Customer Reviews

Lenovo G550 Series 2958XFU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I received the new G550 a few days ago, so this is a very early review. Out of the box, the unit was very easy to start up and configure. Even the "bloat-ware" was nicely done. Instead of having dozens of icons and applications, there was a single application that walked you through various options and allowed you to select what you wanted. After this, we only had to uninstall three programs to clean up the system.

I really like the keyboard. I had first looked at the Acer, but when I tried one at Costco I found that the keyboard would flex and warp when you apply pressure. The Lenovo is very solid and has a great key feel. The quality is the same as for my much more expensive Lenovo T60p at work. It has lights for CapsLock and NumLock. I understand that some low-end laptops do not have this anymore. The number pad has narrow keys and will take a while to get used to.

The case itself is not the same quality as the Lenovo I use at work. Even though it has a nice texture, the lid looks like cheap plastic. I am OK with this because of the low price. This laptop cost 1/3 of what my wife spent for her MacBook Pro.

The webcam works fine. My son had a great time setting up the face recognition feature for logging in.

I was happy to find that the unit has three USB ports. When researching the G550, I found some document that claimed it only had two.

I ran the built-in Windows performance test. The processor and memory tests reported between 4.3 and 5.3, but the graphics tests reported 3.3. This is reasonable for integrated graphics, but don't expect great gaming performance.

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Update Dec 2010

Now that we have had this laptop for a month, I have two comments:

First, while the laptop has a webcam, the picture quality is poor compared to our old USB webcam and our Macbook-Pro laptops. The image is never very sharp and was always dark until we added a desk lap. My son still likes the face detection feature for logging in. It claims it will remember faces from failed login attemps so you can find who has been trying to use your computer.

Second, we also had problems with the cursor jumping around while typing. The problem is that your wrist will touch the touchpad and register a mouse click. This happens even if you are using an external mouse. Luckily there is an easy fix. Pressing Fn-F8 can disable the touchpad when you do not want to use it. Other than this issue, we have had no problems with the keyboard.

Overall, I am still quite pleased with this machine.

I've always had IBM Thinkpad for work. This has the same great feel to the keyboard. This was way ahead of the competition in quality and was a perfect gift for my casual computer user wife.

So, I needed a computer because my desktop was becoming slow and tiresome. I scoped out Amazon looking for an inexpensive but functional laptop. I was pleasantly surprised when it came quicker than I imagined. It was clean, sleek, a looked brand new. I bought mine used. This is a great product that I highly suggest.

EXELENTE PRODUCTO, LA LAPTO QUE COMPRE,LLEGO A TIEMPO Y EN PERFECTO ESTADO NUEVO.LO RECOMIENDO SIN EQUIVOCOS EL EQUIPO Y EL VENDEDOR. SIN PROBLEMAS DE ENTREGA Y SIN DEFECTOS EL ARTICULO QUE COMPRE.PARA MI GUSTO PREFERIRIA EL TECLADO EN ESPANOL,PERO NO ESTA MAL.LA CAMARA QUE TRAE MUY BUENA AL IGUAL QUE EL REPRODUCTOR QUEMADOR DE CD Y DVD.

I bought this laptop almost a year ago. I use it for College and at home.
All I can say is that it's performed a lot better than expected for the price I paid for it (less than $400).
I've never had any issues with it whatsoever and I've dropped it twice. Not even a scratch!
Only 2 downsides to it:
1. Battery lifetime (as soon as I unplug the charger it drops to about 75% charge and it wont last a full 2 hrs.)
2. The mouse pad is a little too big so I accidentally touch it while typing which causes it to move and it's a big mess.

This pouch is soft, has a nice look, and a loop for hooking it to something. I wish I didn't loose mine as it's size fit several phones I've owned ranging from 4.3 - 4.65 inch screens. Evos, Bionics, Galaxy S II, Epic Touch 4G, Atrix all fit nicely with room to play. The unit is slim so it doesn't feel bulky and has plenty of soft felt to keep your screen clean.

