Lenovo U300s Owners Thread

That's July 2, 2012.



Teasing

 

I really hope my order from amazon will be on schedule, because I don't live in the states and I am only going to be there for 5 days.

 

Yep, just did it myself. According to my chat, there is only up to 2 year upgrade to in-home + accidental protection. Probably more than I'll need but figured I would go with 2 years anyway.

Looks like $143 + tax is the price if anyone is interested. I asked about any discount codes, etc. and he gave me that price off of the normal $160 (supposedly) just for asking so . . . ask!

He also said that the warranty ADDS 2 years to my existing 1 year warranty. Not sure about that but I'll check once I get the order finalized.

I'm usually not a fan of extended warranties but I figure I'm going to put my first UB through the test so why not get that added protection.

I was NOT able to enter my serial number on the Lenovo warranty site either. I just went to the main Lenovo sales site, started a chat and selected the dropdown that said I was buying a new computer until it connected me with a sales rep via chat.

Whole thing took about 10 minutes.

Cheers!

Jay

 

That doesn't sound right. Usually Lenovo's warranty upgrades replace the existing warranty - ie, instead of 1 year, you would get 2 years.

 

Entering my serial # here let me upgrade my warranty
Lenovo - Warranty upgrades and support

 

Been lurking this thread for the past month or so and want to thank everyone for all their valuable input. Finally got my hands on the grey i5 version. Ordered it on amazon yesterday and got it this morning. I have got to say this is by far the best ultrabook I have seen, hands down. Also for any of you interested this is what I got from the windows performance test.

 

Agreed. That's what I am expecting but the CS rep told me it extended it by the 2 years.

Either way, I'm going to plan on 2 years from purchase date and will be surprised if it's otherwise.

Also, I noticed someone was able to enter their serial number for their U300S, I tried that link and it still doesn't recognize mine.

Oh well!

 

What are the recommended updates? I have updated everything imaginable that could possibly be related, and can not for the life of me make my PTV2000 work.

 

I just installed the updates from the netgear site.
http://www.netgear.com/ptv

 

Damn, doesn't work for me, I had already done that. I also updated all of the drivers at Lenovo's site. Perhaps one of the Lenovo updates actually broke it.

 

On my Samsung Series 7 Slate, I needed to install the Full Intel Proset Drivers (70ish MB) and the WiDi Software for the Netgear to work....

 

Lenovo's IdeaPad U310 and U410 Ultrabooks start at an inexpensive $699, weigh a little more than the competition -- Engadget

U310 and U410 announced. Thankfully, they aren't really a match for the U300s, being significantly mid-range and mainstream than the luxurious beast we have here.

 

still a very decent price for an ultrabook or anything below 3 lbs for $699. got a feeling its the 500gb model though and not the 64GB SSD?

 

Anyone know where I can get a SECOND power adapter for my U300s?

I want to keep one at work and one at home and not have to carry it back and forth all the time (yes, even though I know it's much slimmer than the previous Lenovo power bricks...lol)

 

Where are you based? The UK Lenovo site is woefully understocked

 

The rep I chatted with said my system already had a base 2 year warranty, he was suprised by that as was I. Found one place that let's me check warranty status and sure enough I've got two years.

My rep though allowed me to add just one year ADP coverage for $59 plus taxes, although my order is still showing "in process" so not sure what's up.

 

Thats interesting! I printed a copy of the agreement and it looks like I have 30 days to cancel so if that's the case, I'm on it. I don't think it's 2 years for the original though.

I'll have to check later unless someone has that info handy.

Thanks!

jay

 

Hi All,

Received my U300s i5 on Monday from Amazon. Still getting used to it, but right now I have no complaints.

As mentioned in other posts, this computer has a very small amount of bloat-ware. I did remove MS Office trial as I have my own version to load. Also took out the Lenovo mouse program and One-Key Restore. (There are much better programs to backup and restore disks, partitions and files, in my opinion.)

This computer will eventually be a dual boot with Ubuntu. Will post more as time goes on.

 

Glad to hear we have another owner! I've so far been unwilling to lose the one key restore and no dualboot.. I'm definitely interested to hear about Ubuntu though.

Unrelated... anyone see the preview of the Lenovo Yoga?!!
Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga convertible tablet runs Windows 8, is set to arrive later this year for 'around $1,000' -- Engadget

 

That looks very cool! Just wonder what the keyboard is like when you are resting it on your lap or a desk. Might be kind of weird but a neat design.

Jay

 

New drivers have just become available:

Intel Wireless LAN and Bluetooth - 32bit and 64bit

Trackpad Drivers (Cypress/Synaptics) - here's the page saying there are new drivers, but as yet, no download link (!?)

