Lenovo V200 Ultraportable First Thoughts Review (Video)

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Lenovo today released the V200 12.1&quot; screen notebook that includes the new Intel Centrino Duo (Santa Rosa) platform, it's one of the first ultraportable form factor laptops to incorporate this new platform. The great thing about the V200 is that you get a fully fledged (as in not low voltage) Core 2 Duo processor, optical drive, web camera and generous selection of ports in a stylish and usable form factor. Following is a quick first take on the Lenovo V200.

Lenovo 3000 V200 12.1&quot; screen ultraportable notebook (view large image)

Build and Design

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The Lenovo V200 is basically the same as the proceeding V100 in terms of build and design. The rear of the V200 has a rounded shape that's different and I think fair to say stylish in its look.

(view large image)

The build is mostly plastic in nature, but is not flimsy by any means. It strikes a balance between being a budget built notebook and a more rugged ThinkPad offered by Lenovo.

The keyboard is full sized and definitely very nice to use. Again not quite on par with a ThinkPad keyboard, but certainly approaching that kind of quality.

(view large image)

The V200 doesn't use any type of latch to close the lid, just a firm hinge closing mechanism that works well.

Below is a video with comparison of the Lenovo V200 12.1&quot; notebook to the Lenovo ThinkPad R61 15.4&quot; notebook so you get an idea of how it stacks up:

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Ports and Features

When shopping for an ultraportable notebook you'll find that about half the laptops in this category have an optical drive, while the other super slim variety does away with the optical drive in favor of making the system as thin and light as possible. The V200 falls on the side of having an optical drive, I personally think this is very handy to have.

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The port selection of the V200 is very good. Above this line view a video that tours the ports on the notebook, and if you prefer to read here's a quick rundown of what you get:

• 3 USB 2.0 ports (one on the left, one on the right, one on the back -- nicely spread out)
• Monitor out port
• ExpressCard 54 slot
• IEEE 1394 / FireWire port
• Headphone / line-out port
• Microphone in port
• Ethernet LAN port
• Modem port
• SD card slot reader

You also get some nice dedicated hardware buttons such as wireless on/off on the right side, volume up/down buttons, volume mute, Windows Media quick launch button and Lenovo Care application quick launch button.

To top these features off you get integrated biometric security via a finger print reader and an integrated 1.3MP web camera that is of impressive quality.

Performance

You can configure up to a 2.20GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor with the V200 and it comes with the new Intel X3100 integrated graphics solution.

Our Lenovo V200 had the following specs:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB
• 12.1 inches WXGA VibrantView TFT with integrated 1.3MP camera (1280x800)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• 2GB PC2-5300DDR2 SDRAM
• 160GB 5400rpm Serial ATA
• 8X Max DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) PATA Fixed Media Bay drive
• Integrated fingerprint reader
• Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR,Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
• Dimensions Width 12.0&quot; x Depth 10.2&quot; x Height 1.25&quot;
• 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery

The Core 2 Duo T7300 performed impressively when calculating Pi to 2-million digits of accuracy using Super Pi

Super Pi Comparison Results

Notebook	Time
Lenovo 3000 V200 (Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz)	0m 59s
HP dv2500t (1.80GHz Intel 7100)	1m 09s
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T7300)	0m 59s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo T7200)	1m 03s
Toshiba Satellite P205-S6287 (1.73 GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T5300)	1m 24s
Toshiba Satellite A205 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 34s
HP Compaq 6515b (1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52)	2m 05s
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T2400)	0m 59s
Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 02s
Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo)	1m 29s

 

Though the V200 is of course not intended as a gaming notebook for 3D-performance, we ran 3DMark06 on the machine and found that it actually holds its own and compares with last generation low-end dedicated graphics solutions

3DMark06 Comparison results

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
Lenovo 3000 V200 (Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz, Intel X3100 Graphics)	548 3DMarks
HP dv2500t (1.80GHz Core 2 Duo, Intel X3100 Graphics)	541 3DMarks
Samsung R20 (1.73GHz T2250 and ATI 1250M chipset / GPU)	476 3DMarks
Samsung Q35 (1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5600, Intel 945GM)	106 3DMarks
Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700 256MB)	1,831 3DMarks
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 1526 (1.66 Core Duo, nVidia 7600Go 256 MB)	2,144 3DMarks
Asus A6J (1.83GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	1,819 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks

 

Overall the initial take on the Lenovo V200 is very positive, but the honeymoon is only several hours old, so we'll be back in the coming weeks with a full rundown and review of this notebook -- stay tuned!

 

Neat idea-i'll keep an eye on this one.

 

nice, any idea on battery life?

 

The 6-cell is quoted at just over 4 hours, but I have yet to test that.

 

Wow, nice videos, Andrew!

Seems like a really awesome machine. It kinda reminds me of a 700m, except much more modernized lol.

The Santa Rosa is a really great new feature, as is the webcam. I look forward to reading the full review!
Keep up the good work!

 

Yeah I loved those videos. It reminded me of Cnet videos (except no false information ).
Tim

 

Cool videos, I totally wasn't expecting the narrations! that's different. I wonder, has lenovo improved touchpad any? I remember best from the old V200 review without digging it up and looking at it, that the touchpad wasn't very good and the buttons were cheapish.