I purchased this item when the price was under $400. Matter of fact, I purchased 3 for christmas gifts and I must say 6 month later, I have received not a single complaint.

Of course this is not a super computer, but for the price you get far more than you actually pay for. The appearance is prolly an 8 on an 1 to 10 scale depending on your taste but the feel of the laptop speaks of good quality.

Check the specs, it has everything except HDMI (whic is much needed but I did not sweat it since it was a gift to send overseas) and 56K dial up which I fixed with a cheap USB modem. Most people would not need it though as the laptop has wireless and ethernet connections.

My only frustration was the delivery process, but I still give a 4 because that was UPS' fault. They pushed me around big time and I almost lost my cool. I complaint to Amazon and guess what? Amazon over night shipped replacements. Great service Amazon, as usual.

(Of course, I cancelled the replacement though, as I eventually got my purchases form the folks at UPS)

I reccomment this product 100% if the specs meet you needs. It is a very good buy

I bought this laptop 10 months ago. I like it because its screen is 16:9 which lets me have many windows open; the numpad is the most helpful thing ever (I work a lot with numbers); it doesn't make much noise; its case is very strong (one of the more important things for me because I'm very tough and it has received many hits and continues working); and it came with the software advertised.
What I don't like is that it weights a lot, I mean, I put it in my backpack with the charger and I hope I don't have to put anything else in the bag, OMG! Another thing I don't like is the battery, it almost endures for 2 hours ¡in power saver mode! Don't believe what is says in the description. The webcam is horrible; I've tried webcams from other laptops with the same megapixels and those are like pro cameras for weddings compared to the one in the G550. It also has a problem with the mouse pad: when you are writing you gotta be careful and don't touch it 'cause it moves with any little touch and you can loose all you've written (had happened to many dozens of times). The last thing, is that I think it should be sold with more RAM, because from the very beginning it was slow, now it is even slower and I've done every little trick I know and tweak it but, at this point, I've decided to get another portable PC and keep this one as a desktop.

Remember, always read the reviews, do not believe in all that is advertised =D.

Made a mistake and went for this low priced value line Lenovo. It had cursor problems from day 1. Cursor jumps all over the place when typing. No help from Lenovo. Never again. End of story.

I purchased a laptop first time online. The customer service agent was very helpful and took my order. I did not have a good experience trying to do this online without help. I wanted more information than was given on the sites. I purchased a 160 g laptop to do video work on site for a news project I am working on. I don't plan to store anything on the computer but wanted enough gigs to do one job adequately and edit. I checked the properties first off on the computer and noticed the gigs were 130 not 160. I called a few people who said I should complain. Amazon sent another computer fast and I returned the one I had gotten. The second was identical. I was offered a discount but would have liked the 30 gigs missing. However, they said to keep it check it out and they would send another hard drive or I could return it in 30 days. So far I like the laptop. I do think there is a gap in communication when ordering online. You need a serious list of items that are important to get upfront answers for. The price is good on this and so I will add more stuff to it that I need. It did get hot a couple times but I solved it by putting a hard plastic sheath under it. That tricks the computer to think it is on a hard surface. I think you should be able to put a laptop on your lap but you are advised not to. As this is my first laptop there is a lot to learn. I did not know that the support has to be purchased. If you are new at laptops you might want to invest the 179.00 in a 24/7 support. Support suggested I purchase a fan to put under it. There is no 4pt slot for cameras and that is something that I would have liked. The dvd has to be played in computers and I wanted it to play on my dvd player but support says that can be changed internally. One day at a time with this. Overall it is a good computer. For the sale price I got. I don't plan to return it unless I find something else that is wrong. I put plastic on the pad and use a tiny mouse. Sound is excellent. You can customize this to your needs. Some of the programs are low grade and need an upgraded version.