A month after Lenovo announced its new
IdeaPad U350 the thing is finally ready for the prime time, and let us tell you: it wasn't hard to spot. While in theory this is "just another thin-and-light" in a rapidly growing, CULV-aided market segment, the craftsmanship and materials used on the U350 make it our favorite bit of Lenovo design since the
U110, and very well might set it apart from the budget-minded pack. We're particularly digging the textured rubber back, but the ribbed metal palm rest also excellently avoids the glossy-plastic-of-death. Otherwise the laptop settles pretty nicely into a thin-and-light groove, with both of those particulars in spades and CULV under the hood. We would prefer some NVIDIA 9400M to Intel's integrated graphics, but at least there's HDMI out, and Intel's chipset tends to be a bit better on the power sipping front. Check out the gallery for some head-to-head shots with Lenovo's
T400s -- which is clearly superior in most regards, but goes for double the price.
posted Jun 24th 2009 3:43PM
I never understand vague info from manufacturers - first thing that all my clients would ask is what is the weight, then they might want to know dimensions and I sure would want to know the processor. All the other specs are indeed welcome but without those 3 being listed the manufacturer might as well tell me about their new shipping box for a laptop as it is about as helpful in deciding what model to look at if I don't have any specs I can use. I'm afraid the video is a helpful spec, oh wait they didn't list the memory on the video - FAIL.
If you go on Lenovo's website the specs are all there, including how much it cost also.
nothing to do with your comment but lenovo is misleading on their website...it says core 2 duo su2700 when it should be intel pentium...there is no core 2 duo su2700...
Sweet machine!
So, how's battery life?
Hey, is this Lenovo article accurate? :o
Yea! HDMI out. Now what is the max resolution this can output? Can it run Linux?
I agree that they are lacking some detail, but if I were in the market for a new computer, this one may meet my standards.
Of course, it can surely run Linux...
I suppose the new thin and light Macbook Pro is superior in anyway than this piece of crap Lenovo. It's too bad that the Lenovo had to copy the two tone color scheme of the Macbook Pro too. I bet you the battery life of the Lenovo is shorter than 7 hours, and doesn't have the superior display and build quality of the Macbook Pro.
the macbook design is stale. its been boxy aluminum since.. 5 years ago.
you're delusional if you think any macbook is thin and light. sure the MBA is thin, but it weights a brick at 3.5 lbs. a toshiba R500 or R600 EASILY beats the mba and it even includes a frickin dvd burner!
stick your head back in steve's butt. im told he's awake now
I'm pro-Mac and even I'm burying your silly comment.
Products are "better" - people are superior...
Wait, is the successor to the U110?
Nope, it's the successor to the U330.
@soulblaster - nope, seeing as the U330 had an optical drive built in(I am assuming like the U110 the 350 will come with an external optical drive), and switchable graphics also. This has none of those.
Could be the successor to the U110 since Lenovo is not promoting it on the U series web page anymore although it is still for sale. The U330 will still be around for awhile because they are now promoting that the U330 will have an optional Blu-ray drive even though no current models with it are available.
i refuse to believe this is lenovo, WOW good looking lappy and with there reliability this will be great buy
"Thin and light" macbook pro? You mean the 13-inch one that weighs 4.5 lbs?
I have an older MBP and have always owned Mac laptops...but the new MBP is about as "thin and light" as Oprah.
I've never been much of a fan of IBM/Lenovo's laptop designs but this one actually looks rather nice. The only things I'd ask for would be a chiclet-style (sp?) keyboard and, as blasphemous as this may sound, the big trackpads that Apple's unibody notebooks are sporting these days since you can never have too much trackpad when you don't have the space for a mouse. It might also benefit from the old ThinkPad red nipple/joystick but that's just personal taste...
This is a really nice looking notebook.
If this thing had the nipple like the Thinkpad line, it would be more "Lenovo".
It looks fantastic, but the one complaint I have about the aesthetics is the black shiny plastic that makes up the screen bezel. Despite the reflections you see on the top lid, it appears to be a rather matte finish when compared to most plastic units, and so the shiny black bezel doesn't really go with the rest of the shell.
Where did the "Insert" key go? Fn-Something? I guess I really do rarely use it nowadays, usually it's an accidental push. The IdeaPad line is getting better look and fit & finish than in the past!
The Ideapad looks a lot more premium than the Thinkpad.
Ick... fugly!
To each his own I guess.
release date?
I am not even trolling when I say this but it looks a lot like a Macbook Pro from the inside.
a chiclet keyboard would be better.
Meh.
Apart from the glossy textured lid it just looks like roughly 200 other somewhat fashionable laptops that are on the market today.
Also it seems like the specs arent special either.
I'd rahter take a thinkpad.
Just figured out that the IdeaPad 350 lacks an optical drive... after I ordered it.
Looking into an external drive.
Anyone have any suggestions for cheap/effective external optical drives?
Plenty of them on Amazon for $60 or so.
I'm considering the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and the Acer Timeline 3810. I was going to add this to the list, until I realized that the right Shift key is not full-sized! You'd figure that Lenovo would've learned by now, i.e. after the first-gen S10 netbook.
Wow... guess you really love your SHIFT key...
Hi, Im wondering for the U350, wheres the DVD burner? Theres none shown in the gallery.