Chinese company Lenovo is increasingly conquering the market for computers and mobile devices. I must say that in the arsenal of the Chinese there are very interesting products. What is the ultrabook Lenovo IdeaPad U300 worth. He really hit in his day. Its sales were so successful that the company decided to release a logical continuation of this model. So Lenovo was born Ideapad U310. It's time to put all its advantages and disadvantages on the shelves. We will touch upon such parameters as design, technical specifications and ergonomics.
Design
Looking at the U310, you somehow begin to doubt the abilities of Lenovo designers. The old model looked cool - there is no other word for it - bright orange on top, strict black inside. On the one hand, a strict gray color is standard for ultrabooks. But I would like some variety. The keyboard is made in black - also a standard solution. The case itself is made of aluminum.
In shape, the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 is painfully reminiscent of Apple's MacBooks. The same "puffy" cover, the same grilles of the cooling system. On the other hand, such forms for ultrabooks are just that. The time will come, and all manufacturers will begin to make faceless poppy-like devices. Because it was Apple who came up with the most suitable design for ultrabooks.
Set of connectors
Having the right connectors is the eternal problem of ultrabooks. Most manufacturers try to "castrate" their devices and strip them of support for critical connectors. Moreover, Lenovo did not follow this path. There are no new-fangled USB Type C connectors, there are full-fledged USB 3.0. There is an RJ45 port for connecting a local network or wired Internet. And what is already quite surprising is the full-sized HDMI connector.
The remaining connectors are standard for any laptop: a connector for connecting a charger and a connector for audio. By location, all of these elements do not cause any discomfort during their active use. Lenovo has always had everything in order with ergonomics. Notebook Lenovo IdeaPad U310 was no exception.
Keyboard
The most important component of any laptop. It depends on the keyboard whether it will be convenient to use the device. And here she did not disappoint. The Lenovo IdeaPad U310 has an island type keyboard with a slow key travel. For typing - what you need. For games, of course, it will not work. Yes, you can’t play on this ultrabook. Not enough power. So such a keyboard just fits this device. What really pleased me was the full-size arrow buttons. For this Lenovo special thanks. And then most manufacturers began to cut back on “unnecessary” keys in the name of saving space. And ergonomics suffer from this.
Specifications
Now it's time to delve into the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 stuffing. Technical specifications for an ultrabook are even nothing. Typically, such devices are much weaker. But this is Lenovo. They cannot without power. It should be noted that laptops of the middle price segment are usually equipped with such a filling. All the more interesting will be to sort through all the components of this ultrabook.
CPU
Lenovo desperately wanted to equip the device with an Ivy Bridge generation processor. Therefore, I had to install a second generation Intel Core processor. The fact is that the generation of the third model so far only supports Sandy Bridge technology. In any case, the ultrabook is available with Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Moreover, the "stones" of the i5 and i7 series have a special turbo mode, which turns on automatically when the load on the processor increases. Thanks to this, the processor clock speed doubles. So far, the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 Ultrabook can only boast of such processors. Perhaps in the future the third generation will nevertheless “finish” and the device will be updated. Who knows?
RAM
The ultrabook is equipped with four gigabytes of RAM type DDR3. Notice, not even DDRL! Although the battery life is not particularly affected. The operating frequency of this "RAM" is 1333 MHz. Of course, this is not enough in our century, but since it is not planned to play on this device, as well as to perform complex calculations, such a volume is what you need. For browsers, 4 GB is more than enough.
The unpleasant thing is that the laptop does not have a dual-channel mode of RAM. There is only one slot for the DDR3 “bar”. Meanwhile, the performance gain when working on two channels is very significant. Due to the fact that there is only one slot, you can not even increase the amount of RAM. Will have to be content with 4 GB.
Video card
Nothing supernatural here. The integrated graphics chip Intel HD Graphics 3000 acts as the main graphics card here. There are not so many possibilities, but the chip will cope with Full HD video and browser games. It makes no sense to put a discrete video accelerator in ultrabooks, and there's nowhere to go. The small volume of the case does not provide such an opportunity. The case is quite small and the Lenovo IdeaPad U310. The characteristics of the video system are therefore not distinguished by anything special.
It should be noted that low-power Intel HD Graphics 3000 are equipped only with models on the weak Core i3 processor. The remaining versions are equipped with a more powerful 4000 series graphics adapter. It is capable of pulling almost all games. Even the most demanding, however, only at the minimum settings. What to do is sacrifice performance in the name of saving space.
HDD
Here is a very successful tandem of HDD and SSD drives. Moreover, SSD is used only for the system cache, and HDD for storing information. By the way, the volume of the same HDD is not particularly impressive. Only 500 GB. So, turning this ultrabook into a multimedia center will not work. Yes, he is not designed for this. For the work and web surfing, such a number of gigabytes is enough.
The most interesting thing is that you can manually disable SSD caching (and it is turned off by default). This is probably done in order to reduce the power consumption of Lenovo IdeaPad U310. It also does not turn on for the reason that each user decides for himself whether he needs it or not. However, for performance reasons, this option is better to enable. It is turned on from the BIOS device.
Network and Internet
The network adapter is presented by a board based on Intel Centrino. This board provides a very good speed wireless and wired connections. But the main "trick" of this network card is not this. Intel Centrino has WiDi digital signal technology. A very useful thing if your TV is equipped with a Wi-Fi transmitter. You can watch a movie on a laptop, broadcasting the transfer to a TV.