 

i placed my order for the u300s i5 in grey about a MONTH ago through lenovo. the lenovo rep told me that i won't be getting it until late jan, possibly early feb. BUT i just found that newegg is selling it for $100 cheaper than what i paid through lenovo, and i can get it by this friday/saturday wiith 3-day shipping. so my question is...

should i cancel my order with lenovo? they didn't charge my card yet and the rep told me i have a few days to decide. my concern with purchasing it from newegg is that i'm worried that they have an "old" batch of u300s. i know that lenovo has been pushing back/cancelling their u300s because of the flood. if i go with lenovo, i assume that i'll be getting the latest/most "fresh" batch.

secondly, newegg seems to have a better return/exchange deal. i can return the laptop within 30 days for a new one. but with lenovo, it's only 21 days AND there's a 15% stock fee (applies only if i don't re-order another one).

what do u guys think? cancel my order with lenovo? go with newegg and save $100 + get it this week + slightly better return/exchange policy? also, if i somehow end up not liking the u300s, i can get newegg credit and have access to different brand of laptops. if i buy it through lenovo, i would get lenovo credit and would have to buy a lenovo product.

 

I say go for the Newegg deal. I bought my orange i7 model from Newegg in early December and got it three days later. It's been awesome!

As far as the old / new batch of U300s... they should all be new fresh batches, Newegg repackages boxes shipped from Lenovo US directly to you when you buy. They don't have an old stock pile. (my newegg box had a Lenovo box inside with a UPS shipping label from Lenovo US headquarters in NC to Newegg in California just days earlier).

I haven't heard of any differences between batches. There is the whole Synaptics vs Cypress touchpads but we've learned in this thread that there's no pattern, rhyme or reason, so older or new batch, it's just 50/50 chance. Are there other issues we don't know about?

 

Off topic.... but as for the Lenovo Yoga, here's a nice demo video Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga: Hands On - YouTube that says the keyboard and trackpad are disabled when the screen is flipped 180 degrees. Also, they're recessed so the don't get scratched, etc. Unique for sure, but I like it!

 

I guesstimate that it's not a 50/50 chance, more like 70/30 in favour of Synpatics. I'm not sure if the newest trackpad drivers have solved the cypress issues, but having played with both I would NOT recommend being in that 30%.

 

Can anyone write a bit about heat and noise emmision?
searched the topic, but didn't find and information about those issues.

is the machine stays cool under everyday use? (e.g surfing web, working with documents. not talking about gaming \ heavy videos)
and most important for me is the fan noise. because most of the time i'm in areas which are dead silent, and fan noise can drive me crazy...
I assume that thanks to the SSD, there's no disturbing sounds of the whirring hard drive... (well duh, there isnt HDD)

thanks in advance

 

Please Delete.

 

For those who have owned for a while...

What's your average wake from sleep time?

I've noticed that on mine, the longer it's asleep, the longer it takes to wake up. Up to 10-15 seconds (which is still not THAT bad). After that if I put to sleep then wake up shortly after, it's between 2-5 seconds.

How has yours been doing? Any suggestions to speed up?

Thanks.

 

Please Delete.

 

Fan on mine is usually on, but hardly noticeable. I also like my machines to be as quiet as possible, but the noise of the fan from the U300s is almost negligible. Others may be able to attest to this.

The machines stays relatively cool compared to others. Does get warm, but not uncomfortably so. Can't complain.

Loving the ventless bottom.

 

The default power management settings for Lenovo put the U300s to sleep first, then after being in sleep for 70 minutes, it goes in to Hibernation. If you look in the Windows power settings, it will show hibernation disabled, but it is in fact enabled. Others may know more about this. Hibernation is just to preserve battery. Also, you'll know it from the light on the CapsLock key.

Resume from sleep is advertised as 2 seconds, and that sounds right to me. Resume from hibernation is more like 20 seconds.

 

I have the i5 model.

Fan hums away nicely, the ventless bottom means resting on your knee, or any non-flat surface, doesn't screw up the heat exchange at all. It's quiet and never suddenly jumps in speed apart from at boot.

The only time I have worried for the machine's heat levels was when I installed and played Civilization V on pretty high graphics mode. The machine ran the thing fine, but it got very very hot in the process. I put this down to non-dedicated graphics card and a game in constant need of software updates.

One thing that I don't like is the tiny dust marks that you get on the screen after using, closing and transporting it. The heat comes through the keyboard, and when it's closed some of that air pulls dusty lines onto the screen. They are removed with a quick wipe though. I have looked over countless shoulders of Macbook Pro users and wondered how the hell they cope with their smudgy, dusty screens.

On a related note, I bought and installed a "Kai Anti-Glare (matte) Screen Protector" for my U300s. £12 on eBay. Superb. There is no glare now at all, and it's essentially impossible to tell the screen is anything other than matte.

Cheapest upgrade ever.

 

Thanks for the quick response.

