We got to mess around with
Lenovo's new IdeaPad lineup tonight -- those
new ThinkPads were mysteriously absent, however -- and while we'd say Lenovo is playing it pretty safe at the moment, we still like what we see. The hinge design that first emerged in the
U110 is now present in the whole line, and while the ThinkPad heritage has been hidden under mounds of glossy plastic, it's still fairly evident in the build quality of the laptops, and particularly in those well-loved keyboards. The new Y-series laptops are rather serious contenders in their respective categories, with the 15-inch Y530 matching up nicely to any mid-tier 15-incher from the Likes of Sony, HP or Dell, while the 17-inch Y730 offers an easily hot-swappable second drive bay, a switch for graphics card overclocking, a performance-oriented secondary display and function buttons, and secondary arrow keys for rocking that dastardly "The World's Hardest Game" -- though most gamers will be sticking with AWSD for the other relevant FPS niceties those keys offer. We'd say our biggest disappointment is the U330, which loses the U110's distinctive (and comfy) glossy-flush keyboard, and whose inclusion of a disc drive leaves it with none of the U110's strikingly small stature. Sure, 13.3-inches and switchable graphics are nice, but it really hardly stands out from the Y-series IdeaPads, which is no good considering the premium prices Lenovo expects for its U-series laptops.
posted Jul 15th 2008 8:12PM
Lenovo, Lenovo, Lenovo.
When are you guys gonna talk about the iPhone???
(Disclaimer : The above statement is completely tongue in cheek)
Nobody cares if it's a joke or not.
GET OUT
there's only so many angles to take a picture of a laptop
Stupid. Awful specs. Overpriced junk.
??? there aren't even specs in the article.
Plus it's better than an apple.
would rather get a x200
I personally prefer bananas over apples. At least they can make a milk shake.
The hinge looks like the Dell Studio... or does the Dell Studio look like the Lenovo?
That hinge is not new for the Lenovo line. My Y510 has the same type of hinge. Personally, I don't like it. The center of gravity is too far towards the back side, which causes the laptop to want to fall back and there are also no room for ports on the back of the laptop.
ZOMFG! IT HAS A TURBO BUTTON/SWITCH!
come on... srsly?
Holy hell ... these pictures remind me of all the hatred I know for glossy screens. This Lenovo takes it to a whole new level. Imagine trying to type anything on battery power and your display dimmed to conserve power.
The hinge is just like the Studio, which the Studio copied the Lenovo.
Either way, looks sharp -- but the glossy screens ruin it for me.
I second that. I absolutely HATE glossy screens. It makes NO point to have a glossy screen as it reduces functionality.
Ideapad....I got excited for a second...but you are discussing old fashioned laptops. I want to hear about the Ideapad U8 MID. Lenovo, please bring it to the states. Pretty please.
No trackpoint, no sale.
(posted from a T60 *with* trackpoint)
Why the hell are those game keys on the right hand side?
Unless, they are catering to the southpaw market :)
Very nice, solid and clean design. But pleeease, stop that glossiness excesses.
Can somebody explain to me why in 2008 laptops still have vga
outputs?
Why this archaic, useless technology wont die? As far as I'm concerned,
it's pretty much as useful as a floppy drive. It looks horrible went
you plug it to a flat screen tv and if you still one of the few who
use it, a dvi to vga adapter cost a buck on ebay. Enlighten me,
please!
Many users will want to plug it into projectors.
Seconding the trackpoint requirement. And bonus points for a model without a touchpad. Posted from X61 - with trackpoint and without touchpad. ;)
Paul, do you have any information about the mini-USB (or proprietary?) connector spotted in the removable hard drive tray? While it seems to me to be a bit counter-intuitive to carry the extra weight, I think it's an interesting design -- say, if it held a second hdd (filled with multimedia) which you could pull out and quickly hook up to a desktop or even a set-top media player.
Is the Ctrl key in the correct place yet? Lenovo likes to switch the Ctrl key and the Fn key... grrrrr...
They took out the knob? WTF?
[posted from a x61]
@ Bob Sintas:
I was thinking of getting a Y510, what do you think of it?
I believe the correct terminology is "WASD". Not like I'm about to play games on this thing, but for correctness..
IdeaPad... hmm, why don't they just call it the iPad? Oh yeah, no one can do that anymore...
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Cmon not even, the U330 is $700 cheaper than the U110 and is thinner and lighter than the Macbook, with features like that at prices that low you guys are saying you're dissapointed? And by "distinctive glossy keyboard" do you mean that fingerprint magnet? I think Lenovo has fixed all the issues of the U110 and made a better laptop, although slightly heavier and with a disc drive it is still a superior successor to the U110 with those prices. Not only that, Lenovo offers a coupon to go along with it and it comes under $1000.