Ideapad U330 - Buy it or not?

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P7350 ( 2GHz 667MHz 1MB )
GenuineWindows Vista Home Premium12
13.3 WXGA LED Backlight TFT 1280x800
ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB
3 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz 8
320GB 54004
DVD Recordable 5
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 510010
6 Cell Lithium-Ion60
One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)7
1 Yr At-home IdeaPad Warranty with 1Yr Accidental Damage Protection

Total: $1,137.67 (before taxes)

 

I'd wait. Its gotten a bit more expensive since launch. Besides, even if you ordered now, you won't be seeing it for awhile.

 

and i say don't wait - u won't be charged till it ships anyway so if you get a late september or early october ship date - you have quite a while to cancel if you find a better laptop or if u just change ur mind....

might as well get a ship date of as early as you can!

cuz i ordered it and i'm looking at other laptops like mad but cant find a single one that justifys the cancel of this one....so i won't until i get it and test it out (still a 14 or 21 day 100% return policy)


also waiting for the price of the e4300 even thought it will def be more expensive.

 

I'm with Kick on this. I have one on order and I've been looking for more info on the new Studio XPS M1330 and even looked at the rumors for the new Macbook that might be intro'd on the 9th.

So far nothing beats the U330.

 

only laptop that really comes close to it is the z. maybe the sr.
but the z at 1k plus. and a more expensive warranty as far as accidental damage goes.

The e4300 will be more expensive and will not have switchable graphics.
u330 will have the lenovo keyboard
either would be a good choice... but why wait as long.
dell will take a month. Youll have ur 330 waybefore your unreleased dell.

 

I agree with you....Macbooks (not Pro) don't have the dedicated graphic card + they are more expensive + older RAM and processor.....we will have to see what the new macbooks will be like (it will be a surprise if they offer switchable graphics too)

 

bought a m1330 from sams club few days ago since i sold my sony SZ waiting for this, and i like it, but just not excited about it like the SZ which i like 10x more and basically means i know its not for me unless theirs a redesign of some sort.

like the macbook air besides the osx/being a mac part. but won't even look at that till a refresh.

and sams club has a 6 month return policy on laptops....100%, so i'll take it back once i get the u330.

and yah def like the sony Z but the price doesn't justify it compared to the u330....not at all

the sr isn't bad, and closer in price but still more expensive with slower ddr3 memory and also no hdmi - which is a killer for me cuz the SZ didn't have it either and its the one thing i always wished i had cuz i have a 50" plasma hdtv

 

there is one laptop i keep looking at: the MSI MS-1223, its a MSI laptop, 12.1" WXGA, HDMI

0.6-1.1" thick, and a very light 3.5 pounds (with 8 cell battery included)

but few problems: uses ddr2 memory which isn't bad for me too much (just nice to say i have ddr3 even though no one uses the practicality of it right now). also i don't think has a led screen but looking into that, and can't find info on battery life, although it is an 8 cell so should be pretty good (does it make it stick out a bit though). oh and only integrated, but don't care about that personally. would take the size/thinness/weight over graphics (but thats me)

magnesium alloy case, etc

it is mainly a barebones case, meaning just add the cpu and then get the hard drive and memory off of ebay to save good amount sof money - i def like the thinness and weight though, and has HDMI.

lol any thoughts on it? wondering if anyone else sees this as potentially good as i do.

 

It looks like a steal, where else can you find DDR3?

 

Soooo shoud I wait or buy?

 

I agree with Kickace. Order it and keep shopping around, see if you can find anything better.

 

Yeah, I think I will do that.

But what do you think about the u330?? is it a good laptop?? is it worth it?

 

At the current pricing it's a definitive winner. It's cheaper than Sony SR and comes with HDMI plus hybrid graphics. Dell is a long way from releasing the next 13" XPS.

There are uncertainties for the U330 though: build quality and heat.

 

I wouldn't get your hopes up. Just talked to a Lenovo rep about my order and early October is being overly optimistic.

As for addressing the U330's unknown qualities, all the Chinese reviews don't really complain about build quality. But at the same time, they don't really sing praises for it since its nothing spectacular either. Don't kid yourself -- magnesium aluminum alloy of the U330 is the same material my Averatec is made out of, and it feels just like any other plastic composite material.

Also, the Chinese reviews tend to find the U330 a bit on the hot side with 41-43*C exterior temperatures under load. But hopefully, the P7350 processor should keep things somewhat cool.

But I'll agree that it sounds better than the other options out there now.

 

I ordered and stopped shopping. However, after reading what you posted about October being optimistic, I may just have to cancel and get the Dell latitude i was looking at.

 

What about a gateway??

