We tested an $899 version of the U400, configured with a 2.4GHz Core i5-2430M CPU, 6GB of RAM, a 750GB 5,400RPM hard drive and two graphics cards: Intel HD 3000 on the integrated side and AMD's Radeon HD 6470M on the discrete, coupled with 1GB of video memory. Getting those raw numbers out of the way, it steamrolls the Core i5-packing Sony VAIO SB we reviewed a few months back, and even lands in
kind of the same neighborhood as the Dell XPS 14z with Core i7. It's even more or less on par with the entry-level 13-inch Samsung Series 9, which packs an SSD and costs $450 more. The U400's 43-second boot time and 100 MB /s transfer rates are respectable, too, though hardly anything to write home about either.
Still, it's a far cry from what you'll get from an Ultrabook -- including the IdeaPad U300s. Though the U400 and its little brother both make use of Lenovo's RapidDrive technology, the SSD-packing U300s pulls off an insane 18-second boot, making the U400's 43-second startup time seem common. And it should go without saying that the U300s' Micron solid-state drive runs circles around the Western Digital 5,400RPM HDD inside the U400 we tested. Go with the U300s and you'll enjoy real-world read / write speeds of 250 MB /s and 200 MB/s, respectively. If you opt for the U400 you'll save yourself a few hundred bucks, but the transfer rates will drop by half, if not more. And that's not even getting into the fact that the U300s is thinner, lighter, longer-lasting and has a more reliable touchpad. Shall we go on?
Benchmark scores aside, its 5,400RPM hard drive didn't stop us from multitasking, juggling email, chat, web surfing and a good deal of streaming. Like its brethren, the laptop also runs cool, thanks largely to Lenovo's "breathable" keyboard, which is designed to draw air in throw the sides and push it out the bottom. Also like other Lenovo laptops, including the U300s and last-gen
IdeaPad U260, it makes good use of Intel's Advanced Cooling Technology, which you'll only find in Lenovo systems. The result is a machine that stays cool to the touch, even when you settle into long, full-screen streaming sessions. For us, that's a relief, given that we've seen laptops get toasty as soon as you fire up TweetDeck. Still, solid real-world performance means little when a flaky touchpad and cramped keyboard make everyday computing a chore. Look around, even in Lenovo's product line, and you'll find laptops with smoother touchpads and faster performance that are simply more pleasant to use.
As for those two graphics cards, while you might assume they kick in automatically, depending on the task at hand, the hand-off here isn't nearly as smooth as what we've seen with NVIDIA's GPUs. To make the most out of that 6470M, you'll need to open AMD's Catalyst Control Center and manually specify which apps trigger which graphics card. A fun challenge for the tinkerers among you, but a pain in the rear for the rest of us who don't have much time to spare for tweaking.
Battery life
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The U400's four-cell, 54Wh battery is rated for up to seven hours, but in our (admittedly taxing) rundown, it lasted four hours and 18 minutes with WiFi on and a video looping off the hard drive. To be fair, we were able to squeeze out closer to five hours of use when all we were doing was writing in Google Docs, checking email, talking in GChat and running the occasional web search.
That's respectable for a 14-inch laptop, though we've certainly seen better. Take the Dell XPS 14z, for instance, which squeezes out an extra 25 minutes or so. If you can settle for integrated graphics, the Dell Inspiron 14z lasted more than six and a half hours in the same test, though even the
Sony VAIO SB with switchable graphics managed five hours and change when we flipped it to the power-saving "stamina" mode. The only recent 14-incher we can recall with worse battery life is the HP Envy 14 with Sandy Bridge, and that's about to disappear as HP
ushers in new (larger-screened) models.
Software
It's such a relief to kick off the software section of a laptop review and not have to rattle off a long list of pre-installed programs. Indeed, the bloatware load is light and unobtrusive, with just a few innocuous apps on-board. These include: Google Chrome, Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft Office 2010, Windows Live Essentials 2011 and CyberLink Power2Go, Lenovo PowerDVD and YouCam webcam software, both rebadges of widely used CyberLink programs.
As with the U300s, Lenovo also threw in its Easy Notepad software -- a sticky notes app that lets you use three fingers to cycle through different scraps of virtual paper. As ever, we appreciate that the notes are all collected in one place, instead of peppered randomly about the screen, and we also like that by default the stickies have different colors, making it easier to distinguish between different notes to self.
Also on tap: Lenovo's idiot-proof One Key software for backing up and recovering your data. And, like its little brother, the U400 has Computrace's LoJack module built in so that you can potentially track and remotely wipe your laptop if it goes missing. Of course, it's up to you to activate the service yourself, even though the hardware component is already baked in.
