Lenovo - IdeaPad 15.6" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 320GB Hard Drive - Black

This is the same as the great B570 series, same body structure ( beats DELL 15R $500 - tested recently, feels more like the metalic Z580 - tested recently) , no squeaks, no hollow feeling, just great plastic structure. Laptop is lighter than the B570 series, weighs as much as the Z580 and you cannot tell that speed is not of an i3 2370m but of a B960 ( the speed diff ias measured at 78 for B960 processor and 79 for i3 2370m). Even comparing to an i5 2450m which should be one and a half times faster you still cannot tell the diff while browsing the internet or searching thru your files. The only time you can tell is if you play games. Great HD camera ( normally you do not find it at entry level laptops).. Excellent mouse, I uninstalled the Lenovo touchppad driver and installed the one from Synoptics.com that made it even more pleasing. Speakers are basic, very basic, but so are in most laptops including expensive ones. This laptop has the DOLBY software which improves dramatically the sound to very acceptable levels. Screen is very bright, also keyboard is one of the best tested ( LENOVOS are famous for that). You can actuall see the letters on they keys even at very low light - amazing ( try that in a $600 DELL). Mouse has separate left and right buttons ( this is great,, you will appreciate it when you try the ones ( including the Z580) that have the single button (what a pain they are, they have tried to imitate APPLE's touchpad but have failed).. Battery is OK too, lasts as long as far more expensive ones. Lastly, I have owned the B570 series ( two of them ) for almost two years now and had zero issues with actual laptops (had a charger that malfunctioned and Lenovo replaced it for free as it was still under warranty - these fail all the time in all laptops). Priced at 299.99 this week and makes circles around DELL, HP, and SONY priced at $500 to $600.

Out with the obvious: At this price, you could probably get a lower price around $249.99 on black Friday but 1) that's black Friday and 2) this is a great price compared to Amazon and other various websites already for what it is. GREAT: Speed: I turned on my Windows 7 Alienware Aurora with SSD and the laptop on at the same time, got to the login screen WAY faster on laptop than my gaming rig. However, there's waiting when you log on, hopefully will go away when I replace the hard drive. Pretty sure Windows 8 has to do with the startup time. Anyways, that being said, I went backwards on high specs to get away from the urge to play games on mobile. Compared to what I'm used to, this laptop is very good and I'm very pleased with the purchase at the price level. Keyboard: I used to own an Asus Zenbook but man, the spacebar issues would make me crazy. I found out later that there's only 1 sensor on the spacebar whereas this Lenovo laptop actually has 2 for better acknowledgement that I pressed the spacebar. Lenovo is known for their awesome keyboards and it very much shows. NOISE: Fan noise is very minimalistic compared to my old laptop, which is expected since the fan isn't dusty yet and parts still lubricated =D Sound: I didn't expect the sound to sound the way it does at this price point. It's very loud, not too washy because of Dolby but a great crisp sound to a fadeaway wash sound that's very, very, very, very, unnoticeable. 4 USB Ports: Has 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 slots, I love that they are 2 on the left (3.0) and 2 on the right (2.0) and not some awkward spot. EXPECTED Battery Life: It markets it at 6 hours but it's really around 4 hours at balanced mode. I have a rule that you take whatever the laptop battery life it has marketed and minus 2 hours, which it follows so I'm okay with that. At the size it is, it's the right battery length. I just wish they would have had a longer life. Weight: Again expected at the 15.6 standard laptop size to weight, but with the new technology we have why couldn't it be lighter? NOT GREAT Numpad: Smaller than normal but expected, don't like the fact that the 0 is below the 2 instead of the normal 1. At least there is a numpad =) Touchpad: When you turn the computer on, it gets to the login screen QUICK. After logging in however, it takes some time to load software or something so the touchpad is not very responsive with multigestures at all. I'm hoping when I replace it with a solid state hard drive it'll fix that issue.

First - if you do e-mail, web browsing, streaming videos, and are doing business/homework then BUY THIS RIGHT NOW. It is way more than you'll ever need. ------------------------------ I was on the market for a netbook and my search brought me to this product (which is actually a full size laptop#. I thought there must be a pricing mistake, so I went down to the local store and sure enough it's only $300! I was not sold on Windows 8 when I picked it up, but thought what the heck!? I've only had the computer for a few days, but I really like Windows 8. If you have a smart phone it will not take you long to adapt to this new style of computing. I have Skype, Netflix, the weather, my mail #syncs to any account), and then the desktop to choose from. I really don't need to use the internet explorer unless I'm browsing. Operation is quiet, plays Netflix and other streaming videos with no problems. Screen is exceptional for the price and doesn't wash out in direct sunlight. Full size keyboard rocks. Lenovo really has the best on the market. No junkware to get rid of. Can't think of anything I don't like about this machine. Windows 8 really makes it very efficient and fast. I have a Lenovo desktop that I purchased earlier in the year and I love that too. Great quality products!!

