Lenovo U350

First look: Lenovo IdeaPad U350 laptop

http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/07/lenovo-ideapad-u350.html

We'll have full review soon. Compared to the S12, seems like the fan runs almost all the time.

Windows 7 WEI = 2.9 (but graphics do much better than S12 as comparison)

Can stream HD (720p). Testing some more.

S12 screen slightly brighter and better contrast from what I can tell.

Keyboard excellent. BUT right shift key truncated to fit arrows.

Trackpad by Synaptics. On S12 by ALPS.

More to come... including battery tests.

 

Nice...looking forward to it.

 

I'm considering the IdeaPad S12 and the Acer Timeline 3810 with either the SU2700 or SU3500 processor. Was going to add the U350 to the list as well, until I realized that the right Shift key is not full-size! You'd figure that Lenovo would've learned after the first-gen S10's keyboard! Grrrr! The U350 otherwise seems like a darn nice thin-and-light laptop.

 

We're still testing the U350, and should have review up this week w/more pics, hopefully video too.

I've had a day to play with it, more thoughts to share:

* the fan is on almost all the time, even in energy saver mode; it's not terribly loud (need to measure it), but it is louder than the S12

* the left side of the palm rest gets warm (almost hot at times); the right side remains absolutely cool; I'm disappointed in this as my old T42p is cool all the time, and the S12 is also very good in this regard

* Windows 7 runs well; all drivers installed, no issues there

* If the S12 keyboard is superb, then the U350 is less so, but not by much; unfortunately that truncated right shift key is annoying, and I'm not so sure I like the vertical column of keys to the right of the ENTER key; it does give you nice home/end pgup/pddn keys however

* The screen: again I find the S12 brilliant. Literally. Sharp, bright, easy on the eyes with nice contrast; the U350 is very good, but when sitting side-by-side with S12 you notice it is slightly washed out, and not quite as bright

* Processor wise I find the performance of the U350 to be decent, certainly all tasks were zippier compared to the S12

* Streaming full-screen SD and HD seemed to work ok, but make sure laptop is in power mode first -> we are getting inconsistent results though, sometimes frames are slightly choppy... it might be because of other apps/windows, or that the processor was still shifting to full power mode, not sure yet we need more time

* Battery: 4-cell. Integrates flush into underside (love that). Battery life so far I'd estimate about 4 hours, but we will do more testing on this. It may even be down to 3.5hrs with med brightness, surfing. Hard to tell yet. We'll re-charge a few times and measure

* Wireless: strong signal, no issues

* Trackpad: I really like the texture. Excellent feel. Buttons are large, responsive and much less "clicky" then the S12. One odd thing. When we first received the unit, the trackpad was providing horrible, unpredictable results. We had to set "sensitivity" to the lightest setting in order for it to work without pushing down overly hard

* Price wise though this thing is quite a deal given the processor, memory expansion, bluetooth, multi-touch touchpad, widescreen, etc.

more to come!

 

Thanks for your preliminary run-down on the U350. As slick as it may be, I'm now leaning toward the S12 with VIA Nano CPU and six-cell battery for about $200 less than the U350 that I'd consider buying (U350-296327U). It seems like the S12 would fit my needs just fine, and I prefer Windows XP anyway. I just hope that it isn't too weak and outdated in a year's time.

If I decide to spend a bit more money and go with a thin-and-light laptop, I think I'd consider the Acer Timeline 3810 first. The models with the Intel Pentium SU2700 CPU are selling for $549 these days.

 

XP is outdated.

Do consider the CULV models, the current batch of Atoms and Nanos (N270, N280) really aren't too nice CPUs.

 

Review is up! Cheers.

www.StarkSilverCreek.com

 

A fix for the heat issue:
http://www.notebookforums.com/post3074321.html

 

Nice review, I especially liked the close-up photos. Computer Shopper also recently reviewed the U350 and gave it a 7.9 out of 10. I don't see why Lenovo doesn't include a six-cell battery by default - that's one of the major selling points of the Acer Aspire and it's usage of the efficient Intel Pentium SU2700 and Core 2 Solo SU3500 processors, after all.

