Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
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We have collected 8 reviews of the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s. Experts rate Lenovo IdeaPad U300s 7.3/10. Reviewsor.com helps you find reviews, best prices, user reviews of the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s and Lenovo Ultrabook.
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Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Reviews
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
Lenovo's first ultrabook to launch in India, the IdeaPad U300s, couldn't be more eye-catching. Despite being a sleek and lightweight ultraportable laptop, like the HP Folio 13 (read our review) and Asus Zenbook UX31E, the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s successfully pulls off a unique shell design that easily distinguishes itself from the rest of the ultrabook pack. Let's take a closer look... Ultrabooks are thin and lightweight laptops, and that's what the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s actually is. Lenovo has encased the IdeaPad U300s in a beautiful metal case which is just 0.59 inch thick. Unlike the HP Folio 13, the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s has polished metal encasing the screen lid and bottom panel of the ultrabook, which adds to the overall air of premiumness associated with the Lenovo ultrabook. Another design highlight of the IdeaPad U300s is that it doesn't have a maximum or minimum thickness -- unlike the Asus Zenbook UX31E or Apple MacBook Air, which are thicker at the hinges and thinner at the front edge -- the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s maintains equal thickness across its length and breadth. The ultrabook's 13-inch form factor is thin and light and easy to hold, weighing just 1.33 kg -- same as most 10-inch netbooks.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook Review
It's easy to understand why the fledgling ultrabook market is exploding with new offerings from virtually all of the major players. The new class of notebooks, seemingly reinvented by Intel's vision (and a $300 million dollar marketing fund) are designed to offer robust performance for everyday tasks and multimedia, in a wafer-thin and feather-weight footprint. These are MacBook Air competitors from the PC side of the fence, driven by Windows 7 and at least the goal of dropping in under the $1000 mark. Unfortunately, we haven't seen many ultrabooks hit that mark, save perhaps for a slightly lower-end Toshiba model we looked at recently, but there are many machines dropping in at Apple's MacBook Air $999 price point, offering all the build quality performance and even a few more features versus the svelte Mac machine. In fact, with Dell's XPS 13 and the Asus UX21 that we tested recently, we felt you definitely get what you pay for, but we all know the up-sell to an ultrabook, versus a standard 13 or 12-inch notebook, would be a lot easier if we could dance closer to that $800 mark. Unfortunately the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s that we'll be looking at today doesn't get us any closer to clearing that magic $799 psychological MSRP hurdle, but like its brethren that we've put through their paces thus far, this ultrabook is a premium product through and through.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Review: Beauty and the Beast
Lenovo's new Ultrabook features a 13.3-inch display, Core i7 processor and 256GB SSD. Those are nice specs for a premium thin and light laptop, but are the build quality problems a deal breaker?BUILD AND DESIGNThe U300s is thin as expected from an Ultrabook; it measures just 0.6 inches high and a tick less than three pounds. The chassis relies not on an internal frame but on its external magnesium alloy shell for strength. While the metal feels solid, it doesn't lend enough support; the chassis is easy to flex as is the lid. This isn't a desirable characteristic in a well-traveled computer as it allows the internal circuit boards to flex; it can lead to premature failure down the line. I like how the overall design of the notebook is somewhat understated. The gray metal has a matte finish and a quality look. When closed the U300s resembles a book, however those edges (around the lid and bottom of the chassis) are quite sharp. Is such a tradeoff worth the look? Not really. Overall the design is pleasing though the chassis strength leaves something to be desired. As with most Ultrabooks, the U300s isn't easy to upgrade on your own; there are no access panels on the bottom to swap out RAM or the storage drive.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300S review
The wait for the flurry of Intel ultrabooks is over, and the Lenovo IdeaPad U300S is among the latest super thin and light Windows laptops to come to the fore.It joins the likes of the Toshiba Portege Z830, Toshiba Satellite Z830, Asus Zenbook UX31 and Acer Aspire S3 in the ultrabook range, a new kind of laptop category that is critically important for the future of the entire market. Ultrabooks are super-thin, light, sleek and powerful laptops that aim to emulate Apple's recent gains with the Apple MacBook Air, and finally give consumers a reason to invest in PCs again. The Lenovo IdeaPad U300S is the last in the current line of ultrabooks to hit the shelves, and with a host of new models rumoured to be released at CES 2012 in January, it needs to offer a potent mix of power, great looks and competitive price to stand out among the early salvos from Acer, Asus and Toshiba.However, our first impressions are underwhelming.Lenovo hasn't obsessed over aesthetics, and this laptop is no Apple MacBook Air clone. It seems chunky next to the wafer-thin Asus Zenbook, which features a wedge-shaped design that tapers off to a thin, blade-like point.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
