| Lenovo IdeaPad U350 |
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Lenovo has been known to make some really good low-cost systems that are powerhouse systems without all the "extras" the other laptop makers throw into their systems. Their notebooks tend to be very thin and extremely portable, which makes Lenovo systems perfect for a frequent traveler or anyone on-the-go. This model, the IdeaPad U350, has a 13.3 inch display, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and has excellent battery life. The design of the Lenovo IdeaPad U350 is made to be very thin because of the lower-power processor which makes for less cooling requirements, so there are very few fans. In total, it weighs only 3.5 pounds and measures about 13 x 9 x 0.8-inches, which qualifies it as being an ultra portable notebook. The look of it is very thin in your hands, which is a good thing for most as that's what they are looking for. The keyboard is black with the surrounding area and palm rests are silver. The lid of the U350 is a deep brown with a diamond pattern texture. The Lenovo IdeaPad U350 has a 13.3-inch WXGA display and is very bright and looks excellent from any possible viewing angle. The native resolution of the display is 1366x768, which is common with other similar models, but there are others with a higher 1600x900 resolution. The keyboard works good and is comfortable to use for extended period of times with no difficulty typing. The mouse trackpad is actually textured very slightly, which provides a tactile feel when using it, which is a nice touch. This model from Lenovo has an Intel Pentium SU2700 CULV 1.3GHz processor, which is designed for mobile use, and 3GB of DDR3 SDRAM, which is an over-average amount for an ultra portable. The graphics is powered by an integrated Intel GMA 4500M video card and has a 250GB 5,400RPM serial ATA hard drive, which is also decently sized. Wireless connectivity is also integrated as well as Ethernet. The ports on the external of the U350 include 3 USB 2.0, a VGA out, and an HDMI out too. There is also an integrated media card reader and webcam. The U350 doesn't include an optical disc drive to conserve space. This may be a downside for some users because you cannot use it to play movies right from the DVD or do other things that require a disc. Programs can be installed by placing the installation files or disc in another computer on a home network and installing from there. The battery life of the Lenovo IdeaPad U350 is pretty good, coming in at around 5 hours. Its rated as being EPEAT Gold, Energy Start 5.0, and RoHS certified, which means it is very environmentally friendly. The performance of the Lenovo IdeaPad U350 is decent, but not overly stellar. The low-power processor is good enough for average computer work, like Web surfing and productivity use, but not good enough for any 3D gaming or intense video editing. This is a very good computer for portable use for doing both school and business work. |
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