If ever a laptop were to be on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 would be it. The luxurious 2.9-pound, cherry-colored ultraportable (priced at $1,899), aimed at fashion-conscious consumers, sports a distinct but subtle flowing Tendril pattern, and a glossy, piano-like keyboard. But style is only half the story: A bright LED-backlit display, long battery life, and built-in facial recognition make this system more than just a looker.
Check out our hands-on video on the IdeaPad U110 »
Striking Design
The U110 could go head-to-head with such systems as the $2,699 ASUS U2E in the most fashionable notebook contest. The Tendril pattern etched into the red, aluminum lid (the system is also available in black) is reminiscent of an engraving on antique china. The artistic motif extends to the underside of the system. The fan vents are styled after the Greek key pattern. The luxury feast continues under the lid to the system’s black, piano key–inspired keyboard and palm rests. However, both get smeared with fingerprints easily. Lenovo includes a microfiber cloth for wiping down the system, but we don’t see road warriors remembering to tote this accessory.
Measuring 10.8 x 7.7 x 0.72 inches (for those keeping score, that’s 0.04 inches thinner than the Apple MacBook Air at its thickest point), the U110 is slender enough to pop in a shoulder bag or small carry-on, and at 2.9 pounds with its seven-cell battery, it’s light enough to carry all day. Travel weight is remarkably light with the system’s small power brick; the charger, which measures 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.5 inches, is no bigger than an iPod classic and weighs only 0.6 pounds. Or you can opt for the four-cell battery, which shaves 0.5 pounds off the system weight, making for a nice trade-off (carry the lighter notebook plus the adapter for the same weight as carrying the heavier system).
Such diminutive dimensions do result in a few forgivable sacrifices. The system lacks an internal optical drive, though it is packaged with an external, USB-powered DVD±RW drive. To its credit, the U110 does sport three USB ports, a FireWire port, an 6-in-1 media card reader, an ExpressCard slot, VGA port, LAN, and Ethernet port.
Keyboard and Touch-Sensitive Controls
For its size, the keyboard is spacious and comfortable. However, the glossy keys initially felt slippery and take some getting used to. Atypical of Lenovo ThinkPad keyboards, the layout was flat, and requires a slight learning curve, even for touch-typists. Likewise, the touchpad is slippery but has enough room for two fingers, and the mouse buttons provided sufficient tactile feedback. We had no problem connecting a Bluetooth mouse for a long working stint.
Located above the right-hand side of the keyboard is a strip of hidden touch-sensitive controls that are illuminated only when you slide the area with a finger. Four reddish-orange LED controls intertwined with the Tendril pattern appear for the Dolby control, two user-defined shortcut buttons, and volume control. We programmed both of the user-defined buttons, one to launch Firefox and the other to launch Microsoft Word. The buttons, including the volume toggle, were extremely responsive.
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