14. Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 Notebook PC

By Ed Tittel and Toby Digby

With its acquisition of the IBM ThinkPad product family, Lenovo bought itself a substantial brand, and a reputation as a provider of solid, substantial and roadworthy business PCs. It’s been a big question for many industry watchers if Lenovo could produce a line of consumer notebooks to complement the ThinkPad series and retain its high regard among the ranks of notebook nabobs and ordinary users. In the wake of the release of its IdeaPad series, Lenovo appears to have capitalized on its strengths and its reputation without doing itself too much harm with the recent introduction of the Y510 model.

The IdeaPad series retains enough ThinkPad elements to remain familiar, but it also offers good components, and a little more pizzazz to appeal to a non-business base.

The Y510 accommodates a wide range of Intel Core Duo processors and other options. For example, Y510 models with a 1.73-GHz T2370 CPU, 2 GB RAM, 160 HDD, and built-in 802.11 a/b/g wireless are available for under $750. These also include a built-in DVD burner, a screen-deck mounted Webcam plus facial recognition software and Windows Vista Home Premium Edition. For about $150 more, you can find units with a T5450 CPU and a 250-GB hard disk instead.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 includes a 1200x800 15.4" WXGA glossy bright LCD screen, along with a built-in Intel X3100 integrated graphics media accelerator. This gives the unit enough graphics and video oomph to handle ordinary PC work, conventional DVDs and standard TV programs, though HD content may be something of a stretch for this machine. Battery life runs about three and three quarters hours, which is about average for a notebook of this size, weight and power range. The unit delivers decent sound from its Dolby Home Theater speakers through five elements: four mid-range/tweeters, with a pair on the top and bottom decks, and a tiny but capable subwoofer underneath.

The keyboard and housing for the unit are strongly reminiscent of the ThinkPad series and are solid, well-built, and suffer from very little flex or wobble. Even the touchpad is well situated and large enough for most users to find comfortable. You’ll also find a collection of media buttons for music playback and DVD controls when using the unit for personal entertainment. The Y510 also includes an ExpressCard/54 slot, three USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire port, TV out (S-video), a 6-in-1 memory card reader, a mic in and headphone out, RJ-11 (modem), RJ-45 (10/100 Ethernet), built-in IR receiver and VGA output. The omission of HDMI makes it harder to take the Y510 seriously as a multimedia notebook, but its solid construction and modest price make it a formidable competitor for the mid-range notebook market.

At 6.4 lbs / 2.9 kg (including battery), and with dimensions of 14.3" x 10.2" x 1.1-1.4" / 362mm x 260mm x 29-36mm, the Y510 makes a reasonably compact and mostly luggable unit, and is well-suited for grads or dads on the move. Whether you’re thinking "new notebook" as a first-time purchase for one or the other, or replacing an older unit, its recipient is bound to appreciate the Y510 sturdy exterior and reasonably capable interior. For more information, please visit the Lenovo Y510 Models page.