Product ID: 1003072
Battery Fits: IdeaPad U310 Series
Property: original computer batteries
Rating: 11.1 V
Capacity: 46 Wh \ 4160 mAh
Feature: Rechargeable Li-ion battery
Color: BLACK
Brand: LENOVO
Warranty: 9 months
During the L11M3P01 Battery Test (continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi), the LENOVO IdeaPad U310 lasted 5 hours and 19 mintues. That's below the 6:51 ultraportable average, but in line with other Ultrabooks we've recently tested. (Many Ultrabook makers seem to be willing to trade endurance for a thinner profile and lighter weight.) The VAIO T13 and the DELL Inspiron 14Z Laptop Battery managed only 5:05 and 5:35, respectively.
Design
To call the IdeaPad U310 an Ultrabook of a different color would be an understatement. We were immediately mesmerized by its aluminum Aqua Blue lid. The subtle sheen of the tiny metallic flakes danced with every flicker of light. A slightly raised diamond-cut chrome Lenovo insignia sits in the top right corner, creating a beautiful contrast.
The U310 is also available in Cherry Blossom and (boring) Graphite Grey for people who aren't keen on blue.
The interior of the notebook uses matte eggshell white plastic that extends around the sides of the notebook. It's cool and distinct. A lone chrome power button sits in the top left corner just above the black matte keyboard.
In terms of weight, the 3.6 pound, 13.1 x 8.8 x 0.7-inch U310 is smack in the middle of the 3.4 pound, 12.7 x 8.9 x 0.71-inch Sony VAIO T13 and the 4.6 pound, 13.7 x 9.5 x 0.83-inch Dell Inspiron 14z. However, it cuts a slim profile with its 0.7 inch thickness.
Display
The LENOVO IdeaPad U310's 13.3-inch HD 1366 x 768p display delivered sharp text, making reading the latest headlines from NYTimes.com and CNN.com easy to read. The HD YouTube trailer of Django Unchained was a canopy of subtle beauty set against the violent backdrop of vengeance, such as delicate drops of crimson blood being splashed across pillowy plumes of cotton. Our eyes were also drawn to Jamie Foxx's electric blue suit against a rose and tangerine sky.
Unfortunately, the U310 doesn't have the brightest display. Measuring only 148 lux, it was easily outshone by the 239 lux ultraportable category average as well as the VAIO T13 and XPS 13, which measured 163 and 254 lux, respectively. We were also disappointed with the shallow 45-degree viewing angles, which led to immediate washout if we ventured any farther from in front of the display. (ACER AL12B32 batteries)
Audio
Despite receiving a hearty assist from Dolby's Home Theater v4 technology, the LENOVO IdeaPad U310's speakers barely filled a large room. However, the sound was nice and clear, and we appreciated Dolby's optimized presets for Music, Movies and Games along with the ability to create our own custom presets.
As we listened to Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up, we clearly heard the funky bass, distinctive cowbells and background party vocals accentuating Gaye's silky tenor.
Keyboard
The non-backlit Chiclet keyboard (28cm x 10cm) is identical to the one found on the U.S. models of the IdeaPad U400, U300 or U300s. Each key of the AccuType keyboard is evenly spaced and of generally equal surface area - including the directional keys - unlike most Ultrabooks like the Dell XPS 13, Portege Z835, Acer Aspire S3, Asus Zenbook or the ultrathin Samsung Series 9. As a result, both scrolling and typing on the LENOVO IdeaPad U310 never become very cramped. The keys are flat with no concavity, but tactile feedback and key depth are both satisfactory and a touch deeper than many Ultrabooks and are even quieter than expected.
However, users may not initially agree with the shorter than usual Shift, Enter, and Backspace keys thanks to the encroaching Home, End, and PgUp/PgDn keys from the right end. Typists who are accustomed to having Enter and Backspace keys on the edge of the keyboard (for example, on MacBooks or desktop keyboards) may require some time to grow accustomed to the smaller sizes and different locations.
The F1-F12 keys take backstage as they can only be activated with an accompanying FN key. Fortunately, users can easily bring these important keys back to the forefront through the system BIOS if desired. Otherwise, we found the keyboard experience of the U310 to be agreeable without any noteworthy issues.