The first one I bought from Best Buy had a dead pixel after 2 days. This is not Lenovo's fault. I Took it back and exchanged it with no questions asked. I have used Lenovo products before, so I figured I would give it a try. I bought this primarily for college because I already have a gaming desktop I built. I really like the touch pad. It is very responsive. While it may not have the newest hardware, the Pentium R B960 dual core cpu is more than adequate. Windows 8 seems to run very well.(It seems very optimized) A 320 gig hard drive is enough for my uses with a laptop. 4 gigs of ram is plenty . I have not exceeded 40% of it. It is very quiet and I don't hear the hd disk. After seeing all the hate on You Tube about Windows 8, I was a little hesitant at first, but now, I'm glad Windows 8 came with it. I really like Windows 8 now. Don't get me wrong, I love Windows 7 too. Windows 8 is not for computer illiterate people though. The Led display is very nice assuming it has no dead pixels. Overall this is a great little laptop:)

I've never submitted a review before, but I want to beat the drum for this new Lenovo Ideapad. I needed a new laptop to replace my lame old Dell. I figured It couldn't hurt to try out Win 8. I tried the Toshiba Satellite at another store based on really low price and good reviews. First one had a bad optical drive and went back. Second one had a freeze up issue, and went back. I didn't want to try for a third, so I looked through the reviews at Best Buy. How often do you see a product with all 5 star reviews? That was the case on the Ideapad, and that convinced me to give it a try. Great choice! Out of all our laptops this is by far the best in all respects. It's fast and smooth, no hiccups on setup, everything works exactly as it should. The keyboard gives me just the right amount of feedback, and I'm totally satisfied with the display. The speakers sound remarkably good for the size and price. The touchpad isn't great (most aren't) but just install a small wireless mouse and you're set. I've only been running it 4 days, but so far I'm happy with the installed software. All programs run properly, no glitches at all. I'm learning to like Win 8 a great deal. It's fast, and the layout is making a lot of my usual tasks quicker and easier. I tried Win 8 on a touchscreen, and I'll stay with my mouse, thanks anyway. It's really awkward reaching out and swiping at the screen all the time. It takes no time at all to figure out how to navigate with a mouse, and you don't lose any functionality, especially if you go online for a few keyboard shortcuts to help you along. All the talk about needing a touchpad is just hype from the Smart phone crowd. I don't think you can beat this machine for great performance at this price. Everything about it just works, and works right. This has become my favorite computer ever.

Wow.... a laptop that is under $450 with all the quality not found on even more expensive units, and Windows 8 to boot..... what a deal! 4 gig RAM on board, Dolby Advanced Audio, a great display, super fast processor.. just all around good stuff. Battery life is good, being around 5-6 hours using the stock power scheme, which can be adjusted easily to provide even more time between charges. Windows 8 is a VERY different beast - it takes some getting used to. But, this laptop is actually making the transition from Windows 7 easier. One suggestion would be to invest a couple of bucks in a wireless mouse. Windows 8 uses all 4 corners of the screen to navigate to different functions. The touch pad on tis nit is a bit touchy (but I understand there is a driver update/workaround available that helps with this. Anyone who has used a laptop knows that all of the touch pads on them are not the easiest things to use; this machine is no better nor worse in this respect. When on the road, the touch pad is adequate, but a wireless mouse for stationary use saves a lot of aggravation. Also, don't let the 15.6" screen size fool you, as it is a wide screen. This gives you a decent view in a smaller laptop. The sound quality is superior, being loud at 50%. I did a bunch of research before I bought this unit, and assured that it came with a 30 day return option, which I happily will not need to use. You simply cannot go wrong with this laptop; quality, standard options and especially PRICE! I am very impressed!!

For an entry level laptop, this one is amazing. The display is a nice size with crisp display. The touchpad is responsive and sensitive. The speakers are better than expected on the low end machines. Processor is fast and responsive. I'm impressed with the keyboard. I'm a first time Lenovo owner. I ordered 2 of these machines at $319.99. A few days later the price dropped. BB customer service gladly made the adjustments for me. So far, I'm very impressed with the quality and the price!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this laptop, being that it was the least expensive model available, but I was blown away! The build quality is pretty nice, the keyboard is comfortable and has a full-sized number pad, and the hardware performance is really impressive for the price. Despite the fact that the laptop feels reasonably light and compact when carrying it around, the screen and keyboard size are still pretty generous, which is nice. Rounding out the hardware, all of the input ports are conveniently placed, and the inclusion of both HDMI and VGA out is a nice bonus. While this is obviously no desktop-equivalent powerhouse, this laptop seems plenty capable of handling many of my more demanding apps such as programming tools and graphics editing software. I'm even able to run many recent games surprisingly smoothly on low graphics settings, and older games run like butter! Even when running intensive applications in "maximum performance" mode, the bottom of the computer has never feels particularly hot. While the small-ish hard drive foces me to be a bit cautious about what I install and the lack of Bluetooth is an occasional pain, this is overall an outstanding laptop for the price I paid, and I'd buy one again, given the chance.