Anyhow, I ended up ordering a "previously ordered new" Dell Latitude E6400 from Dell Outlet for $560 yesterday. It's not in the thin-and-light class, but it has a significantly more powerful processor, plus a couple of features that I preferred, namely Windows XP and a matte screen.

 

that's not a fix for the issue. that's just information about lenovo's stupidity when assembling this comp. hopefully they notified lenovo to have it fixed.

and for all those people trying to use these weak laptop to watch 720p youtube, it's not a smart idea. flash is a terrible video player. you can download the 720p youtube file and play it with media player classic. it will run a lot smoother. i can't wait until open video kicks in.

 

Forgot to mention in review:

* expansion access is great
* single piece on bottom removes with 6 screws
* provides access to: hard drive, memory (2 slots, 1 free), wireless/bluetooth, and what appears to be open PCI-express

I think we'll call Lenovo and see what they think about heat & assembly issue. Sounds like something that should be addressed under warranty. If they fix this, U350 is a home run.

 

Thanks for the review shoot2score. Since I'm hardly am a 'power' user and will only use this to Word Process, Skype, surf web and carry around - This'll probably be my laptop of choice.

And great find from freddyspam...Sometimes the rule of common sense doesn't apply anymore. Let's hope that someone raises this via official channels (Lenovo forums I'm guessing would be a good start) so that the powers-that-be can implement a change in their assembly. Now I'm just paranoid when I get mine whether it'll have the same issue (and since I know nuts (and don't have the guts) to remove the heat sink, it'll probably play at the back of my mind...



QUOTE=shoot2score67;5160171]Forgot to mention in review:

* expansion access is great
* single piece on bottom removes with 6 screws
* provides access to: hard drive, memory (2 slots, 1 free), wireless/bluetooth, and what appears to be open PCI-express

I think we'll call Lenovo and see what they think about heat & assembly issue. Sounds like something that should be addressed under warranty. If they fix this, U350 is a home run.[/QUOTE]

 

Laptop Mag review.

 

Shoot2score, I think someone found the root of the problem.

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread229151.html

Dang that is disturbing. Reminds me of when some of the old Macbook Pros with the X1600 had tape over the fan ducts.

 

Is it true that the s12 adapter works on the U350 even though it is a 20 Volt charger?

That is what is stated at the end of this review:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/08/review-lenovo-ideapad-u350-133-laptop.html/3

 

Well, I took the plunge and hooked up a s12 charger to my U350 and it worked. I guess the voltage regulator can handle the 1V differential especially since the s12 charger is 40W. The system acted normal as it charged for two or three hours. Nothing blew up. =) The charger can be bought for ~$20 from lenovo cpp and it is super small and light.

 

New review:

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=14&id=2979&pg=1

 

In Thailand the U350 comes with an Intel® Core™2 Duo processor SU9400 option.
http://shopap.lenovo.com/SEUILibrar...-category-id=475EADB57B7E4FDD821708277AD9DF62

Good knews if you compare performances with the SU3500: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html


Does anyone knows if Lenovo will sell it in USA or Europe?

 

that's some BS! i would so buy this laptop if it had this config.

 

btw it now comes with an su7300.. but the only thing that deters me is the poor battery life.

 

Available now with SU4100 (dual core) and Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit at $599.

I think I'm going to give this a try. I have been waiting for a 13.3" with dual core ULV processor.

 

I have spent some time with my U350 with SU4100 (dual core) and I'm very impressed.

Positive:
1. The screen is very good (better than the others in this class I looked at). It is also very bright. I can turn it down to 50% and it still is plenty bright.
2. The sound is very impressive for notebook this size (after adjusting in the Dolby app).
3. Great construction. It really is amazing how rigid they made this very thin notebook. I was expecting it to have a lot more flex than it does.
4. Keyboard is fantastic. If you plan on typing a lot this is the one you want.
5. Very nice touchpad. This was another deciding factor for me. None of the others I tried were better.
6. Very good looking and don't have to worry about fingerprints. Textured lid makes is east to carry around.
7. Relatively cheap. The other 13.3" notebooks with SU4100 cost more. The Dm3 with SU4100 is $150 more.

