Ideapad u330 - New owners :-)

initial impressions? quick review?

 

Do you guys think there is any chance that Lenova fixed the screen issue with the pre-releases the magazines reviwed? Multiple review sites said the screen was really a problem...grainy and too reflective.

If all of you guys don't have the same complaints with your shipping versions I have to wonder if Lenova changed something last minute...may explain why your shipping dates were delayed?

 

HA well when u knock out the number 1 team... you gotta atleast feel good about it.

even tho stanford...... yeah.


Anyways.... my 330 is at my parents house about an hour away so I will have it tomorrow.

 

I have read no reviews stating the u330 screen was grainy and too reflective. Maybe you were thinking of the U110? There have only been two reviews that I know of and they both said the screen was fine past the glossy screen.

 

I have read reviews that say the U110 screen has an additional piece of reflective plastic over it which causes terrible issues. One review states that eye strain occurs because the eyes keep focusing on the reflections in this screen-protector. The review went so far as to say this screen protector rendered the U110 unusable.

Also this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq_wTG15K4Q

We are worried that the U330 shares this problem.

 

Lol whoops! I thought when you said you go to OSU you meant Ohio State, and that you were excited USC lost because of revenge. I go to Michigan, so whenever I see the acronym OSU, I automatically think Ohio State and proceed to mock the Buckeyes. But yeah, no disrespect whatsoever to Oregon State--that was a great win.

*AHEM* Anyway, computers...

 

has anybody feel the heating problem? when mine first time turn on, it hot like oven.... whenever the muchine is busy, the heat is coming up!!

 

Ok, here we go. Pics for you guys before I start setting it up.

The black metallic sparkly lid is very nice.

There is also a pic next to my XPS M1330

Once I get it set up I will post my impressions.

 

Initial Impressions, putting manufacture defects aside:

The screen is beautiful. Glare is hardly noticeable (WITH LED-> gives off much much less glare). Keyboard and mouse tracker responds well. I'm guessing the harddrive is under the mouse area as it gets a little bit warm when idle, but not hot.

I checked system specs.. everything is according to what i ordered, but i'm not sure whether it specified DDR3. Also, the video card states 3400, I thought it was 3450? not sure if there are any difference. Computer seems to respond very well. Played with vista Chess at full graphic settings and it ran smoothly.

There are two things that annoy me, but doesn't destroy me:

a) hard drive makes its "doing" noise when I first started up the PC. mind you i was in a very quiet environment. could change if i tampered a bit more...?

b) the facial recognition is... to a lot, cool, but just an annoyance in my opinion. i log onto vista (by inputting password) with a snap of the fingers on my desktop, but with facial recog. on the U330, it takes like 5 snaps (maybe more, because the camera is doing its thing trying to recognize facial features). Honestly, i just want to get straight into Vista and get work done. Plus, security feature? hardly. I just turn off the system, press the recovery key, restore to factory default. VOILA!! a thief can now access a brand new system without having to crack a password.


overall, i am impressed. size and weight are good. but the specs are what makes this system worth the purchase. just send in your U330 to repair the nasty little exterior defects and you have yourself a laptop perfect for photo editing, illustrating, some gaming, and probably video editing as well.

 

OK, here are my initial thoughts on the U330. I might tend to compare it to my old Vaio SZ or my XPS M1330, and I think thats fair given they are in the same class.

FIT AND FINISH: Beautiful. The lid and touch controls are both VERY high gloss finish; being such they are fingerprint magnets. The build quality is *noticeably* better than that of my M1330. The notebook does not creak or flex when picking it up by the palmrest. No unsightly gaps or build discrepancies otherwise. I study Industrial Engineering & Quality Control- meaning I am a freak for detail. The only thing I have noticed is the plastic molding around the power button has a rough edge. Trivial, I know, but I did notice it.

