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65 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A review from somone who actually knows something about notebooks., November 27, 2008
This review is from: Lenovo IdeaPad U330 13.3-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Black (Personal Computers)
Some of the previous reviews are frankly asinine.
Any objective evaluation of this notebook will show you that this is a state-of-the-art 13.3 inch notebook. It has SWITCHABLE graphics, an LED screen DDR 3 ram, and the latest Centrino 2 processor. On top of that, it weighs under 4.5 pounds, which makes it both lighter AND more powerful (when using ATI graphics instead of the integrated) than the 13.3 inch aluminum Macbooks.
Best of all, because of the switchable GPU, you don't sacrifice battery life to get performance. When you're on the road, use the Intel chipset and you'll get a realistic 4+ hours of wireless usage.
This is without a doubt, the best value proposition in 13.3 inch laptop market.
This isn't to say this notebook is without it's flaws. Ergonomically, this laptop is top-notch quality. The typing experience is far more comfortable than the keyboard on the Macbook and Vaio's. But design wise, this computer is a lot like a business laptop than a sleek sexy consumer laptop. It's black all-around, very professional but not exactly an eye catcher like the aluminum Macbook or the Dell XPS m1330 and the carbon fiber Vaio's. In my opinion, that's the biggest negative on this notebook, it's design simply isn't as good as other 13.3 inch consumer laptops like the aforementioned Macbook and XPS m1330. (Of course, those are considerably more expensive as well.) I realize that design is often subjective and some people like this business look more than flashy aesthetics, but again, this is a CONSUMER notebook not a business oriented ThinkPad.
As for customer service, I won't lie, Lenovo's 1-800 tech support is really really really terrible. Just atrocious. But if you skip those guys and go through Mark Hopkins at the Lenovo forum he'll really help you out. That guy is the best. If you notebook is somehow not perfect on arrival he's arranged to have a Lenovo ship you a new one BEFORE you send yours back so there's no downtime for warranty repair.
Keep these things in mind if you're looking for a 13.3 inch portable notebook without sacrificing battery life or performance.
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33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good laptop, but not great, February 17, 2009
This review is from: Lenovo IdeaPad U330 13.3-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Black (Personal Computers)
I have owned the U330 since October 2008. I was wrestling with the choice between buying a Mac and a Windows machine at that time. I finally settled on the U330 because (i) it was compact, sleek and stylish (strikingly similar to the then-13.3" black Macbook),
(ii) advertised amazing battery life (I think it said something like 5.5 hours on the Lenovo website) and (iii) I needed Windows to run most of my engineering and development software.
My configuration includes:
- Intel Core 2 Duo 7350 processor
- 3GB DDR3 memory
- 250GB HD
- Vista Home Premium
With the above configuration and proper tuning of the OS, the system is fast and responsive. In looks it is almost a head-turner. And it is sufficiently light and portable.
And those are pretty much the only things going for it. Having lived with it as my main home PC for 5 months now, I have become acutely aware of what I consider to be its many deficiencies. Many of my complaints might seem like minor quibbles to others more easily satisfied, but I am a demanding user. So here is my list of cons (roughly prioritized)::
1. Battery life is iffy. For simple web browsing using Lenovo's "Power Save" mode and with Intel's built-in graphics and brightness set to low, the laptop runs out of juice in approx. 3:20 hours - which is not bad in general, but nowhere as good as the advertised values. If you go for the "Extreme Power Saver" mode, you will get some more time, but then the laptop is practically useless, with all radios turned off.
2. The glossy screen is way too glossy. In bright light you'll see your reflection more easily than the apps you are running. I have learned not to work on it sitting with my back to an unshaded window on a sunny day.
3. Sound from the speakers is tinny. I was excited by the advertised sub-woofer and Dolby Decoder when I was considering buying the laptop, but the speakers have disappointed majorly. However, the sound from the headphone port is much better.
4. Awkward placement of USB ports. On the right-side, front corner. So if you connect a USB cable looped around from the side, the cable might end up blocking your DVD drive.
5. Awkward placement of audio ports. On the front. Every time I have to push in a 3.5mm connector, I need to hold the laptop from the back, to prevent it from moving back.
6. The capacitive controls for audio. Every time I want to increase/decrease the volume, I have to execute two touch commands, not one. Would have made a lot more sense to have the volume controls displayed all the time.
7. The hard drive activity indicator is thoroughly distracting. It is always furiously blinking to indicate the hard drive being accessed - I guess we all know that would happen! Would have made sense to tuck it away in an unobtrusive corner of the laptop.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No Regrets So Far, January 4, 2009
This review is from: Lenovo IdeaPad U330 13.3-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Black (Personal Computers)
This is my first laptop and my first experience with Vista. I have a lot of desktop experience, but I am by no means a PC wonk. I took the leap when Amazon came up with some tempting year-end pricing. First impression: a beautiful machine, high quality and solidly built. It came up and ran perfectly right out of the box. At first I had a lot of trouble with the touch pad pointer and buttons, but after a couple of days of tuning, I seem to have them working pretty well. So far, I am tickled to death with the U330. I read a lot about heat problems with laptops; after an entire day of running, the U330 is just barely lukewarm.
The facial recognition login feature is amazing. I expected this to be a silly gimmick that wouldn't really work. In fact, it works perfectly, it was easy to set up, and it takes 2 seconds or less to recognize me for log-ins.
My only complaint: If you leave the pointer touching a link or command it executes on its own. This includes shutdowns. Oops! I don't know if this is a Vista thing or a Lenovo thing, but I wish I could find the setting to eliminate it. I am going to do some searching at the Lenovo Forum.
Several people on that forum posted complaints that their U330's did not sit flat on the desktop. Instead, they teetered because the bottom was warped. This is not the case with mine. It sits perfectly flat.
Finely, I was getting terrible back pains using it. I found I was hunching over to type. I bought a Rolodex Laptop Stand (82410) and it solved the problem. It's the perfect size for the U330 and none of the ports or CD drive are blocked.
Would I recommend the U330? As of now, absolutely. I'll come back here if this changes.
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