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Review of IdeaPad U110

Posted Jun 30, 2008 Thai Tan

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The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 is well rounded ultraportable laptop that not only looks good but packs enough power to handle every business related project. However, you may have to forgive some of the ruggedness found in the ThinkPad line for looks.

Full review of IdeaPad U110

Its sleek, it's small, and available in Red or Black colors to match your designer taste. What is this? Would you believe it's an ultraportable from Lenovo? The IdeaPad U110 is Lenovo's attempt to grab consumer's attention with an ultraportable designed to turn heads. It's everything a business professional would want in an ultra light machine, without the suit and tie conservative look found in its bigger ThinkPad brothers.

Measuring in 10.8 inches by 7.7 inches and weighing 3 pounds with its included 7-cell battery and only 2.5 pounds with its included 4-cell battery, the IdeaPad U110 is designed to be used on the go. Lenovo even threw in its own sleeve case.

The sexy 11.1-inch LED backlit widescreen display offers a native 1368x768 resolution. Although very crisp and colorful, the glossy display could be improved as at times it appeared to be too reflective. LCD panel is enclosed in an aluminum/metal that offers a striking design that will certainly turn heads. The entire body is made around matte black magnesium that offers durability a light and thin machine needs.

Upon opening the U110 you will find the full-size keyboard coated with a glossy piano finish. Looks cool but attracts fingerprints and dust more easily. Stay away from those potato chips! Typing on the keyboard is actually efficient with large sized keys. The only thing I would hope to see an illuminating keyboard or a Think Light for dark conditions.

Despite the IdeaPad U110's tiny size, it packs sufficient connectivity options including three USB 2.0 ports, express card, memory card reader, FireWire, Ethernet port although it's not equipped with an internal optical drive but the machine is supplied with an external optical drive that is powered by 2 USB 2.0 ports.

Features and Peformance

Two unique features on this machine makes it stand out from the rest of the ultraportable pack. First is VeriFace log in application that allows you to quickly and securely login to your private machine by capturing your face (used in conjunction with its built-in 1.3 webcam). Although neat idea, it causes the machine to boot slowly and sluggish. The 2nd great feature is the novo key - which, when pressed as power when the unit is off - will start the automatic recovery to make the unit factory fresh.

The IdeaPad also features Bluetooth and A/B/G connectivity for wireless networks. It does not have 3G nor GPS built in but hopefully in future iterations they will come optional or equipped. In terms of performance, our test model comes with a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 that runs sufficient under the performance hog: Windows Vista Home Premium. 2GB DDR2 isn't enough and the 4200RPM hard drive is hardly sufficient to handle today's tasks.

The 4 cell battery lasted around 2 hours under general usage but lasted only an hour when watching a DVD movie. Bummer. Luckily, the 7-cell battery lasted 2.5 hours watching a DVD and nearing 3 and half hours on normal usage. This doesn't come close to the VAIO TZ which lasted 8 hours but is may be acceptable for some.

For around $2,000, the IdeaPad U110 does not disappoint as it comes with sufficient power to handle most business related tasks while enabling you to take it anywhere, anytime. Plus it looks good, too. But users demanding a little more power and longer battery life may need to look elsewhere like the VAIO TZ line.

IdeaPad U110 Technical Specifications

  • Processor Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 1.6 GHz
  • Memory 2GB DDR2 RAM
  • Harddrive 120GB
  • OS Microsoft Windows Vista
  • Weight 3 pounds
  • Screen 1366 by 768
  • Screen resolution 1366x768
  • Graphic Card Intel GMA X3100
  • Battery Life 3 hours

Pros

  • Great looks
  • Decent power under the hood
  • Decently Priced for an ultraportable
  • External Optical Drive
  • Nice extra's included
  • Appropriately priced for some

Cons

  • External Optical Drive
  • Uninspiring Sound output
  • Glossy surfaces attract dust / oil
  • For an ultraportable, it could use better battery life
  • Expensive

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