SCREEN: Bright and colorful. Comparable to the screen on my SZ. I am running at 60% brightness; it is ridiculously bright, and so despite the glossy screen I would hope it is still viewable outdoors. The frameless screen is very cool. The webcam and mic tucked away in the frame both work very well, better than those on my M1330. Videoconferencing through Skype is a breeze. Also included with the U330 is the VeriFace utility, which allows an accounts *designated* user to log in using their face (meaning one VeriFace per user account). It is easy to use and takes about a minute to set up.

KEYBOARD: Solid. Rock solid. Under firm pressure, not a single part of the keyboard has any amount of give or flex. ALMOST everything is where it should be. However, the function key has taken the spot of the ctrl key. Why they did that is beyond my understanding, as the control key is used far more often than the function key. This is a significant drawback for me, at least until I am acquainted with the new placement.

TOUCHPAD: Very nice textured feel, similar to the M1330. It is a bit smaller than what I am used to. The scroll works properly and the touchpad is responsive. Button click is about a 2mm stroke, not clunky at all and not clicky either. The material surrounding the touchpad and comprising the palmrest and keyboard bezel is a matte black and very slightly textured plastic. Its 80-something degrees in my room and the plastic remains cool and does not stick to the palms.

MEDIA CONTROLS: The media controls above the keyboard are sleek. Touching a little orange orb at the right illuminates the rest of the controls. The glowing orb is not overly bright or obtrusive.

SPEAKERS: At this point I am unsure what the Dolby Home Theater logo even means. The speakers are loud and clear at higher volumes, but have very little bass. I use headphones 99% of the time so this is a non-issue for me.


A few things to note, in no particular order:
The U330 DOES have an IR port. Not sure how many of you rock the media remote, but I connect my computers to my TV and the remote is a necessity for me.
Whatever Bluetooth module Lenovo uses, it connected to my Microsoft Bluetooth mouse 5000 in an instant. My M1330 had some issues connecting to the same mouse.
Switchable graphics work perfectly. Entering the ATI control panel, there is an option to switch the ATI 3450 on or off. Doing so will cause the screen to go dark for about three seconds.
HDMI out works perfectly. This was my first time using it on any computer, and I simply plugged it in. I was unable to find an option to up the resolution from the native 1280x1024, so I will have to figure that out.
Heat using the ATI card in High Performance mode is similar to my M1330. The heat around the keyboard and palmrest is less, but the top-left area of the computer does get warm.
The power brick is rather large. I was expecting something like the U110 brick, which is tiny.
Not yet sure of battery life yet.

I won't get into pros and cons of the U330, as I just started playing with it about an hour ago. I'm sure I forgot some things, so just ask!

 

Please check if you can get 1920 x 1080 resolution by connecting it to 1080p HDTV. Also, I am curious if it can play 1080p movie trailers smoothly. Thanks.

 

Crap...

One of the main reasons I wanted a U330 is that the U110's touchpad is smooth plastic which I love, and I was hoping the U330 would be the same.

The Dell M1330 has a very "brushed metal" texture that I hate.

 

This is a standard thing on the keyboard of thinkpads, and it looks like the u330 has the thinkpad keyboard (minus the trackpoint). Not sure why it's like that, but you'll get used to it.

 

i am getting a 1080p resolution stated connection to me sharp lc32d64u. It does not fill the entire screen though. My xps1330 fills the whole screen.

 

I dont know how to adjust the ouput res right now. If anyone can help me out I would be happy to test it on my 1080p LCD.

The touchpad is textured nearly the same as the keys, if that helps at all.

 

Thank you for your report. Mine is shipped but still on its way.

Do you know how long (in seconds) it takes for the system to boot (power off to fully running)? I'm curious how it compares w/ my old dell laptop w/ 1.2 core 2 duo and macbook.

 

I installed avast and had it do a scan at the next start up and it found what it says is a virus:
C:\program files\lenovo\onekey app\onekey recovery\image.dll is in infected by win32:vapsup-cb

I googled it and this is some type of adware. Anyone else get this?