Lenovo doesn't miss a trick, and I'm not just saying that because the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s' ($1,495 list) startup wallpaper shows a picture of the system with its available accessories and part numbers. The 2.9-pound Lenovo U300s is an elegant entry into the new ultrabook category, combining the allure of the Intel-backed specification - a super-slim profile, a fast solid-state drive instead of a hard drive, near-instantaneous sleep and resume functions - with Lenovo's typical world-class engineering. But it's not cheap, largely because it has a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) versus most of its rivals' 128GB drives, and a couple of nitpicks, such as the lack of a flash-card slot, keep it from claiming our Editors' Choice crown for ultrabooks. Since we're talking price, we should note that the U300s is $104 cheaper than the comparable 256GB SSD version of the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,299 direct, 4 stars), though the latter's 1,440 by 900 screen resolution tops the U300s's 1,366 by 768. The 1,600 by 900 display of our ultrabook Editors' Choice, the Asus Zenbook UX31 ($1,099 direct, 4 stars), tops both.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
If there's a laptop that deserves the moniker "Ultrabook"--a term that Intel introduced (and trademarked) earlier this year for a class of very slim and light laptops--it's the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s. Not because it's faster or beefier than the competition (it's not), but because it actually looks like a thin coffee-table book when closed. It's also the Ultrabook that many in our labs gravitated toward due to its luxuriously minimalist styling and superior input ergonomics. At least they did until they heard it cost $1595, a price tag that reflects the expense of the U300s's large (256GB) solid-state drive, or SSD. Despite an Intel Core i7-2677M CPU, 4GB of DDR3 system memory, and that aforementioned 256GB SSD on board, the U300s performance lagged behind the Asus Zenbook UX31e. Still, a WorldBench score of 114 indicates plenty of power for everyday chores. Gaming frame rates delivered by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 max out at 31 frames per second at 800 by 600 resolution--with the details turned way down low, which doesn’t cut the mustard for modern games.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Review
Lenovo has officially entered the Ultrabook race with its IdeaPad U300s, a 13-inch all-aluminum system that weighs just 3 pounds. Starting at $1,095 ($1,495 as configured), the U300s packs an SSD and a fast Core i7 processor, which means you get a machine that can boot fast and tackle almost any computing task. And this notebook isn't a MacBook Air knockoff, either. The U300s has a unique book-like shape, available in gray or a much bolder orange. Is this the best Ultrabook for your money?Where ASUS and Acer largely aped the look and feel of the MacBook Air, Lenovo opted to go a different route with the design of its Ultrabook. Instead of a thin wedge shape, the U300s maintains the same thickness of 0.6 inches throughout, making it more like a slimmed-down version of its IdeaPad U260. According to Lenovo, this design--which has a lip on the top and bottom--is meant to resemble a book. While not as eye-catching as the ASUS Zenbook UX31, it's more attractive than the Acer Aspire S3, and--being built out of a single piece of sand-blasted aluminum--it certainly feels more sturdy.Our review unit came in a staid Graphite Gray, but consumers can opt for the more colorful Clementine Orange finish.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
Much has been made (certainly by us) of Intel's plans to promote a new "Ultrabook" laptop designation, which refers to something along the lines of an 11- to 13-inch laptop, less than 18 millimeters thick, with SSD storage, and running on current-gen Core i-series processors. Of all the Ultrabook laptops we've seen so far, the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s is the most eye-catching, with its completely flat design, booklike profile, and muted orange color (basic silver/gray is also available). This flagship of the IdeaPad U series has a 13.3-inch display, up to a Core i7 processor (ULV), and up to a 256GB SSD, but is just 0.6 inch thick. The less expensive of two available configurations matches up with the low-end MacBook Air, with a 128GB SSD and Intel Core i5 CPU, but the Lenovo is about $100 less, at $1,195 versus $1,299. Our review unit is the higher-end model, which has a Core i7 CPU and 256GB SSD. This version is $1,595, and is virtually the same as a comparable $1,599 MacBook Air. • Acer Aspire S3 Review • Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Summer 2011) review • The Ultrabook dilemma • Hands-on with the Asus Zenbook UX Ultrabook With the $100 discount, plus extras the MacBook lacks, such as HDMI and USB 3.0, the less-expensive U300s makes a very compelling case, especially when you factor in the excellent build quality and unbeatable keyboard.
Prices
| Retailer | Information | Prices | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Lenovo U300s 108026U 13.3-Inch Ultrabook | $949.95 | See it |
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Lenovo U300s 108026U 13.3-Inch Ultrabook | $949.95 | See it |
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Lenovo IdeaPad U300s : (7.3/10)
8 expert reviews
0 user reviews