This is the specs

Gateway M6862

Intel� Core(TM)2 Duo Mobile 2.0GHz (667MHz)
15.4" WXGA widescreen TFT-LCD with Ultrabright technology (1280 x 800)
4GB SATA
PC2-5300 DDR2
250GB(5400 rpm)
Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
2x DVD-R DL; 2.4x DVD+R DL, 8x8x8 DVD+RW; 8x6x8 DVD-RW; 5x DVD-RAM; 24x16x24 CD-RW
ATI Mobility RADEON HD 2600
512MB GDDR3
Built-in Intel® Wi-Fi Link 4965 network connection (802.11a/b/g/n)
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1

Total: $749.99 (before taxes)

 

Im between those two, lenovo and gateway.
Which one is better?

 

Can you share what the rep told you? I've been keeping an eye out for the elusive chat box on Lenovo's site to ask myself, but haven't had any luck. I hate customer service over the phone too much to call in. My ship date so far has held steady for 9/22. Thanks

 

that is an ENTIRELY different class of laptop, old technology, etc

 

Mine has been pushed back to 10/2 according to the rep even though it still says 9/19 on the site.

As for the Gateway vs U330, it depends what you want. Power? Go for the Gateway, although there are much cheaper and powerful alternatives if you go the 15.4" route such as the HP dv5t. Portability? U330.

 

well only gaming power in my opinion, every other power is won by the u330, faster processor with 2.0ghz 1066mhz fsb and 3mb cache, ddr3 memory, etc.

only power that wins is video card, which may be the main reason for buying for some people - all up to you

 

what about the heat problem???
Is that bad as the xps m1530 and m1330 heat problem???

 

any answer?

 

Just search the forum, I've posted some picture from a chinese review.

 

THis waiting is killing me! I don't know if I should wait for the U330 to ship or just order a Latitude E6400. Anyone else look at that notebook, but went with the u330?

 

Two different classes of laptops IMO. Latitutes are more closely aligned with ThinkPad's. IdeaPad's and XPS' and Inspiron lines are competitive. I'm actually considering the U330 but the ship dates keep dragging out and the coupon I wanted to use expired.

 

I'd probably pick the T400 over the IdeaPad U330 if the other laptop I was considering was the E6400 ...

 

I can assure you that it's not hot at all. I have use the U330 for 1 week already and it's quite cool. Even when watching movie or gaming it doesn't get hot. I have the Dell M1530 previously and gosh it's freaking hot, even when just doing simple web surfing. U330 is using ATI card, M1530 is using nVidia card...

 

Do you like the U330??....do you think is worth it??

 

how do u have a u330 already?

why not post a review and some pics if u were able to get ur hands on one early

 

Zerofire posted in this thread, U330 SDHC thread and said he would have one up soon!

 

What's the screen on the U330? Glossy or matte?

 

I think is glossy

 

At lenovo ideapad web page used to say "ships within 3 -4 weeks, Now it's saying "ships withing 1 -2 weeks"

Could it be truth?

 

I just ordered one about 30 min ago. Has an estimated ship date of 9/29. A little over two weeks. I also noticed that it had recently changed from 3-4 weeks to 1-2.

 

thats a dam*n good sign for those who ordered early....like me (8/23)

 

Yeah!!
What is the spec of your laptop andya??

 

I ordered the 22672BU, the one with 2gb ram and the 250gb hardrive. Would rather upgrade those things myself in the future if needed, plus the coupon I was using wouldn't work on the more expensive model.

 

Cool, I think there is a 10% off for that one.
I was trying to use the 10% and the discount that my university gave me buy It doesnt work =(.

 

I meant for the expensive one.

 

I was able to use a ssp code that I found on another forum, plus the USPSEPTDEAL code for a total of $370 off. Price was around $1003 plus tax, so I think it was $1085 or so, at work right now so don't know the correct amount.
That also included the upgrade to the 2yr at home warranty. Would have only been around $900 without that. Was to good of a deal to pass up, on a really nice laptop.

 

Ohh god!! you had a good deal!!!
where did you find the ssp code??

 

Just follow the instructions from this post.
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?threadid=921456
Worked for me earlier today.

 

thanks!
It only works the BU =(
I hope lenovo will offer discounts for the AU

 

I called and was told October 3rd.
I ordered 8/20.
I was told I was "getting a quality machine" and ideapads typically take 50 business days and that it wont be pushed back anymore

 

does everyone know a discount for U330 - 22672AU?????

 

I sent you a private message, check it out.

 

could you pm me as well?

 

oh my, could you pm me as well?

 

i dont seem to have private messaging can you email me instead? [email protected]