U300s is officially released?

I am so confused...
Lenovo.com does not have it, so as many other resellers.
Although Abt.com actually has it in stock (I even confirmed it after talking to their sales department, physically "few" in stock) ( 10802BU - Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Gray Ultrabook at Abt)

I am wondering how the abt.com have it. Looks like nowhere else actually has
it in stock.

Does anybody know when this is going to be updated on Lenovo.com?
I can't decide my mind whether to get the u300s from abt.com or wait until
the price goes down and "officially released" (hopefully on the Black Friday)

 

That is odd...

In any case; I would wait to see what people/reviewers think of the laptop. Dropping over $1k on an all new laptop without seeing what the laptop is actually like in the "real" world may not work out in the end.

 

I still crack up when I see all the retailers listing the fully decked U300s for $1599. 1366x768 and no backlit keyboard for that?

Better be some damn good reviews.

 

CNET has a review up:
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

Looks like battery life and performance falls a little short of an air. I'm gonna wait a couple generations for them to optimize ultrabook design. Especially with ivy bridge coming out next year (performance++, heat--, power--)

 

It's only one review and no offense CNET, but your testing methodology seems suspect. It's really hard to tell if you are comparing the orange IdeaPad to the Apple properly. What exactly do they test for battery life? A looping video?

Here's the Intel processor comparison. If nothing else was taken into account, I would expect the U300s to consume more juice just because of the CPU.

But that doesn't take into account battery size and storage capability, consumption by the LCD panel, power management by Windows and Lenovo software, etc.

More reviews will expose a trend. One trend is a given, it seems everyone will question the price when looking at the screen resolution. I see a price drop in the near future.

 

I'm with you on this. The power consumption and the screen res just aren't gonna cut it in the current ultrabook market. Between Asus, Samsung and Apple, there's little reason to consider the U300s.That is a full on laptop. From the review, " The 13.3-inch display has a native resolution of 1,366x768 pixels, which is typical of a 13-inch laptop. But, for $1,600, we're not wrong in expecting a little more."

They're very polite about it.

and @ windelicato, nice avatar.

 

As much as I like the U300s design, the display resolution really puts it behind the 8 ball when competing head-to-head with the Asus UX31. I hope that the next generation of ultrabooks brings a Thinkpad X1 Ivybridge redesign that looks like a thinkpad, has a decent HD+ 13.3" display, an SSD and 6 hour battery life.

 

I'm following this model closely because Lenovo tends to more aggressively discount their laptops than Apple, Toshiba or even Asus. If this can be found for 30% off list the way the X220 can then it will represent a compelling value. But at list price it is a harder sell.

 

I've heard others say the price will drop around the holiday season. The X220 deals you spoke of, were they through Lenovo.com specifically or another retailer?

 

Directly through Lenovo.com is a great way to save if the coupons are good. Here is a direct link to sales and coupons they advertise: Lenovo - Lenovo Deals!- Limited time offers on laptops, desktops and accessories

Using Google to find coupons can also net some good deals. (To use at Lenovo.com)

Look around and see what is the cheapest. It will be interesting to what Lenovo does with the pricing of this since their sales have been way up this year.

 

Yep, the best deals tend to be through lenovo.com, but often in conjunction with a partner like MasterCard marketplace or B&N. You can find these deals at all of the popular sites.

For example, I got a quote for an X200 with I5, IPS and several minor upgrades for $720. And $60 less if you forgo the OS.

 

Microsoft Store has it...

Microsoft Store Online - Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (1080-2CU)

I was thinking of getting one but I have to ask 1 question, if say we want in-home service do we just call up lenovo and pay for it or?


Edit: It used to be there in the morning :/....so it either sold out or microsoft made a mistake by putting it up...

 

The more expensive version is at Microsoft Store Online - Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (1080-2DU)

I think the more interesting machine is listed at Microsoft Store Online - Samsung Series 7 Notebook (14.0-Inch)

 

That is a pre-order though, when I saw the one I linked it was actually Add to cart.

 

It was probably either a mistake or they could have quite possibly sold out. That online store does tend to hide entries when they have no stock.

 

It's listed on Amazon as out of stock. http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-10802B...YW/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1320267113&sr=8-16 I would assume that it will not be much longer.

 

Is the memory upgradeable on this notebook? Can you install 8GB total?

 

All the specs that I've read says the max memory is 4GB. Lenovo also says that. Lenovo - Laptops - IdeaPad - U Series - U300s (US)

 

Do we have any speculation on when the official release date will be? The pages say November 2011, and it's already available through resellers, but it's still listed as "coming soon" on Lenovo's site. Seems strange to me...