Negative:
1. It came installed with 32 bit version on Windows 7 Home Premium. I was expecting 64 bit. The other current versions of U350 come with 64 bit version.
2. 4 cell battery. I have been getting about 4 hours of battery life. I would like more. I plan on picking up 8 cell battery when available.

I'm not sure why the review that just came out (11/11) on this site was done on the SU2700 (single core) version. I guess they could have had review finished for a while before posting. I'm sure the SU4100 performs much better. I will post some benchmarks later so people can seen how SU4100 compares to SU2700. The U350 with the SU4100 seams very snappy on everything I will use it for. I have tried browsing, Word, Excel, Visual Foxpro, and ran some 720p video.

 

The U350 has impressed from day one with it's great looking design, build quality and reasonable prices. I have toyed with the idea of getting one to use when I travel, but the deal-breaker was the poor performance of the 1.3GHz Pentium Dual-Core SU2700 paired with Windows Vista Home Premium.

All U350 models with the SU2700 are based on the cost-cutting Intel GS40 chipset. Models with the Core 2 Solo U3500 or the dual-core SU4100/SU7300 use the GS45 chipset. The GS40 has the GMA 4500M (core clock of 400MHz) while the GS45 has the GMA 4500MHD (core clock of 533MHz) for superior graphics performance. The GS45 also has a power-saving feature that allows the graphics core clock speed down to 320MHz during light use. The GS40 also downclocks the DDR3 memory to 800MHz (the max it can handle).

Lenovo currently has five configurations available on their website- two single core (SU2700/SU3500) with Vista and three with Win7 and the dual-core SU4100/SU7300. Hopefully the lack of a Win7 on any single core model is a sign that all future U350s will be dual-core!

 

Will the SU4100 have any problems playing something like a hulu video full screen or should I step up to the SU7300?

Does the 8 cell battery stick out of the laptop?

 

Just got this delivered today, 699 from Amazon with su7300, so far really liking whats going on but the trackpad is really pissing me off. Its very slow on the drag, tried to download drivers and it told me I already had updated drivers so right now, everything but the trackpad seems to be going well?

Anyone have any tweaks for the drag?

 

jedi -- did yours come with an 8 cell batt? if so, how much does it stick out? I know it increases the laptop weight from 3.5 to 4 lbs, but was wondering about the physical differences.

 

Just got my U350 from Lenovo today. It came with the 8 cell battery and the su7300. The bigger battery really isn't that bad. I'm planning on getting a 4-cell as well. Here are some pix.
Front
Side
Battery outside (note the added rubber supports)
Battery inside
Bottom w/ battery in

Benchmark and battery life tests coming soon!

 

thanks for the pics! you're right it doesn't appear to protrude much. I also went ahead and ordered one of the u350's with the su7300 last week. should be here in a day or two. I'll check out the trackpad and see if I can replicate what Jedi was describing.

 

My experience with u350 touchpad is also somehow mixed. I've been tweaking touchpad settings for the last couple of days to get it as close as possible to the one on the Sony SZ I also use. Compared to the SZ it's really somehow less responsive and less "smooth". Although compared to some other laptops it is still ok. However, buttons on u350 are really bad; so deep and unresponsive. It takes me always 2 or 3 clicks to make it. Otherwise no complains.

 

Sry to resurrect an old thread, but this is as close as an U350 owner's thread as I could find.

I just ordered a refurb U350 with SU4100 and 8-cell battery from the lenovo outlet for $400+tax. I am fairly happy with price. This is cheapest 13.3 with a dual-core processor that I could find.

I am a bit worried about the fan noise and heat problem people reported, but hopefully those reports are exaggerated. Looking forward to getting it!

 

I've just got this laptop mounting a celeron 723,2gb ddr3 and gs45 (4500M).
Did anyone tried to overclock this laptop? If yes..how?

 

Hi, I have U350 with cpu SU3500 and GS45 Chipset
Can I Update the cpu with core 2 duo SU7300?????
Is the cpu solded to mainboard????
Thks a lot

 

Hi!!!! Anyone knows something??????
Thks!

 

Up!!!!!
Anyone can help me?????? Pleaseeeeeeeee
Thks!