Touchpad
The large and flat touchpad surface is smooth and made of glass, but is still textured similarly to the adjacent palm rests. Its surface area (10.5cm x 7.0cm) is exactly that of the touchpad found on the IdeaPad U300s and similar in size to the touchpads of the XPS 13 or Asus Zenbook UX32. Left and right mouse clicks are integrated into the touchpad, although the bottom half of the surface is more easily clickable than the top half. Despite this, clicking or double-tapping anywhere on the surface will result in a left click input as only the smaller bottom right portion is reserved for right clicks. While the click depth itself is shallow, the feedback feels solid.
Gliding across the touchpad is easy and responsive. Even multi-touch gestures like two-finger scrolling, pinch-to-zoom, and three-finger flicking happen smoothly and quickly without significant misinterpretations or input errors. Up to 5-finger gestures can be recognized by the touchpad, but this is likely a preemptive compatibility feature for Windows 8 as the default Synaptics 8.0 software only provides customization options for up to 4-fingers only.
Lenovo also boasts a “smart sensor” that automatically disables the touchpad while typing to prevent accidental cursor movement. The feature works as intended and proves to be quite useful during word processing.(LENOVO L10M4P12 batteries)
In general, we found little to complain about the touchpad. Its precise performance makes the notebook that much easier to work with without a nearby mouse. The surface is a huge fingerprint magnet, however, and may be difficult to wipe clean the inevitable grime buildup without a wet cloth.
Heat
After watching a full-screen video on Hulu for 15 minutes, the touchpad space between the G and H keys registered a cool 80 degrees Fahrenheit while the underside measured 82 degrees. We were able to watch video, play some Bastion and write this review with the U310 in our laps for well over an hour with no complaints.
Webcam
The 1-megapixel webcam delivered sharp images overall. We saw better color in natural lighting, while images in fluorescent lighting were slightly oversaturated. The webcam can capture stills and video in 1280 x 720 using CyberLink YouCam 3.
In addition to video chatting in ooVoo, we used the webcam to add an extra layer of security via Lenovo VeriFace 4.0. The face-recognition software was quick and intuitive, taking about 30 seconds to record our faces and create a profile.
Ports
The right side of the U310 houses a USB 2.0 port, a combination headphone/microphone jack and a jack for the AC adapter. An SD Card slot sits on the left front lip of the notebook. A pair of USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet and a button for Lenovo's One Key Recovery service is located on the notebook's left side.
Performance
Intel's Ivy Bridge processors continue to impress, powering the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 to solid scores. Equipped with a 1.7-GHz Intel i5-3317U processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB 5,400-rpm hard drive with a 32GB SSD and an Intel GMA HD Graphics 4000 GPU, the U310 easily streamed video from Hulu while we played a few rounds of Plants vs. Zombies with seven open tabs in Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.(FUJITSU FPCBP324 batteries)
During PCMark 07, the LENOVO IdeaPad U310 scored an impressive 3,480. That's 781 points above the 2,699 ultraportable average. The VAIO T13 and the Inspiron 14z, which also have 1.7GHz Intel i5-3317U CPUs, notched a lower 3,334 and 2,984, respectively.
The U310 booted the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium in 33 seconds, much faster than the 0:47 category average. However, other Ultrabooks are faster. The Inspiron 14z and its 500GB 5,400-rpm hard drive loaded Windows in 0:28 while the VAIO T13 and its hybrid drive (500GB 5,400-rpm and 32GB MLC SSD) booted in a swift 0:25.
During the File Transfer Test, the U310's hard drive duplicated 4.97GB of mixed media files in 3 minutes and 29 seconds for a transfer rate of 28.6 MBps, which is well below the 45.7 MBps average. The Inspiron 14z notched 29.8 MBps, while the VAIO T13 delivered a dismal 18.6 MBps.
On the OpenOffice test, the U310 took 6 minutes and 6 seconds to match 20,000 names to their corresponding addresses, blowing past the 8:33 ultraportable average. However, the VAIO T13 and Inspiron 14z finished slightly faster at 5:53 and 5:47, respectively.
Verdict
Those in search of an eye-catching portable Ultrabook at an affordable price should put the $799 Lenovo IdeaPad U310 on their short list. The notebook delivers fast Ivy Bridge performance and sound ergonomics inside a design that doesn't look anything like a MacBook Air clone. However, the battery life could be better, and the display isn't the brightest.
Consumers looking for more graphical oomph will want to check out the $899 Dell Inspiron 14z. For an additional $100, shoppers get an ultrabook with AMD discrete graphics. Overall, though, the U310 is one of the best value-priced Ultrabooks yet.
More info: laptop-batteries.com.au,laptop-battery.org.uk, battery-store.eu
