical drive outside seeing that it's smaller. And for some reason people seem to expect more from apple. Not sure why.
for me the smaller screen is a pro since it makes its overall size smaller
since it comes with a battery that has the same life as the air its hardly a con
the keyboard is subjective but it is full sized i would wait to try it to see if shiny keys are really that much worse
bluetooth would be nice not a necessity but nice
having said that the asus u2e is better than both and looks better than both to
You are forgetting the big difference between this and an Air.
The Ideapad has 3 USB ports, Firewire port, VGA out, 6-in-1 card reader, Express Card slot, and more importantly, a removable battery, as opposed to the Air which has a single USB port, and DVI.
That is why the Air got so much criticism. It isn't speed or storage that got it so much grief, it was that it lacked so many of the ports that other companies somehow manage to fit on smaller notebooks. It smacked of the ultimate style over substance design decision, and that rubbed reviewers the wrong way.
Okay, but what is the storage capacity???
120GB standard apparently. This review has completely neglected the specs, convenient huh?
That's a 4200RPM drive mind you. Same as in iPods and Airs.
Full specifications were covered at length in a prior post. I've updated this one with a link back.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/28/final-specifications-for-lenovos-ideapad-u110-revealed/
Great, thank you guys. :)
Somebody bothers to compare with the sony vaio tz? looking on sonystyle.com a similar spec'ed tz is aroung $1900 and it seems a viable no-glare option
Sure you can get it cheaper somewhere else
If only wasnt sony....
JL
Yes, I also want someone to compare the screens at least on this and the TZ (which I own).
I got to compare the TZ with the Asus U2E. All three have 11.1" WXGA LED-backlit screens so I thought they'd all look relatively the same.
But the TZ's screen was noticably better than the Asus, being brighter and the colors more vivid.
The U2E's screen by itself looked fine but next to a TZ and the TZ beats it easily.
It is nice this has a Low-Voltage 1.6 ghz processor vs Ultra-Low-Voltage 1.06-1.33ghz processor in U2E/TZ. Though I suppose Lenovo had to cut the DVD drive out of it unlike the other two.
What is the "Windows Experience Index" guys? My Dell is a 5.3 - these numbers would really help gage performance.
I do like the look of this PC
I remember reading a detailed U110 review on a Chinese website, the experience index was at least a 3.0, I think 3.4.
Yes, mine reports 3.4. This is due to the video score, the rest were above 5.
Thanks for the review Engadget.
The U110 really looks great, apart from the gloss it's design is exquisite. The tiled interlinked symbols on the top pull off the classy look without appearing cheap or plastered on.
Again, No trackpoint = no buy.
I think trackpoint is especially important for an ultraportable since you may not have enough space for a full size keyboard + trackpad.
I wish instead of saying "Don't expect to play Crysis", a game that can't run well on the highest of high end machines, that you list the best possible game or graphics intensive program that it can do. Their is a huge difference between playing a DVD and playing Crysis; I want to know what it can do in between.
Well said. Far too many reviewers are addicted to superlatives.
Damn, that's a hot lil' baby.
its just wierd
if this were a media pc, i could see the wide viewing angle of the screen as being a positive thing. But if i were using this professionally, I would tend to think the less others see, the better. given the size and lack of internal dvd drive (despite the bundled external) rings truer of the latter use. but, maybe its just me.
Agreed..... no trackpoint = no reason to buy Lenovo/IBM
the floral pattern makes this look great - hehe
Aw, I liked it...
...but I've also been thinking about drawing a floral design on the cover of my eee.
I like just about everything about this notebook except the glossy finish. Other than that, what "shortcomings" it has are due to the size and that's fine. It is what it is supposed to be. Very nice.
I don't get why the review criticizes it for having low graphics capability or merely (/sarcasm) a core 2 duo. It's an 11 inch ultra-portable, what the heck do you expect it to do? Multi-second wait for Microsoft Word to open up? Tell me it aint so!
