Not quite as solid as a Thinkpad, but not the price of one, either, nor the weight. And much sexier. This is a larger 15.6 inch version of the U350, the earlier version of which critics seemed to love for form factor, but complained about sub-par processing performance. The new lineup seems to fix that problem, and now it is the complete package. The SU7300 Core 2 Duo is lightning fast for the tasks I am doing to this point. Granted, I haven't pushed it to generate 3D CAD drawings, but for Office, Web browsing, working with iTunes and the things most of us do on a daily basis, I certainly am impressed. Huge HD, plenty of RAM. Beautiful keyboard as always from Lenovo. It does lack Firewire, but has every other connection you could want. 3 USBs are nice, as is the card reader and HDMI output. I thought it had bluetooth, but I can't seem to locate it this appears to be a difference between this beautiful black version (bought right here on Amazon) and the brown versions sold by Lenovo directly. The other difference appears to be I seem to have an integrated graphics card, while the brown Lenovo version has a 512MB card. Not that I can tell a difference so far. This is a great value.
Pros
* Combination of 15.6 inch screen and relatively light weight
* Relatively long battery life
* Reasonably solid construction
* More than sufficient for moderate MS Office use and heavy internet/ entertainment use
Cons
* Lenovo customer support is a bureaucratic nightmare
* Numeric keypad occupies right-most section of the keyboard, shifting the remainder of the keyboard to the left
* Glossy screen and body translates into a grimy appearance due to finger prints
* Screen will slam shut against the keyboard unless you slow it as it closes
My previous Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop was near death, so it was time to replace it after ~ 4 years of heavy use. I was happy with the Dell, but it was a heavy beast that plowed through battery power. In looking for the replacement, I wanted an impossible combination of desktop replacement like the E1505, but minus the weight, bulk, and limited battery performance of the E1505. Upon shopping, I was unimpressed with MacBook Pro given the price. Other Wintel thin and light machines appeared to be cheaply built or with low-quality components/ limited screen size. The Lenovo Ideapad U-550 stood out to me as a higher quality build with a large screen. I knew that it came with a glossy screen, but I couldn't find any other comparable machine without this annoyance. Also the numeric keypad placed on the rightmost section of the keyboard displaces the other keys to the left, which seems unnecessary to me (how many of us really key in data with a numeric keypad?).
All considered, I am happy with the purchase. The U-550 is easy to carry around, is good for the intended use (i.e. moderate MS Office use, heavy use for internet, movies, music), and has a reasonable battery life (~4+ hrs under perpetual use, less with a movie/ DVD thrown in).
The major shortcoming is Lenovo customer support. I wanted an additional battery for the U-550 to really cover a 6 hour flight under moderate use with DVDs. Attempting to get even this simple of a request accommodated through Lenovo customer support was a true nightmare. It took two days of transfers and frustration. Dell support was much better (but I was not impressed with their thin and light PCs).This is my first Lenovo laptop and so far it has been a good experience. On the practical side, the laptop has a bigger screen than my old 15" Dell Latitude, but so much lighter that it doesn't hurt my back carry it around in a shoulder bag. It is very quiet. That battery seems last forever. Design-wise, being an architect, I think it is one of the best looking laptop out there that is not a mac (but so much cheaper). It looks very thin. It has a very interesting texture on the cover that reminds you of a Louis Vuitton bag. From gadget standpoint, beside the multi-touch pad, the computer come with a face recognition software that work with the built-in webcam, so you don't have to type in password ever again to log in.I was just about to purchase this Ideapad U550 from but, I read the first review on this product and changed my mind due to the color comments. The ones on Lenovo website are DARK BROWN, I read these ones were BLACK but NOT... they're DARK BROWN also so don't get confused. The color is not bad, let's say it's different from the one I thought I was purchasing.
I recieved my deapad U550 (model # 374959U) on Dec 10th and so far it's up to spec, shipping was pretty fast (Free Super Saving) and got on the third day to South Texas.
If you don't mind getting a DARK BROWN laptop, this is a great value for $699.99 (4GB + 320GB), if you want to save $110 usd, get the 3GB + 250GB HD.
Note: Amazon's description says it's 1000GB but it's a 320GB HD.
Happy Holidays !!!My lenovo y 430 is just 1+ year old it has screen flickering issue. Same problem with my friend's. Horrible customer service. more over you will not find parts in market.
DONT BUY!! Check the lenovo forum to get clear idea.
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