 

I think patience will pay off on this one. You notice the reviews are starting to come in on the U300s and most of the reviewers have pretty consistent feedback. The top end U300s performance and features don't justify the price.

I'm also a little surprised at the storage options for the U300s. 128GB is too little and 256GB is too much. So that takes the 128GB model off the table for us and I really don't like the idea of paying a premium for storage that isn't needed. It would be nice to have a 160GB option.

Hopefully the current early adopters aren't going to get screwed over too badly, but it sure looks like the price will need to change. And Lenovo, thanks for the measly $30 discount to EPP shoppers on your website for the U400. LOL. What a joke.

 

@ Thors.Hammer

I don't see U300s listed on (my) EPP. The U400 is discounted $30 and the U460 is only discounted $20. You're right, the discounts are small....

On my previous laptop, I really thought I needed the 256GB and paid the extra for that. In actual use, I found that I could easily make do with 100GB though -- especially as I had a couple of Class 10 SD cards and 64GB USB 3.0 drive...

 

It is not listed at lenovo.com yet so it won't show on the EPP site until it is. Hopefully they will do some discounting like they have with the U400.

Apparently the "Ultrabooks" aren't flying off the shelf. The recent articles I've read amount to common sense. Everyone is trying to compete with the Apple MacBook Air yet NOBODY has created a product that actually competes head-to-head, feature for feature. Then there's the price in a depressed economy.

We'll see if Lenovo does some discounting. I am not buying at $1449.

 

...trying to find the source, but there's a U300s spec sheet PDF floating around that had an 11/11/2011 release date. The fact that we've heard nothing yet makes me wonder if its related to the ssd shortage and flooding in Thailand.

edit:
here's where I had read that:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/622721-ideapad-u300s-specs-ipbook-pdf.html

And kudos to Thors.Hammer for being the source... you guys obviously already knew this.

 

We've heard even less about the U300, the non s version. I had to just check Lenovo's site to make sure it was still there. It'd suck if they pulled an LG P330 with it and not actually make the computer after months of hyping it up. The U400 customization section shows a ship date of 11/17 so maybe..??

Also still no sign of the SSD+HDD combo for this RapidDrive setup they advertise. Lenovo is dropping some serious ballage here. I somewhat suspect the Thailand floods as well.

Thors Hammer, about what you say with the MBA references, I agree. It's amusing to read about & watch.

 

There's also a U300e ...according to Lenovo:
Lenovo - Laptops - IdeaPad - U Series - U300e (US)

No idea what it is, although it does have same specs as the U300.

 

I wouldn't say the exact same specs....slightly heavier and seems to cater to the non-SSD crowd a little more because it advertises up to 1TB hard drive or 64GB ssd

 

They are exact... the U300 and U300e appear to be same specs, each with 8gb RAM at up to 1TB. The U300s is the one with SSD standard.

 

Engadget just posted a review: Lenovo IdeaPad U300s review -- Engadget Still seems incredibly strange to me that it's available everywhere except Lenovo's own site.

 

The Verge has a good review also, with an excellent video (even though they are a known Mac centric site). Lenovo IdeaPad U300s ultrabook review | The Verge

I just inquired about my order from ABT, and they just told me Lenovo expects to ship within 7-14 days to the US.... here's hoping!

 

"available"? I don't think that any stores have them available. I thought that some were just taking "pre-orders" or "7-14 days" or ...

 

People have reported getting them from places like ABT and Amazon. One of the other posts in this section is a user review of the laptop

 

You're right. One person has reported getting it from ABT.

 

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

Hey - I took a lot of time writing up a review on this thing!

I am trying to attach a pic of the U300S. Not sure if I have enough posts but it's on a messy hotel desk. I took the pic with your 'pics or it didn't happen post' so you know it's current

If you read my review, you'll see I didn't believe ABT had it either. That's why I did overnight shipping.

Hopefully this works!

Jay

 

@ Jay,

LOL.... We believe you have it!!!

EDIT: But we don't know that you got it from ABT

 

I'm so jealous! I think Abt had the grey one in stock, but not the orange. ...which is why I'm having to wait. At one point Amazon had listed a specific amount available, but they're all gone now. 1st round maybe?

 

Thank you to those who have posted their review thus far.

 

I talked to several lenovo reps, and the consensus is that it should be out by the end of the month but that lenovo hasn't given them any information whatsoever. Take that for what you will.

