Lenovo IdeaPad U410 43762BU 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray)

I bought the U410 because it had the best price for an ultrabook with the speed my work requires. The key is the hybrid hard-drive. It has a 32G solid state drive (SSD) and a large traditional drive givin speedy computing experience and capacity. The hybrid works as well as having only a solid state drive but this allows capacity not available in solid state HDs.

The keyboard is good, typical Lenovo. The keys are flat chicklet style. Back lighting is not possible at this price point. I use a LED laptop keyboard light that is USB powered and works better than back-lit keys.

Ultrabooks do not have an optical drive so you need an accessory drive to install new software from DVD. There is no numbers keypad; that is easy to give up in exchange for being much easier to carry.

Be sure you are getting the 3rd generation Intel CPU. Ads are confusing at the moment and you can get 2nd generation and a non-hybrid hard-drive if not careful. In Lenovo series, look for "Prime" in its model name.

Along with the third generation chip, the subsystems in the U410 are quick. The RAM is more than adequate for business use; it may be fine for gaming but I don't know.

I am pleased and can recommend this laptop atLenovo IdeaPad U410 43762BU 14-Inch Laptop (Graphite Gray) $900.

Right out of the box (November 8, 2012) the Wi-Fi speed of my Ideapad U410 was ridiculously low compared to my other laptop, which was sitting right next to it.

I ran three speedtests:

Ideapad U410 Download Speed: 1.50Mbps, Upload Speed: 13.29Mbps

Acer Aspire 5740 Download Speed: 51.29Mbps, Upload Speed: 45.01Mbps

I couldn't even watch a YouTube video without it stopping every 5 seconds for several minutes. Insane!

Updating the Wi-Fi drivers did not solve the problem.

FYI, the Lenovo support forum has a 57-page thread about this Wi-Fi issue, which Lenovo still does not acknowledge.I would strongly recommend NOT purchasing this item because it comes with this serious flaw.

Buy Lenovo IdeaPad U410 43762BU 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray) Now

Hi everyone, I have had this beautiful laptop (ruby red) for a week now. It is a quality built laptop (made of aluminum alloy) and is often compared to the mac due to its quality build. It has windows 8 which I am getting used to (coming from Windows Vista). I love the 3.0 USBs X2. You do not know how important having those is, especially when I am transferring data constantly for homework and projects for engineering. Extremely lightweight and portable which is important for me since I am moving between classes and carrying this on my backpack all dayneed something light. No "optical" drive, or CD ROM drive for playing movies/cd's/etcknow that when you are buying this since it is for making it lighter weight; one can work around this by burning the CD on another laptop and transferring via USB OR by buying an external CD ROM. I might need to purchase an external CD ROM since I desire to download photoshop... and there are 8 CD's. Good to know and be informed as you are deciding..

But, there is a design flaw in terms of the wi-fi. I was aware of an extremely common wi-fi issue coming from Lenova U series (includes this U410 and U310). People would complain that they have either 1) a disconnecting wi-fi internet problem 2) low signals until very close to wi-fi access.

My theory is that since the casing of the laptop is almost 100% thin aluminum, the metal casing is reducing the wi-fi strength. In other words, the wi-fi adaptor is like your cell phone trying to text inside a metal elevator casingreducing the signal or losing it frequently. Also like when you go through a tunnel. Maybe the design flaw is because they are almost mimicking the mac's metal chassis and they failed mimicking on one key part... like allowing an opening for the wi-fi antenna....

RegardlessMy love for this laptop will outweigh returning the laptopfor nowas I am currently purchasing an external wi-fi antenna USB. An antenna will test my hypothesis of whether it is the whole casing, which is the design flaw, or if the brand new network adaptor sucks (unlikely but possible).

Keep you posted.

Edit: 12/6/2012

Design flaw averted by simply adding on cheap external wifi adapter. Acts like an antenna to get better signals than many laptops. Yay!

I bought a CISCO Lynksis external wi-fi adapter for $49.99even though on best buy I saw it for half off. I needed internet ASAP, so I went for it (I can always order the cheaper version, then return with receipt for the current to save 25$ once it arrives)it works! I can even access my n network now. My download speed went from 0MB to 8.6MB; Upload speed from 0MB to 3.6MB on

I tentatively recommend getting this laptop and investing in a $10-50 external wifi.

Read Best Reviews of Lenovo IdeaPad U410 43762BU 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray) Here

I needed a solid upgrade from my EeePC (what a terrible computer). Typing on the u410 is a dream. The screen isn't the highest quality I've ever seen, but one of the best for the price point. YouTube, Hulu and Netflix look great. Stupid fast boot time. All in all, I was leaning heavily on the MacBook Pro. I swore to myself a little while ago that my next computer would be a mac. However, the specs on this Ultrabook blow my friends with their macbooks out of the water. A backlit keyboard would have put this at 5 stars for me. Other than that... purely lovely.

Want Lenovo IdeaPad U410 43762BU 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray) Discount?

If you are doing your research before buying a new ultrabook, be advised that this particular model, as well as the U310 from Lenovo, both have MAJOR wifi issues. The problem is so bad that even Lenovo doesn't know what to do. Just read the forums and you will find people all over the globe sending their machines for over 3 different times with no successful fix!

The internet at my place is a 10mb plan and works well on all others computers and smartphones I have, however, my U410 shows onl 0.3-0.4mb download speeds even if I'm right close to my router!! That is unacceptable! Lenovo says it's a hardware issuae, but how does that work if they can't fix the problems themself?? This company has scre*&^% over so many customers that I don't understand how they are still in business selling this notebook everywhere!

Another big issue I have is with the battery. Do not fool yourself into thinking you've got an 8 hour battery that is supposed to last a full day at the office.... hahahaha it's more like 3.5-4 hours at the max on balanced mode! Plus, this unit does'nt have a backlit keyboard, the screen resolutions is a joke at 1366x768, it's thicker than the pictures illustrate and a little too heavy for a 14" ultrabook.

The only pros I find is the processor and the HD4000 graphics which is just as good as the also installed Geforce 610m... yes, go read the reviews on this old video card and see it for yourself what kind of hardware they are pushing to us.

This is the most valuable piece of info you may find online:I wish I read that before buying this notebook.

PS: No, all U410/U310 manufactured after 7/23/2012 STILL have the same wifi issue, do not trust the administrators from Lenovo! Would you buy a computer from a company which allegedly sells faulty items and just ignores customers when they ask for help in the forums??

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