The ultrabook is equipped with an RJ45 connector for connecting to a local network or to a wired Internet. But what’s interesting, the connection speed is a maximum of 100 Mbit per second. Apparently, the company did not want to install a gigabit adapter for reasons of economy. And it, by the way, is very necessary in our time, since 100 Mbit per second is already the last century.
But Bluetooth is not installed by default. It comes optional in the most expensive models. And the ancient version 4.0. Why manufacturers did everything just like that is unclear. Probably out of the desire to reduce the cost of the final product. In any case, you can live without a bluetooth adapter. His absence is not critical at all.
operating system
By standard, along with the ultrabook comes Windows 7 Home Basic Edition. A bit of an incomprehensible solution. Not only does this edition of the OS have a certain "cutback" in comparison with the pro version, so the seventh version of Windows is also becoming obsolete. And not by the day, but by the hour. It would be much better to ship this product with Windows 8.1 on board.
You should not expect a version of a device with Ubuntu or something “Linux-like” on board. Still, this is a mass product, and most people for some reason prefer the Bill Gates brainchild. And there is no guarantee that all components of the ultrabook will work fine under Linux. So in this case it is better to use "Windu".
Sound
This component is represented by the Conexant HD chip. He will not be able to provide any “unearthly” sound, but he will be enough for standard music playback. By the way, Lenovo IdeaPad U310 is equipped with a combined input for connecting a speaker system and a microphone. Of course, in terms of saving space, this is a great solution, but what about usability? It turns out that it is impossible to connect speakers and a microphone at the same time. Please purchase an adapter. Laptop speakers are located in a somewhat strange place - on the fold of the lid. That is, to hear a normal sound, you need to fully fold the screen. And given the weak viewing angles of the display, you begin to doubt that you will see at least something there in this case. So such a speaker arrangement is the worst thing you could think of.
If someone is not satisfied with the standard sound card and speaker system, you can buy a USB sound card with more impressive parameters and turn the ultrabook into a mini-studio. There are any connectors for speakers and microphones in excess. In addition, the presence of full-sized USB-connectors in the amount more than necessary for this ultrabook is enough.
Screen
The ultrabook is equipped with an inexpensive TN + Film matrix screen. The maximum resolution is 1366 * 768 pixels. Not much, of course. Devices of the same category have long been equipped with screens with Full HD-resolution. The disadvantage of this cheap matrix is that the viewing angles are frankly none. Lenovo IdeaPad U310 Ultrabook can be comfortably used only by sitting directly in front of the display without deviating it by a single degree. Then the colors will not be distorted. True, if a more expensive matrix were used here, then this laptop would by no means be worth such ridiculous money. So everything has its advantages.
The brightness of the screen is not very pleased. Even the cheapest laptops can boast much greater brightness. Against sunlight, this screen will not stand. So it is recommended to use an ultrabook indoors, because against the sun you will not see anything on it. But what else could you expect from a budget screen?
Contents of delivery
There is nothing superfluous in the box. The laptop itself and the charger. Well, a couple more pieces of paper with a guarantee and instructions for use. All. Could at least put a cloth for cleaning the screen. Although what to demand from an ultra-budget ultrabook? The box is black with the proud inscription Lenovo IdeaPad U310 59337930. The last digits indicate the numerical identifier of the model. Well, at least the box was made black, not the color of ordinary cardboard. Of course, if the device were more expensive, then on the box there would be more information about the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 - description, photo. But this is not. So you have to be content with little.
Battery
The battery is represented by a battery of 54 W per hour. The number of cells is six. According to the manufacturer, this nutrient is able to maintain the device in working condition for 7-8 hours. Oddly enough, this is just the case when the claimed characteristics coincided with the real ones. Ultrabook can really last up to eight hours on a single battery charge.
By the way, eight hours is not the limit. If you turn on the power saving mode, set the screen brightness to minimum and do not overload the laptop much, you can achieve much better results. The maximum battery life in energy saving mode with the above parameters was about ten hours. A very good result for a budget ultrabook.
Product Reviews
Popular retailers are full of positive reviews about the Lenovo IdeaPad U310. For example, many praise its successful design. But most reviews rely on very good performance for a budget ultrabook. However, there are negative reviews (as without them). But for the most part they come from people who have received a product with a factory defect. The most common complaint - Lenovo IdeaPad U310 does not turn on. Since most owners do not have such a problem, it is logical to assume that the factory-defective model came across a dissatisfied friend. In general, the reviews are positive. So, the novelty is quite acceptable in quality and price.
Summary
Ultrabook Lenovo IdeaPad U310 is good for work. In this regard, there is nothing better than him. Powerful, comfortable, lightweight, inexpensive. What else is needed? For special gourmets, there is a special version of Lenovo IdeaPad U310 Touch with a touch screen instead of the usual one. However, if the device is purchased for work and Internet surfing, then such "bells and whistles" are completely superfluous. The normal version is quite enough.
The technical characteristics of this laptop are such that with it you can safely work, watch Full HD-video and even play some toys that are not particularly demanding on system resources. A great option for students and just busy people. Moreover, for the price this is the most advantageous offer. Ultrabook Lenovo IdeaPad U310 is what most users need.