Let's say you're in a quite place (e.g your room, where door and windows closed). total silent area.
if the fan working on idle mode? can you hear the fan? (not talking about if you need to put your ear next to the fan to heat it). If yes - how loud is it?

fan noise are really distracting me.

upon this answer i will or will not get this machine... so please be honest
I dont want to buy and regret

 

For the first month or so, I didn't even realize there was a fan! I thought the breathable keyboard meant passive cooling. I was actually concerned about that Witt the i7 processor.

After reading some posts, I started to listen for the fan and you can hear it but it is, by far, the most quiet laptop I've ever owned. I'm used to the noisy vortex of HP laptops that seem to always run the processor hot and the fans high.

Ventless bottom is awesome and the heat is not too bad at all.

I would say that, if you want silent, you should get a water cooled desktop. If you want nearly silent, the U300S is as close as I've ever seen.

Of course, the fan noise is a bit subjective and you still might hate it but I think expecting anything more quiet than this would probably be unrealistic.

Good luck!

Jay

 

I realize that probably no laptop what so ever will be dead silent.
I'm looking for the most silent.

I think I got my answer now.

thanks a lot

 

Sure is quiet around here

 

Well, we could discuss why Lenovo isn't shipping orange U300s machines...

 

That would be a grand discussion, I've been refreshing this page a few times a day for the last few months waiting for a sweet sweet Clementine Orange i5.

 

Has anyone done the Wireless LAN update yet? Any improvements? My U300s on rare occasions loses the WIFI and is unable to connect. I wonder if this fixes this issue once and for all?

 

New u300s grey i5 owner here. So far very happy, though the trackpad (synaptics) leaves a bit to be desired, and I sure do wish for a backlit keyboard.

I am currently playing around with TwoFingerScroll to see if it's better than Synaptic's version. So far, I think I like it better. Also, it is the only way that I've found to get mousewheel functionality in a VMware player VM.

 

I have half given up on two fingered scrolling. The option to use one finger and scroll down the right hand side of the trackpad has produced better results.

 

Looks like the TwoFingerScroll you posted, dave24, is a much newer version than the one I originally played with. The scrolling definitely is much more sensitive and easier to manipulate than the synaptics default. It actually works better with two fingered scroll enabled simultaneously in the synaptics options.

Thanks

Did you try the experimental smooth scroll feature in Google Chrome? Type about:flags into your browser, enable relevant option.

 

I removed the Lenovo trackpad software and found the Synaptics version to work quite well on my i5.

 

I looked at a U300s in person at Fry's today:

Pros

1. I love the look and form
2. Keyboard is good
3. Weight
4. Slim
5. No intake or exhaust on bottom

Cons

1. Sharp edges
2. Heat. The unit I walked up to was running lid closed and it was warm. Too warm underneath.
3. Poor screen brightness
4. Lid flex
5. Grainy screen
6. Price

 

Hmm, I haven't had a single issue with my wifi. Never dropped a signal in almost 3 months. Are others having a problem?

Is this just on your home or work router or everywhere?

Jay

 

Some of the cons that you list may be specific to the display unit you saw. I have yet to have any heat or grainy screen issues on mine, nor lid flexing issues. It's been running like a champ since I purchased in November. I have the i5 version.

 

I used to have the issue when I first bought and thought it might have been my router. I recently upgraded my router and hadn't had the issue for a couple of months, but just this week started having an issue. I didn't isolate it to the root cause, but took a leap of faith and did the update from Lenovo's site. No issue since. It might have been fluke, but it seems to be working fine without issue again.

 

Yea, who knows what they did to the power management. The fact the machine was running lid closed is suspect to start with. It certainly isn't designed for that.

The screen quality issue is well documented with the T420 and T420s. If you are looking at the screen closely (as in distance), it's pretty apparent. It is often referred to as a screen door effect because the gaps between pixels looks square.

As for the flex, we have hashed through that several times in this thread with early owners. The flex is definitely there. It is not a rigid backing. I guess it might be dependent on your point of reference, but coming from a long line of ThinkPads this machine is no where near them in terms of strength. It is certainly stronger than the Toshiba Ultrabook, but that thing is utterly flimsy.

For me, the buy/no buy decision now boils down to price. I think my wife would like a machine like this but the price prohibits it. I need the 256GB SSD model and there's no way I am paying $1500. I'll buy a real ThinkPad, Mac or Samsung Series 9 for that kind of money.

 

I ordered an orange u300s at the end of december and still waiting to be "processed". Anyone have any luck with getting their hands on one directly from lenovo.com lately? My patience is running low.

 

Honestly, I think Lenovo.com orders are being fulfilled last, if at all.

I got mine on a random December day when Newegg had them. Others have luck on Amazon. I haven't yet heard of anyone actually having one in hand they ordered from Lenovo.com.

Bookmark the pages for the model(s) you want from Newegg and Amazon, and check them twice a day, morning and afternoon. You will stumble upon stock at some point --- I did!

(Typed on my Orange i7 256SSD from Newegg)