Lenovo IdeaPad U110 (red)

Pros: Thin, light, sexy; Bright, clear, high-resolution display; 3 USB Ports and and ExpressCard slot; Small power brick.

Cons: Shiny keyboard not one of Lenovo's better ideas; Underpowered CPU; Pretty pricey; External Optical Drive.

Summary: With the IdeaPad U110, Lenovo does make some strides forwards towards the creation of an ultraportable that's usable for the population at large, but the hardware that's been sacrificed still keeps some users out in the rain.

This in indeed an ultraportable notebook. It's really quite small and sleek, and easily slips into a bag to go virtually wherever you need it to. But when you pull it out of that bag for some actual use, what is it that you get? For some internet browsing or document work on the go, you get quite a bit. Lenovo's provided a good screen with plenty of real estate, so your apps aren't going to feel cramped. You've got some degree of expandability, if you need it, in the form of three USB ports and an ExpressCard slot. And you've got a head-turning, genuinely sexy machine, all in a truly portable package.

But you don't have much else, is the problem. With it's provided extended-life battery, one would think that this would be the optimum machine for some movie watching on a trip. Alas, however, the removal of the optical drive kills this potential for all but those willing to lug around the external drive. But...if you're really willing to pay almost $2000 for the sleekness that comes along with this notebook, it's also pretty easy to bet that you're probably not willing to carry around the unsightly DVD add-on.

A gaming machine this is not as well, the Intel Integrated Graphics have pretty much decided that for you. Plus, the lack of an optical drive completely locks you out from that possibility.

The Lenovo Ideapad U110 has made strides over some of the design flaws that came with the Macbook Air, but it still has not found the sweet spot between form and function thats going to gain the ultraportable market real attention.