 

ROFL. Thanks man. We are all jealous. How's the honeymoon? Still digging the U300s?

 

Glad you guys got a chuckle out of that - if that didn't work, I was going to take a picture of the thing on top of today's newspaper

Still liking it alot. Just bugged by the 'f' key issue. If you read my review - I'm having issues with the 'f' key registering a key press on a consistent basisi. Sometimes no 'f' sometimes 2 of them. I thought it might be that the location of the support is right under that key but I'm not so sure.

I'll wait until a few others have it and I can see it's just mine or if it's a software thing or what.

Otherwise I'm very happy with it! Nice and light, good battery life. Fine performance - everything I expected!

Jay

 

I had a similar issue on the W510. I had them ship me a replacement keyboard. Problem solved. I don't know how easy that is on the U300s and frankly it's probably the last set of questions I have.

Replacing a keyboard on a ThinkPad in the W, T series machines is pretty easy. The same could be said for RAM or hard drives.

But the U300s is more of a sealed case design. How hard is it to crack the case and fix/replace a component? Anyone seen the hardware maintenance manual? I went looking for it a few days ago.

Take it easy Jay. Thanks for the hardware p0rn. Shoot some more pics when you get a break from work.

 

JAYK1,
Have you considered ASUS UX31 or U36SD by chance? I am in the market for a portable laptop for documents, web surfing, and photoshop editing (hobby). Any other laptops you considered? What are you thoughts/opinions? Thanks!

 

Yeah, the jury is definitely out on the 'f' key issue. Thanks for the tip! I'll let you know how this all progresses.

Jay

 

I did look at all of the ultrabooks in some detail. Reviews weren't great on the keyboards on those and I really felt uncomfortable with only having 128GB SSD.

I haven't picked up, typed on or used any other model but I definitely wanted USB 3.0 (I think one of those models maxes at 2.0 and I specifically purchased a 7200RPM USB 3.0 external hard drive for this ultrabook since I knew even 256GB SSD wouldn't be suffficient).

I was very interested in the Toshiba but the timing of the release didn't work and the reported slow speeds made me reconsider.

Honestly though, I think I would have picked up whichever Ultrabook was released at the time I needed one. I kind of see these as throw away consumable devices as opposed to a desktop replacement laptop. Funny how that works since I paid the same for each In my opinion, Intel and the manufacturers want us to think that way so we look at upgrading every year or two like people do with Apple computers.

I guess we'll see.

Other than the 'f' key issue I'm still very happy with the Lenovo. Battery life has been well over 5 hours when I've used it that much off power. I haven't had to really test the battery life though.

I did start using a very small BT mouse this week so I could turn off the touchpad. I don't hit it often but sometimes I just get in a rut and can't keep from hitting it accidentally. Might be when I'm tired or using it on a different surface but every once in a while I get in a funk and hit the touchpad without meaning to. Good news is that it's not common/often but it's annoying when I get into one of those grooves. I have had that with all of my laptops over the years so nothing specific to the Lenovo.

Hope that helps!

Jay

 

Lenovo has delayed the full release of the U300s, AGAIN!

See Lenovo - Laptops - IdeaPad - U Series - U300s (US)

Now it says " Coming in December"

 

I ordered the orange i7 108027u model from ABT about two weeks ago... just received this email today:

"Lenovo representatives contacted us today to let us know that there will be further delays on receiving the 108027U in our warehouse. Lenovo has just informed us the pre-order time frame has been extended. Product availability is very constrained. The estimated time of arrival is currently unknown. We will continue to update you if the estimated date of arrival on this product changes again."

 

Considering the ASUS UX31, Toshiba Z830, and Samsung Series 9 are prominently displayed in the BestBuy by me, it seems they are positioned where Lenovo is not. Ready for Black Friday and the most important buying timeframe of the season.

I'm not sure what happened, but considering many of Lenovo's competitors are ready, not having the U300s stuffed in the channel right now is really, really bad.

 

I chatted with a Lenovo rep (...and take this with a grain of salt, it was the chat on lenovo.com) who said the delay was a direct result of the floods in Thailand and there was no estimated release date. But he had heard rumors of a December 9 release but no guarantee. I'd love to see it out this week, but Dec 9 would be fine with me... I don't want to wait until next year.

 

Thanks Jay. One of major downside of UX31 is the wifi problem. The space and portability are great on UX31 but I may have to bite the bullet since U300s is delayed til December.

 

Is this affecting the supply of everyone?