Lenovo IdeaPad U300s

Lenovo doesn't miss a trick, and I'm not just saying that because the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s' ($1,495 list) startup wallpaper shows a picture of the system with its available accessories and part numbers. The 2.9-pound Lenovo U300s is an elegant entry into the new ultrabook category, combining the allure of the Intel-backed specification?a super-slim profile, a fast solid-state drive instead of a hard drive, near-instantaneous sleep and resume functions?with Lenovo's typical world-class engineering. But it's not cheap, largely because it has a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) versus most of its rivals' 128GB drives, and a couple of nitpicks, such as the lack of a flash-card slot, keep it from claiming our Editors' Choice crown for ultrabooks.

Since we're talking price, we should note that the U300s is $104 cheaper than the comparable 256GB SSD version of the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,299 direct, 4 stars), though the latter's 1,440 by 900 screen resolution tops the U300s's 1,366 by 768. The 1,600 by 900 display of our ultrabook Editors' Choice, the Asus Zenbook UX31 ($1,099 direct, 4 stars), tops both.

We should also note that Lenovo offers budget buyers a $1,095 version of the U300s with a 128GB solid-state drive and a slightly tamer Intel Core i5 processor instead of our test unit's Core i7. And we should caution you not to confuse the IdeaPad U300s ultrabook with the slightly bulkier IdeaPad U300, a similar slimline with a spinning hard disk.

Design
While others follow the MacBook Air's example and taper to a tenth of an inch at the front edge, Lenovo styled the U300s like an actual book, closer to 0.6 inch thick all the way from front to back. It's a gorgeous alternative to the usual wedge shape, one that feels rock-solid when picked up by a front corner and yields almost no flex when you press a palm to the lid. The 8.5 by 12.8 by 0.6-inch (HWD) case is crafted from a single sheet of aluminum, sandblasted for what Lenovo calls a warmer, more tactile finish.

Speaking of tactile, we've always been fans of Lenovo keyboards. The one on the U300s doesn't disappoint, even if it isn't as stellar as, say, the Lenovo ThinkPad X220 ($1,299 direct, 4 stars) keyboard is?it's merely excellent, with the slightly shallow travel we've noticed in other ultrabooks but a smooth, pliant typing feel. Though it's not backlit like the Toshiba Portege Z835-P330 ($799.99 list, 3.5 stars), the keyboard layout is just about perfect, with Ctrl and Delete keys in their proper lower left and top right corners, respectively; dedicated Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn as well as arrow keys; and F1 through F12 keys that default to their system functions, such as adjusting audio volume and screen brightness or disabling the webcam, with no need to hold down the Fn key.

The buttonless touchpad works smoothly, except the test unit once or twice failed to register a click or tap in mid-pad (as opposed to a tap in the lower left or, for right-click, lower right corner, which always worked fine). Flicking left or right with four fingers activates a couple of bonus pop-up apps, a notepad or sticky-note keeper and a wallpaper changer (there we are at wallpaper again).

The U300s sports a 13.3-inch glossy screen. It's not brighter than bright, but it's perfectly sunny at its top two or three brightness settings and it offers rich colors, crisp blacks and whites, and sharp text. At one end of the audio spectrum, the speakers produced only fair results in a crank-up-Joan-Jett test; at the other, two cooling fans are faintly audible when working in a quiet room. The fans draw air through what Lenovo calls a breathable keyboard and expel it through the rear and left side, without the usual vents on the underside.

Features
On the U300s's left side are a USB 2.0 port and a button for launching the system recovery function if Windows goes kablooey. On the right are a headphone/microphone jack, an HDMI port, and a USB 3.0 port. While 802.11b/g/n WiFi is built in (as is Bluetooth), those who wish to plug into their companies' wired LANs will search in vain for an Ethernet port (Lenovo sells a USB hub with Ethernet as a $40 option). And those comparison-shopping the Toshiba Portege Z835 and Asus Zenbook UX31 will search in vain for an SD or other memory-card slot.

Of course, comparison shoppers will also have to give the U300s credit for its 256GB (instead of 128GB) Micron SSD. Teamed with Intel's Rapid Storage technology, the solid-state drive enables cold-boot and awake-from-sleep times of roughly 22 and 3 seconds respectively in stopwatch tests. Another nifty Intel technology is WiDi, which beams the Lenovo's display to a big-screen HDTV via a $100 optional wireless adapter. Like other ultrabooks, the Lenovo has no optical drive.

The system's software bundle stars Microsoft Security Essentials, a simple-to-use, small-footprint malware fighter, and Office Starter 2010, along with a trial subscription to Absolute Data Security for remotely locking or removing personal data from a missing PC. Bloatware is mercifully absent. Lenovo backs the U300s with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty.

Performance
The U300s teams 4GB of RAM with a Core i7-2677M?a 1.8GHz dual-core, four-threaded member of Intel's "Sandy Bridge" processor family. The combination was good enough for the fastest Adobe Photoshop CS5 time we've recorded in the ultrabook category, 4 minutes 25 seconds, edging the Asus UX31 at 4:37 and Apple MacBook Air at 4:55 (to say nothing of the Core i3-powered Toshiba Z835 at 8:17).

The U300s posted a PCMark 7 score of 3,394, just behind the Asus' 3,531, and its time of 2 minutes and 39 seconds virtually tied the Acer Aspire S3 in our Handbrake video encoding test. Like other ultrabooks, its Intel integrated graphics disqualify it for serious gaming?the U300s strolled to 17.1 and 14.2 frames per second respectively in Crysis and Lost Planet 2 at medium settings.

In our MobileMark 2007 battery rundown test, the U300s barely broke the six-hour barrier (6:03). Its score put it in the middle of the ultrabook pack, trailing the Toshiba Z835 (7:35) and Asus UX31(6:32) but showing more stamina than the MacBook Air (5:46) and Acer S3 (5:20). The four-cell, 54Whr battery is sealed within the system case instead of being swappable with a spare for longer life, which is de rigueur among super-slim systems but still a pet peeve of your reviewer.

There are other peeves, like the lack of a memory-card reader and its lower screen resolution, that keep the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s from unseating the Asus Zenbook UX31 as our ultrabook Editors' Choice. But even so, the U300s occupies the same position in the ultrabook space that Lenovo's high-end ThinkPads do in the general laptop sphere?an enviable option for lucky executives, travelers, and students.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s with several other laptops side by side.

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