Lenovo Ideapad U110
https://lenovo-blog.blogspot.com/2008/05/lenovo-ideapad-u110.html
Ever since Lenovo picked up the ThinkPad line from IBM, it has been where they have directed all their most notable efforts. Lenovo's own line of notebooks was a solid budget offering, but it was far removed from the ThinkPads and generally failed to distinguish its models from the competition, most of whom had much better brand recognition here in the US. The IdeaPads, which where introduced right before 2008's CES, were not exactly creatively named, but would serve an important function–to bridge the gap been the Lenovo models and the ThinkPads while offering a consumer-friendly series of notebooks.
The U110 is a an outlier not only for the IdeaPad line, but also for Lenovo. It's a slim and sexy ultraportable notebook that is a full-fledged system. Given the 2.4 lb weight and 0.72-inch thickness there is not much out there like it, especially if you are interested in its high-fashion design. The U110 is a high-end consumer notebook built to the specifications of an ultraportable business machine. It's hard to think of systems that are comparable to what the U110 is shooting for, but the main ones that come to mind are the Sony TZ, Fujistu P8010, and the Asus U2E.
The U110 is 10.8 x 7.7 x 0.72 inches and starts off at a feathery 2.4 lbs. The notebook is all about style, as made clear by the red, tendril-textured LCD cover and full gloss coating on the entire interior of the notebook, including the no-bezel display. It is also packed with cool extras, from touch-sensitive backlit designs above the keyboard, to intricate venting and soft-touch material on its underside, pyramid-shaped rubber feet, and a cool hinge design. The overall effect, combined with the size of the notebook, is impressive enough to turn heads where ever you go and will surely lure in executive users despite being a consumer system.
There is more to the U110 than just style though. It runs a full OS (Vista Home Premium) and has a low-voltage mobile processor, not an ultra-low voltage model. It is powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo L7500 (1.6GHz) and 2GB of RAM, and has a 120GB (1.8-inch, 4200RPM) disk with an Intel 965 Express chipset and GMA X3100 graphics. The kit is pretty much what you would expect from something this size, though it's great to see that processor instead of a lesser model. The display is an 11.1-inch LED backlit panel that runs at 1366×768. It gets quite bright, which cuts down on the glare from the glossy panel.
As you probably guessed, the U110 does not have an on-board optical drive. Lenovo crammed one on the 13.3-inch X300 and Sony has one in the TZ, but U110 users will have to rely on the included USB unit. This is a great addition, as these often run upwards of $100, but if you absolutely need an internal optical drive, check out the TZ or Toshiba's slightly larger R500. The U110 also includes two batteries, the svelte 4-cell which puts the system at about 2.4 lbs and the extended 7-cell which bulks it up to a very acceptable 2.9 lbs.
From a design standpoint, Lenovo did an excellent job with the U110, in most respects. Obviously it scores high marks for style. If you are looking for something attractive, you can't really beat the U110 in its metallic red with tendril texture. The black model is not quite as loud but looks very nice as well. The full-glass display and glossy interior are not that functional, but both look impressive. Other cool features include the soft texture bottom and intricate venting. Aside from a slight gap between the notebook and cover when the LCD is closed, the construction is very good and cues were certainly taken from the ThinkPads.
The U110 changes a lot of things about notebook design, though not always for the better. For example, there are reasons many manufacturers shy away from glossy keyboards and why they don't use cool, pointy rubber feet. The notebook is a fingerprint magnet and unless you plan on using it with white cotton gloves, it can look pretty grimy after a hour or two of use. As for the feet, their lack of surface area means that the notebook tends to slide around and wiggle on your work surface.
Given the price of the notebook and its current lack of an SSD, to justify the near $2000 price Lenovo includes many extras. The U110 arrived with two batteries, a matching USB optical drive, and a soft carrying case. The packaging is also much improved from standard Lenovo/ThinkPad notebooks so unboxing the U110 was a very pleasant experience. Another perk is the U110's ultramobile power adapter, which is only slightly larger and heavier than a deck of cards. It also has the VeriFace login system which uses facial recognition through the webcam to get you into Windows. (That noted, VeriFace increases boot times and does not work particularly well.)
Once the U110 is out of its box and charged up, the fun really begins. The notebook delivers a very good mobile experience, being an excellent combination of performance and size. Despite the weight, Lenovo managed to use a low-voltage processor which will not help battery life compared to an ultra-low voltage model, but delivers a marked performance improvement. The notebook is ridiculously portable, especially with the smaller battery, and thanks to its generous keyboard it is easy and accurate to type on. The LED backlit display means that the display looks great in all sorts of different conditions, though you will want to keep it on the bright side if glare is an issue where you are sitting. Vista performance is more than acceptable and with Aero and some other demanding features turned off, the U110 has no problems pushing Home Premium.
The U110 is an ultraportable, but performance is still a factor. Here the L7500 proved itself and offered up solid overall power. The U110 did not have the sluggishness that turn people off from some of the notebooks in its size class (including Sony's TZ) and instead moved along at a nice pace, rarely leaving the user waiting for it to catch up. Lenovo's built-in Energy Management (High Performance all the way down to Super Energy Saver) helps the user choose the right mode for their current usage as well. Overall performance was roughly on par with the ThinkPad X300 (with the nod generally going to the ThinkPad) and the U110 was able to outperform the Sony TZ and Toshiba R500. It experiences performance bottlenecks due to the graphics and the 1.8-inch disk, but neither were deal-breakers (and both were expected). In the future the U110 should be available with an SSD so the disk issue will not necessarily be a factor. The Windows Experience index was a 3.5, with high marks going towards the CPU and Memory (4.7 and 4.8) and the Graphics and Gaming ratings (both at 3.5) lagging behind.
As far as battery life goes, you have two options, the ultralife 4-cell and the the extended 7-cell which will increase the size of the notebook slightly. The 4-cell delivered an average usage time of 90 minutes from a full charge under general mobile circumstances (WiFi on, backlighting at 50%, battery saver mode). The larger battery has a quoted life of six hours but the extra half pound will get the notebook up to about five hours of battery life, maybe a bit less if you are doing anything taxing.
Despite all the strengths the U110 does have a few downsides. The price is not really one of these, as the U110 is on par with other notebooks in its performance/size category. One shortcoming is the lack of available mobile broadband, which will be a serious oversight for some road warriors who want this integrated into their notebooks. The lack of internal optical driver will have some buyers looking elsewhere as well, but this is not nearly as big a factor as it once was. Some users will not like the keyboard either–the large flat keys are a far cry from the X300's impeccable design, but still managed to be quite usable. The bigger issue I had was the glossy interior, which may look amazing in a showroom, but was seemingly designed to attract fingerprints and smudges. The same goes for the frameless display, which reflects lots of light. Aside from the glare the display looks quite nice, but this is almost always a factor.
The U110 is certainly one of Lenovo's most interesting undertakings. Sacrifices were certainly made for style, but they still managed to put out a capable ultraportable. Lots of things could be different–it could be cheaper, there could be an SSD, the display could not be glossy, the keys could be better spaced, and VeriFace could have been left out, but it seems like Lenovo really wanted to push the envelope here and they were willing to be a bit unconventional to do that. The end result is not a notebook for everyone, but it's definitely one with a number of high points and it's probably exactly the type of halo product that Lenovo was looking to add to its brand. If you are looking for something that is lightweight and easy on the eyes, then the U110 could be a great choice, so long as you can get over a few of its quirks.
Post a Comment