I also don't get why it was necessary to emphasize that it lasted an hour while you were surfing the internet, had the display on max brightness, and was burning a DVD. You wanted to stress it a bit? What... you wanted to see if the battery would catch on fire? Ugh.
Really, the reviewer seemed to open the box with expectations of an ultraportable that hasn't been invented yet. Almost as ignorantly over-critical of a product as CNET reviewers can be.
I didn't see any of that as criticism. It sounds to me like he was pushing it to the limit and telling you what that limit is. The only criticism I saw was about the finish and I think that's fair. If it performed at least as well as it did while pushed to the limit I would think that is a pretty good indicator that in real usage you could expect better.
Ohhhhh! I got blinded by all that gloss. Optional dark shades required when using this little 'puter. Other than that, it seems nice enough except for the fact that it runs Vista. Why didn't the author show more of the silvery computer with the fruit logo in the video. Now that looked like a really good machine.
I like the lid designed. Much like the Olympic swirls.
Verdict: Reeal Sexxaay!
I wonder how much work it would be for Lenovo to make this a Thinkpad? They should be able to hit a similar price as X61 is at today since the only major difference is the screen. Adding a trackpoint and a non-glossy plastic should only add peanuts to the cost.
I for one would consider such a build. But let's wait and see, the X61 is more than ready for a redesign.
The x200 is the update to the X61 and is expected soon. It has a 12" screen, however.
I wonder if this is the same 1.6Ghz CPU that Apple claimed Intel made "special" for the Air. If so, maybe a period of exclusivity expired for Apple? Because the X300 would be a lot better with 1.6 GHz (like the U110) than with that 1.2GHz that's in the x300 now.
Hopefully the X200 will have the trackpoint and the 1.6Ghz or better CPU....and/or maybe they'll rev/bump the X300.
why not buy a Sony VGN-TZ2000. its around 1800$ and in term of quality it is really great.
Macbook is also nicer i think.
TZ CPU speed...that's one reason why. (Though there are a lot of good things about the TZ, that ain't one of them compared to the U110).
No trackpoint = no buy
Look guys, I like the little red nipple on my t42s also...so if you want an ultraportable that has one, check out the thinkpad x61...much cheaper, more "business like" finish, and yup, it has the lenovo nip. I love my lenovos (I have 2 t42s, and a t60 for work, and am currently trying to con my company into an x61 for travel), but it seems that there is definitely a VAST difference between their "business" labelled products and their "consumer" labelled products. For my money, stick with the proven track record of thinkpads...they can do everything this thing can do, with a lot less fingerprinting/glossy aggravation (one of my BIGGEST irritations with my wife's new HP laptop, aside from the fact that it's ugh...vista...is the fact that the thing is a bloody fingerprint trap...and thats without a glossy coating on the bloody keyboard...whoever came up with THAT idea should be shot)
If you have a Discover Card you can get it for $1,804.05. http://www.lenovo.com/discovercashback
Acer 2920G is much better than this over priced crap , this can not sell any where out side of the US.
This let lid is so gaudy and the glossy paint is idiotic at best.
Without thinkpad name, legacy of IBM and its history , Lenovo can not do anything , buy an Acer, Dell or BenQ , all of them produce much better Laptops than this senseless ,gaudy, looking over 2k crappy toy.
Only morons pay this much for this crap.
Imagine if this had been an Apple model, what would have been talked about it ?
Why people are so so so so nice to Lenovo crap ?
According to this story. Lenovo's tech support is one of the best in the town.
All that and then you have Vista, ugh.
Too shiney for my tastes, I can't stand glossy screens as it is. When will they design a screen cover that isnt reflective!?!??!?! Is it too much to ask for???????
Would this be a good alternative for my sony VGN-TX1HP? I like the size of the sony, but its very slow, has had 2 years of intensive use and needs to be replaced soon.