-Niki

 

is anyone else disappointed that andrew doesn't have an accent? i am thinking of making a petition to make him fake one.

 

You're right, I complained hard core about the mouse buttons -- they sucked. These ones are the same buttons but with a much softer feel. They actually told me they took my comments into consideration and changed that on the V100 after I made the complaint. I don't believe I have any influence in that, but in the future I'll complain more and see if things get fixed because of it.

I don't think too many people know I was born overseas (England) but moved to the U.S. and lost the accent years ago. We'll hire a British voice over next time I guess.

 

LOL...well I guess I am a little bit. I didn't really think about it though.

Andrew I noticed your hands are pretty big. Looked bigger than mine. =P I was wondering how hard it is for you to type on that keyboard? That is one reason why I have never considered a laptop smaller than 15.4".
Tim

 

Hah... maybe we should try started the letter writing campain to lenovo and change tactics to annoying lenovo inot fixing things. =P

 

awesome review! I love the videos it gives a really nice perspective of the notebook quality and design!

 

Wasn't his T43 a 14"?

This is pretty interesting. I want to see how well the X3100 handles games like NFS Most Wanted and the like. I still probably will end up getting the Asus S37; it weighs the same and has an 8400M, or otherwise the updated XPS M1210. Dedicated graphics are a nice feature to have, but with X3100 posting the same 3DMark06 scores as the Go7300, I might have to seriously look at a true ultraportable.

 

And there was me thinking that you had moved overseas away from good old Blighty.

The V200 has many similarities with the Samsung Q35 /Q45. What is the weight? The V200's depth (front-to-back) of 10.2" seems a bit big. The Q35 has a depth about 1" less.

John

 

I'll be awaiting the full review . So far it looks to be pretty good though. I wish they would advance battery tech so 6cells no longer need to stick out the end of ultra portables

 

The V200 is same as the V100 in weight, which means 4.4lbs with the 6 cell battery, and 4.0 with the 3 cell.

Haha, I think that looks awesome. The X60 with the 8 cell battery is really cool looking. Big batteries make all ultraportables look better

 

I feel that's only the case when the battery stretches the entire width of the laptop like in the latitude D420. In the XPS M1210 and this lenovo model I hate the way the battery sticks out.

 

Don't let the power go to your head!

I'm still not a big fan of Lenovo's styling. Opened up it looks fine, but I'm not a big fan of the curviness around back..... (uh oh, what did I set myself up for there...)

 

WOW!
Andrew. I didn't know you've got your hands on the R61 15.4". Why don't you do a quick review of that, or at least a few more video close-ups.
I'm really close to getting that R61. Seems the perfect lappy for me.

 

I think the 12" screen fools people into thinking this is an ultraportable. It actually is larger (dimensions-wise) than the 13.3" Macbook. It seems as if they could fit a 13" screen on that big lid.

V200 - Width 12.0" x Depth 10.2" x Height 1.25"
MBook - Width 12.8" x Depth 8.9" x Height 1.1"

 

Thanks! I've been waiting for a review of this notebook since the engadget article came out a while ago.
What is the weight like on this laptop? The lack of 13.3'' screen was mentioned in a previous post but it seems that if this laptop does indeed weigh 4.0 lbs it would have a significant advantage over the macbook 13.3''

I know that the v100 with the upgraded stats was about 4.4 lbs--did they get this Santa Rosa chipset version that you tested down to 4.0lbs?

Great article--look forward to hearing more

 

just toss in a few "bloody"s and i will be happy.

if we are going to do voice overs, let's do an irish/scottish one. i like it better than british.

 

Great review! Didn't expect a T7300 in a ultraportable!

 

Anyone know if there'll be a review for the N200?

 

That's got to be pretty close to the weight of a T61 with the 4 cell battery?

Seems a waste to use a 12.1" screen with probably a downsized keyboard just to save a pound. Am I wrong?

It also looks like it doesn't have a docking port?

 

Awesome videos, you have set the standard for future reviews!

 

Am I missing something? R61 is 14" wide only?? not 15.4?!?!?

 

Thanks Andrew. Andrew, could you please comment on the weight of V200 with 6-Cell? In the video you are saying it is 4 pounds, but here it says it is 2.35 Kg (almost 5.2 lbs!). Also, are you comfortable with its improved touchpad?

 

I just bought a Lenovo V100. Was very impressed by the specs for the price.

I'm taking it back tomorrow, for two reasons:

1) Windows Vista is abysmal. I guess Lenovo can't do much about that, but since Dell offers laptops still configured with XP, they'll get my business.

2) Lenovo's keyboard layout looks like it was designed by someone who only knows how to use a mouse. The Home and End keys don't have buttons of their own. They require you to hold down Fn. Those of us who use keyboard shortcuts heavily when editing documents and spreadsheets will be slowed down considerably. I use Home, End, Ctrl-Home and Ctrl-End constantly. If you do, too, you won't like any of the Lenovo line.

 

has anyone received this computer yet? My T61 is taking forever and im considering this if it can be shipped within a week

 

lol. hint: 15.4" is a diagonal.