-
"Attractive, thin laptop with adequate processing power" on by JeffHawkey
Pros: It is thin and lightweight (relatively speaking) in its class.
It is the least expensive among its peers.
It is egonomically well designed with a comfortable keyboard, large toughpad, accessible ports and controls, and a crisp, bright display.Cons: It lacks an internal CD/DVD drive, comes preloaded with annoying adware, and has a few minor quirks that require user configuration or adaptation to overcome.
Summary: I needed a laptop that I could use for MS Office docs and web browsing on the go. Size and weight were important to me and I was willing to give up processing horsepower to get the right form factor. I had my eye on the Macbook Air but didn't want to have to wrestle with software compatibility issues transitioning from the PC world to the Mac world. I also didn't want to spend (well) over $1000.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U350 came along at just the right time. It is sleek, stylish, lightweight, thin, and has reasonably good battery life (over 3 hours with my usage). I really like this laptop.
But it does have its quirks. For starters, the out-of-box experience ran into a snag when I tried to connect to my home WiFi. Lenovo phone support helped me deinstall some Lenovo software that was conflicting with the network connection. Next was the annoying and persistent adware that I had to disable and/or deinstall. Then I had to figure out how to silence the bothersome Lenovo boot-time jingle (press F2 during boot to change the BIOS setting for Boot Logo Volume). I also got rather distracted with the "Ambient Light Sensor" tweaking the screen brightness for no apparent reason. I disabled that "feature" in the Lenovo Energy Management settings. I also had to decrease the sensitivity of the touchpad and set "PalmCheck" on maximum in order to get it to behave while I'm typing. Apparently there is a downside to having such a large touchpad.
I wish I could figure out how to prevent the "NumLk" from being enabled every boot--I just have to remember to toggle it each time (before typing my password).
And why did they locate the "INSERT" key under FN-F12?
Enough whining. Now that I have the laptop configured the way I like it, I am really happy with it. If you are looking for a lightweight, thin, affordable 13.3" laptop and don't need a lot of horsepower, I recommend the Lenovo IdeaPad U350 for your consideration. -
"Ultra-portable for basic business or personal use. :)" on by missdivay
Pros: It's thin, light, has all the memory and performance I need for my writing and research. I can fit it in a large purse no problem. I don't need it for games or HD movies, so I'm perfectly happy with its performance so far.
Cons: The lack of an optical drive would be my biggest issue. Meaning no CD or DVD drive. The pops-ups and programs I can't seem to get rid of are also annoying, but not prohibitive.
Summary: I've always been an IBM Thinkpad user. So when I went looking for a new ultra-portable back up computer to my Thinkpad T40, I was pleasantly surprised to find this IdeaPad option that was thin and light and actually affordable at less than $800.
It's made by a company I trust, Lenovo (formerly IBM), so I know I won't have any hardware issues. The battery life seems fine for 4-5 hours, depending on your energy mode (more than my T40 lasts for sure). I appreciate the new energy star options.
It's got a nice design. It's loaded Microsoft Office already in a trial period (I think it lets you run it something like 20 or 25 times before you have to buy it) but at least you don't have to load the program yourself.
The lack of an optical drive can be a problem if you have programs on disk you need to load as I did with my screenwriting programs, but I found I could download them from the company's site with the proper registration codes, so it ended up a non-problem. If need be, I also knew I could buy an external drive to load them.
As other users have mentioned, the bevy of pop-ups that begin when you start up for the first time is annoying and even time consuming to navigate past, but once done, they don't generally bother again. Save for one program I can't seem to get rid of, some subscription service I tried to uninstall and it still pops up to sign up. That is irritating. -
"Worst laptop I've had. Poorly made. not worth a dime." on by hoodyspeed
Pros: Light weight.
Cons: After <30days, the machine won't run off battery; the blue fatal error screen has appeared twice. Company wont replace it as it is post 21 day trial period -- even tho they say they are aware of problems "we have had problems with that battery".
Summary: Functionality is 0. Light weight is only good if the machine functions as advertised. However, this machine is fatally flawed. DO NOT BUY IT.
-
"awesome aesthetics everyone will notice." on by mcdukelee
Pros: Unmatched design, great feel and balance for typing, very light and elegant, great battery life, less fan noise when running, bluetooth, and great representation as a trend setter; also inexpensive compared to the competition.
Cons: No dvd drive (can't watch dvd even though it has an awesome screen resolution); mediocre speakers; not so fast processor (expected for its kind)
Summary: one of the best laptops in its class. Throw in a dvd drive and mac will run for its money.
-
"Nice looker with just enough power!!!" on by cliffchen23
Pros: The Look, what else do you need!!! Tight keyboard and Nice LED.
Cons: Battery life could use a boost, CPU power.
Summary: A perfectly good 2nd notebook for email, surfing and office suite works. Large keyboard and LED beats any netbook. Although you can't really use it for fast HD content viewing or keep it on for 8 hours like the Acer Timeline series, the beautiful exterior look trumps any shortcoming, or at least help you forget them.
Write a Review
Compare to other s
Compare Selected
%20-%20Laptops%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-u350-4gb/4852-3121_7-33708982.html&x_breadcrumb=3000:3121&x_arw_bkts=MAD:high_wireless_switcher){kind=small}