Configuration options
The U400 starts at $800 with a 2.2GHz Core i3-2330M, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Like other IdeaPads in Lenovo's stable, it's not configurable, meaning the specs aren't negotiable (unless you want to seek out a different pre-built model, that is). In addition to Core i3 and i5, it's available with a 2.7GHz Core i7-2620M. Depending on the market, you'll find configurations with 8GB of RAM and either 1TB in HDD storage or a 64GB solid-state drive. You only get one choice as far as graphics go (ditto for the battery and optical drive).
Right now, there are three models for sale in the US, specifically: that $800 Core i3 model, the $900 Core i5 configuration we reviewed and a higher-end one with a Core i7 processor and 8GB of RAM. This particular model costs $1,449 (or $1,299 on the web), with a promotional online discount that brings the price to $1,039 at Lenovo.com. If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that though this is the highest-end model available in the states, it's not the most tricked-out Lenovo has to offer. Indeed, the company confirmed that the 1TB hard drive and 64GB SSD simply aren't offered in the US, though they're available in other regions.
The competition
We get it: as much as Ultrabooks make for eye-catching status symbols, they're not for everybody. We know
Darren isn't the only techie out there reluctant to part with his optical drive, even for occasional backups. For those of you looking for a lightweight laptop with a DVD burner (and maybe even discrete graphics if you're lucky), you've got a few options.
Starting with one of our favorites, the Sony VAIO SB series is our favorite 13-inch laptop with a built-in optical drive, though we like it so much it might trump its 14-inch competitors too. Starting at $800, it offers a bright, matte display, impossibly lightweight design, solid performance, discrete graphics and long runtime, even without the optional slice battery. Step up to the
VAIO SA series ($1,000 and up) and you'll get a higher-resolution 1600 x 900 display and a slightly thinner design. Either way, these machines are highly customizable, with a Blu-ray player and sheet battery for those of you with extra cash to burn.
We also have a soft spot for the HP Envy 14 ($1,000 and up), though it's soon to go bye bye as the company ushers in new, redesigned models, with the smaller of the two sporting a larger 15-inch display. If you pull the trigger while you still can, the Envy 14 offers one of the most stunning designs we've seen on a laptop, along with discrete graphics and damn good performance. However, the display on this model isn't what it used to be, and as you can see, the battery life is even shorter than what you'll get on the U400. The other big trade-off: it's markedly heavier, at 5.7 pounds, and you're only getting an extra half inch of screen real estate in return.
The U400 isn't just bulkier; it has shorter battery life, less impressive performance and a flaky touchpad, thanks to a wholly different set of drivers.
If you'll recall, we also had a great time testing out the XPS 14z ($900 and up): its battery life is among the longest you'll enjoy on a laptop this size, and the keyboard and trackpad are remarkably comfortable to use. And remember that this weighs almost the same as the U400, so you won't be sacrificing anything in terms of portability (design, sensibility, is a different story).
Not to be outdone, Samsung has the new
14-inch Series 7 Chronos, which costs $1,099. We hope to test this soon, but in the meantime, the 4.3-pound Chronos at least matches -- if not beats -- the U400 on paper. For $1,100, it has the same Core i5 processor and 6GB of RAM, along with a 750GB hard drive, more powerful 1.5W speakers and slightly beefier Radeon HD
6940M 6490M graphics with 1GB of video memory. It has a higher-resolution 1600 x 900 display and yes, it includes an SD card. Again, we haven't reviewed it yet, so we can't speak to battery life or performance, though it certainly looks promising.
And finally, there's the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,199. As always, a few caveats apply: it's a durable, well-built machine with long battery life and solid performance (though it doesn't have discrete graphics). Still, for the money, you might want a display with more pixels than the 1280 x 800 this has to offer. You might also crave more ports than the Ethernet jack, Thunderbolt port, FireWire 800 and dual USB 2.0 sockets. And lastly, it's heavier than the U400, VAIO SB or XPS 14z, at 4.5 pounds. It's an attractive, well-performing machine with a comfy keyboard and trackpad. Still, to the extent that specs and ports are part of the equation, this is hardly a bang-for-your-buck kind of deal.
Wrap-up
We know what a lot of you are thinking: the U300s looks nice, but you really had your heart set on discrete graphics (you can take or leave the optical drive, we reckon). So you figured the U400 would include everything you loved about the U300s, along with a few beefier specs thrown in to make geek hearts sing. Wrong. The U400 isn't just bulkier; it has shorter battery life, less impressive performance and a flaky touchpad, thanks to a wholly different set of drivers. If you're also considering the U300s, just take a deep breath, resign yourself to spending a few hundred more and choose that: it's simply a better deal, and if you were considering the U400 at all, then the U300s' lack of an SD slot and backlit keyboard shouldn't be a problem.
But if an optical drive and more robust graphics are key, you can do better than the U400. We'd sooner steer you toward the Sony VAIO SB series or Dell XPS 14z, each of which combine good performance, long runtime and sound ergonomics. (We're optimistic about Samsung's Chronos, too.) Heck, even Lenovo is capable of something better.