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Monday, 4 June 2012

Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Review: Beauty and the Beast

Posted on 07:10 by Unknown
Build and Design
The 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.
Ports and Features
Ultrabooks don't come with the a lot of ports but the U300s manages to do worse. Its lack of a media card reader is surprising and seems like an oversight on Lenovo's part. The U300s has just two USB ports (one of which is USB 3.0), HDMI, and a headphone/microphone combination jack; that’s it. It does not have a VGA port either.
Screen and Speakers
The 13.3-inch display is vanilla; it has a standard 1366x768 (720p) resolution and a glossy surface. The glossy surface has some usability issues since it reflects light which might be fine for a notebook that stays on the desk but for a notebook that’s used in a variety of lighting conditions, it’s not. The display has a washed-out look and the vertical viewing angles are too narrow as it quickly washes out when viewed more than a few degrees off-center. Despite that, I wish the display tilted back a bit further.
Two stereo speakers are located inside the chassis. They sound muffled and are rather tinny. The U300s' has a microphone/headphone combination jack which is a much better choice for audio-related activities.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The full-size keyboard is quiet and has a good layout. Other Ultrabooks we have tested have compromised on the keyboard to some effect; the U300s, other than the key travel being a bit short (distance between pressed and un-pressed positions) does rather well. The keyboard is quiet and has sufficient tactile feedback. I wouldn’t have a problem using this keyboard every day. The only feature it lacks is backlighting (the Toshiba Z830/Z835 has backlighting but the feel isn’t as good as the U300s).
The Synaptics touchpad is actually a clickpad; press down anywhere to produce a click; there are no dedicated buttons. The anti-glare surface is easy to track on. This clickpad is reasonably accurate though the amount of pressure required to create a click varies (it’s harder to press down closer to the top). At the end of the day I would still prefer a traditional touchpad with separate buttons.
    
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