 

http://www.jrin.net/2008_09_26/lenovo-ideapad-u330-initial-hands-on-review

 

Are you sure those reviews are for the U330 and not U110? Plus, some reviews are quite biased since the reviewer doesn't like glossy screens. Anyway, here is a side-by-side comparison of the HP Infinity screen, which is the same type of screen that the U330 uses, with an extra layer of shield.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=292740

Check out the comparison thread I posted above.

All Lenovo keyboards have the Fn and Ctrl keys switched, not only ThinkPads. IdeaPad's keyboard has always been quite solid, including the previous models.

 

so how much you guys think an unopened higher spec u330 will go for. i think the ctrl/fn key switch was the last straw that killed it for me

 

i think its hilarious that you think that....i would love you to name me a computer with similar specs for even close to the price....


please. i really want to know!


got it today: keyboard, absolutely fantastic, not an ounce of flex, on of the best keyboards ever used.

trackpad: awesome, not like m1330 i would say considering they're directly next to eachother, but since i liked the m1330 too, both are perfeclt working and no bad things

screen: very bright, which is my main concern, glossyness hasn't been a problem yet but mainly used at night so we will see how that goes during the day!

heat: havent really tested yet, but we will see, seems fine so far

look: this laptop is beautiful, VERY VERY sturdy and seems unbelievably well built.

glossy case finish on the top: dont really like, the border of the lcd screen is also a glossy finish and dont care for that either cuz fingerprint magent but i will gladly wipe that away for the price i got this laptop. no laptop with this features is even close - not close AT ALL

 

Just a few pictures to tide you guys over. I'll be disappearing over the weekend to work on a review, which I will be submitting Monday -- that way, I won't have others' opinion affecting my judgment of the U330.

At the moment, the LCD is plenty bright, too much in fact that I'm running it at 50% brightness to be comfortable. The double-glass screen isn't an issue so far, but again it is nighttime right now. However, my main concern is that it's running pretty warm and the fan is always on. More details to follow in my review. I was also assaulted with bloatware upon boot-up, time to open up msconfig. Index score with ATI graphics on.

See ya all Monday.

 

Kickace and anyone else who has received theres, I am curious to hear more about fan noise and heat issues.

 

The fan noise for mine with the laptop in High Performance mode with ATI card on, is very faint. It does get warm in the upper right corner by the vent, but not warmer than my M1330. Cooler than my SZ.

 

I created the recovery disk and installed a few programs and it didnt get any hotter than my M1330 with the integrated video card. I haven't really had to actually use it as I'm still setting up stuff.

Regarding the virus on the image, i'm thinking avast must think it is a virus. It wouldnt let me run the One Touch Recovery program until I turned it off. Once it was off, I made an image of my drive then burned it to disk.

Not sure I like the way this process is. I'm going to install one of Acronis True Image on here from when it was $10.

For now, i'm am very pleased with it.

Things to test in the morning, SDHC in the card reader slot, my bluetooth mouse and headphones, and the IR port.

 

Sorry, but could you rephrase the beginning of that or at least elaborate? I didn't quite get you.

Is it awful to use outside due to the reflection or is it acceptable? I watched the U110 reflection video at youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq_wTG15K4Q) and that was pretty bad, even inside!
I don't need mirror to look at myself all day >_>

Thanks for everyones impressions so far, looking forward to the upcoming review (I hope you test the gfxcard in games as well).

 

Here's my initial hands on review (pics, videos, and descritpions, etc)

http://www.jrin.net/2008_09_26/lenovo-ideapad-u330-initial-hands-on-review

feel free to ask me to review anything about it (if you do, post in the comments there, if you would, as i'll more likely see them faster that way)

 

sorry! edited, i only meant the casing, the glossy part on the top of the case, and the border of the lcd

 

For those who wish to know...

During an initial boot, strike whatever key is listed to get into the system BIOS settings. A lot of notebook manufacturers now that use the Fn/Ctrl key in the opposite order have a setting usually in the BIOS that allows you to switch them. That way, in the O.S. if you hit the Fn key, it would be like hitting the Ctrl key and solves the problem for those that are annoyed by the keys being switched. Should they have done it the other way in the first place, yes, but at least this helps to make a bit more bearable.

