An 11.6-inch laptop with a Core i7 processor. Does the Lenovo IdeaPad U160 unequivocally need more of an key than which? Believe it or not, the ultrathin laptop you’re peering at above isn’t much larger than the 10-inch netbook, though instead of packing underpowered tools (ahem, Atom) the got a single of Intel’s many powerful ultra-low voltage processors. For $1,149, the U160 is meant for highly mobile energy users, but additionally those with a moveable fan and the bag that can fit the few extra laptop batteries. We’ll explain it all in the full review after a mangle. Lenovo IdeaPad U160

Look and feel
It’s not hard to tell which the U160 is part of Lenovo’s IdeaPad consumer lineup by a mottled pattern that sprawls opposite the non-glossy lid. The cover pattern isn’t wholly off putting in black – in red, it’s the bit some-more obvious – but you can’t repudiate our personal preference for Lenovo’s classical seeking ThinkPad line. Our genuine captivate is to a U160’s thin and light bod – it measures usually .9 inches thick as well as weighs 3.2 pounds. It was undiluted for popping into the shoulder bag for the weekend outing and pulling out upon to write an article on a close train chair.

In terms of build quality, the U160’s plastic framework feels utterly a bit some-more solid than Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One 721. However, we beheld on our unit which a keyboard rug was the bit loose – Lenovo tells us it may only be the early production unit. Port-wise, a U160 has two USB jacks, an USB / eSATA connector as good as sockets for HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, microphone and headphone sockets. It additionally has the four-in-one label reader. Not surprisingly, there’s no optical drive onboard.

Keyboard, touchpad as well as shade
Besides a actuality that the row looked like it wasn’t placed in properly, we rather than like the chiclet keyboard. Similar to a keyboard upon the ThinkPad Edge, a squircle made matte keys have a curve that makes it feel as if they’ve molded to your fingertips. They are the bit close, however — it would have been good to see Lenovo use the complete width of the row.

On a same vein, a touchpad is quite small. Measuring by 2.4 by 1.5 inches, it’s the bit odd which Lenovo additionally didn’t take advantage of more of a plane space upon a palmrest as well as widen it the bit. The desk pad is still smooth, though the two mouse buttons have been the somewhat mushy. Still, it’s much improved than being stranded with a stiff singular club similar to which upon the Eee PERSONAL COMPUTER 1018P.

We’re starting to consider Lenovo has as big of an issue picking up decent LCDs as Acer as well as ASUS. Just similar to we saw on the IdeaPad S10-3t, the vertical observation of the 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 resolution display was horrific at some angles. For example, you slanted a shade behind when watching the clip of Tosh.0 and you could hardly have out any colors or see where his face started as well as finished. When looking during the shade head on, however, it was sufficiently bright, and a ambient light sensor adjusted the brightness to the liking. The speakers on a bottom were allied to other laptops of the distance – they’re shrill enough for listening to a little tunes on Pandora, though not starting to be a holdup of any celebration.

Performance as well as battery life
The U160 is without the disbelief the many absolute 11.6-inch laptop we’ve ever toyed with thanks to its 1.20GHz Intel Core i7-640UM processor as well as 4GB of RAM (the Alienware M11x comes tighten, though it was afterwards powered by the Core 2 Duo processor). However, it’s nowhere close to being a most powerful Core i7 laptop upon the marketplace, as well as as a benchmarks below show, the U160 falls in between a standard voltage Core i3 laptop as well as some of a newer AMD Nile-powered ultraportables on the opening scale. Every day make use of was still poignant and the standard slight – concurrently running Firefox with over 10 tabs open, Tweetdeck, Microsoft Word, Trillian, Skype as well as iTunes – was no plea for a little guy.

On the graphics side of things, a rig’s Intel GMA HM55 HD was nimble sufficient to handle both 720p and 1080p video (local as well as streaming). It also managed to plow through World of Warcraft during a decent 27fps. However, as a 3DMark06 measure next shows, a integrated GPU isn’t utterly as fast as AMD’s integrated ATI Radeon HD 4225, that has been entrance standard upon other 11.6-inch laptops similar to a Acer Aspire One 721 and HP Pavilion dm1.

The U160 is certainly marketed as the multimedia appurtenance and it can hoop HD calm, but it’s not just the coolest appurtenance upon the market for those sorts of activities. And approbation, you meant which literally. The complete chassis of a laptop – together with the keyboard and touchpad – felt like it had been baking in a object when streaming video. Even when you used a system to write this review and listen to some song, it got tepid as well as a bottom of a laptop got hot enough which we private it from the path to set it on a list.

So, while the i7 processor may not be as powerful as the standard Core i3 CPU, it draws reduction power as well as contingency outcome in better battery holdup, right? Not utterly. On our video outline test, which loops a same customary definition video during 65 lightness, the 48Wh battery managed to keep the complement afloat for only 3 hours and 10 minutes. A glance at the draft next shows that both a Core i3-powered Acer TimelineX as well as Toshiba Portege R705 lasted an hour longer than which. Yeah, it’s flattering horrendous for the laptop of this size, as well as even the AMD-powered Aspire One 721 lasted an additional 20 mins.

We can’t assistance though feel torn upon Lenovo’s preference to power a U160 with an ultra-low voltage Core i7 CPU. While it surely adds the lot of additional horsepower, we’re left wondering who actually needs all of which in the smaller laptop, generally when other (cheaper) laptops upon a marketplace can hoop HD calm as well as basic games just as good, not to discuss last longer upon a assign and run much cooler.

 PCMarkVantage 3DMark06
 Battery Life 

Lenovo IdeaPad U160 3863 1175 3:10 

Acer Aspire One 721 1814
 1235 3:30 

Toshiba Portege R705 (Core i3-350M) 5024 1759 4:25 

Acer TimelineX 4820T (Core i3-350M) 4926 1724 5:04 

Dell Vostro V13 (Core 2 Duo SU7300) 2687 556 2:39 

ASUS UL50Vf (Core 2 Duo SU7300) 3724 827/3438 6:10 

Software

The U160 comes loaded up with some Lenovo utilities, but compared to a little of the new laptops we’ve reviewed from ASUS, a preloaded software isn’t all that bad. We do have to contend which Lenovo’s “Smile Dock” that can be launched by clicking on which small creepy grin idol upon a desktop is one of the slightest beneficial docks we’ve seen lately – it’s full of shortcuts to Lenovo utilities, e-mail, Weatherbug, etc. At least you can search the web without delay from a row.

Wrap-up
After spending the last few days with a IdeaPad U160, we’ve come to a end which the laptop is only for a couple of that demand some-more estimate energy than a little of the alternative ultraportables on a marketplace, nonetheless are willing to put up with the few annoyances to have it. No matter how you look during it, these days $1,150 is a lot of income to bombard out upon the smaller machine, especially when alternative laptops out there that have been just as light, run longer upon the charge, as well as price reduction — only take the $799 13-inch Toshiba Portégé 705 or $450 Acer Aspire One 721. Yes, a U160 packs more CPU power, though during a end of a day you’ll have to live with the heat and battery drain that it ultimately causes. And frankly, you wouldn’t instruct which on anybody.