Also, if the BIOS shows no option, check the keyboard settings in the O.S. as sometimes they are tucked away there as well depending on the manufacturer.

BBGus

 

SDHC card worked that I pulled from my digital camera!

 

Everything is great about my laptop except one small thing, any of you guys have squeaky keys? Specifically my letter "T", has kinda styrofoam rubbing up against each other sound.

Also how do you get rid of the crazy loud beep that happens when you unplug the A/C cord?
Also it seems my monitor shuts off after inactivity even though I tell my power management to never turn off the monitor.

 

Has anyone been able to figure out how to burn recovery discs for the factory settings?

The only option in OneKey Recovery seems to be to create a new image and then burn it. But I've already installed software that I don't want to be part of the recovery discs.

Obviously the factory image must exist on the partition...

 

Anybody have any idea when Lenovo will allow you to customize the hardware on the U330 (if ever)? I am thinking about pulling the trigger on this, but I would really prefer a Centrino 2 processor with 6mb cache (i.e.: the P9500).

 

hmm considering im gettng less than 1 1/2 hours battery life, im going to assume i have a bad battery.

any suggestions?

 

That's about all I get out of the battery as well. I start out with Windows saying I have four hours, after about 20 minutes it shoots down to 3 hours and the rest is history.

I'll wait a few weeks before saying anything to Lenovo.

 

That's not good guys. I assume that is while using the integrated graphics?

 

Thats really not good news. Im still waiting on my u330 & i was hoping to get at least 4 hours out of it so it can last me throughout my two classes each day.

 

jrin is reporting the same battery life

http://www.jrin.net/2008_09_26/lenovo-ideapad-u330-initial-hands-on-review

 

It's looking a bit better on my second run through on the battery. (using balanced power plan setting) I'm at 2 hours and 42 minutes with about another 40 minutes left according to Windows.

This is with browsing the web and watching the occasional online video. If I get 3 and 1/2 hours I'll be happy.

 

Wow thats really horrible... Lenovo really screwed up this time.

 

I have some bad news. My battery only lasted for three hours before the computer turned itself off. This is using the balanced power setting, integrated graphics, and general web browsing.

 

are u on max brightness?

maybe it'll get better the 3rd time around?

 

I was on four bars worth of brightness. I suppose it might be better, but I doubt it. I think that most were expecting at least 4 hours of battery life, but all in all 3 hours isn't too bad.

 

To be honest I was expecting more from the Centrino 2 platform. Does anyone know if there is a bigger battery available for the u330 (maybe it matches of of the bigger Y series ideapads idk) If there is thats great for those who want to sacrifice some of the weight for battery time.


I would be happy atleast if there was an option of getting a bigger battery.

Somehow 6 hours from the cheaper Netbooks really seems commendable.

 

Exactly, i hope they have a 9 cell option. I don't mind it sticking out, need more battery though...

 

I didn't make my image until after I installed programs but according to the OneKey Recovery screen it said it would walk you through the re-install. You might be able to do it from the hidden partition but I haven't messed with that part yet.

I wish Lenovo would just provide the restore disks.

 

Only three hours? and they were saying you could get up to 4-5 hrs.....I was expecting it to be at least 4 hrs....anybody with a good battery on the U330?

 

Any idea which remote will work with the IR on ideapad u330?

 

I may be canceling my order if the battery life is really this bad.

 

I don't know. I tried the dell remote from my m1330 and it didnt work. I also tried an HP expresscard remote and that didn't work either.

I thought all of the IR codes were the same since my universal remote will let me program a generic windows media remote.

Does anyone else have any idea? I looked (not very hard) to see if it had to be turned on or there was a program for it and found nothing. The manual only refers to a Lenovo remote and there are none on the Lenovo site.

If I can get 3 hours out of the battery, i think that is reasonable. I can live with it but would like to get the 9 cell when it comes out.