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Battery Life
In idle mode, the computer stops after 8:40 h. The Lenovo G575 has a battery life of 6:52 h. We are testing the idle mode with the Battery Eater Reader test. Here, the screen operates at minimum brightness, the energy saver profile is activated and the wireless modules (WLAN, Bluetooth) are deactivated.
Under load, the Lenovo G575 lasts for 2:19 h minutes, which is slightly better than the Lenovo G585 with a duration of 2:02 h. In the load test, the notebook completed the Battery Eater Classic test. Here, the screen is running at full brightness and the high performance profile and the wireless modules are activated.
A single battery charge held the practically relevant WLAN test running for 5:00 h. The Lenovo G575 yet squeezes another 13 minutes of running time out of a single L11S6Y01 battery charge and therefore reaches a total of 5:13 h. In this test, websites are automatically opened in 40-second intervals by a script. The energy-saver profile is activated and the display brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m2.
In the DVD test, the notebook reaches a running time of 4:01 h. That is enough to watch two long movies. In this test, the G585 again beats the G575, which offers a running time of 3:31 h. For the DVD test, the wireless modules are switched off and the screen is set to maximum brightness. The energy-saver profile or a higher profile (if the DVD does not play smoothly) is used.
For a computer in this price range, the battery life is excellent. Even many much more expensive laptops do not reach this battery life. Here, the low energy consumption of the components becomes noticeable.
Case
Lenovo puts all the technology into a black, shiny plastic casing. The notebook is predominantly designed in piano black finish. Only the lower part of the notebook is made of matt plastic. Lenovo G575 still has an entirely matt casing (only the display frame is shiny). The shiny surface appears quite valuable and spares the usual cheap charm. In an office device, however, one rather desires a matt appearance. The shiny finish is definitely an eye-catcher here. The design of the casing is simple. The surfaces are completely smooth and without decorations or the like.
The casing makes a sturdy impression, basically. Under pressure, it is bending slightly only. The area below the optical drive makes a good impression too. The casing of the G585 is stiffer than that of the G575. It can be twisted only a little bit when lifting up. This is an improvement compared to the G575. The clearances are not always completely tight. The hinges hold the screen stable in position. The lid bounces when the notebook is being shaken - for example, on the train or in the car. Altogether it can be said that the buyer does gets a satisfying casing, which is not always the case at a price of 339. (LENOVO L11P6R01 batteries)
Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, Lenovo surprised with two USB 3.0 ports. Two connections of this type are currently rare in such low priced devices. The two connections are on the left-hand side. Those who want to use the device as a DVD player for the domestic flat-screen television will be delighted by the HDMI port. Besides the mentioned ports, a VGA slot and an Ethernet port are located on the left-hand site. On the right-hand side of the device is a third USB port, which only supports the USB 2.0 standard. In addition, there is a combo port for headphones and a microphone available. The memory card reader is located at the front of the notebook. This computer allows the use of SD and MMC cards.
Keyboard
The Lenovo G585 has a chic let-style keyboard (called AccuType keyboard by Lenovo) including a numeric keypad. Like the keyboard of the Lenovo G575, the G585 keyboard makes typing really pleasant. The keys have sufficient key stroke. The enter, backspace and the right shift key are smaller than usual. These keys can easily be missed but you get used to it after a while. People writing a lot get a good keyboard in an affordable notebook here.
Touchpad
The touchpad has a size of 9.7 cm x 4.7 cm and is part of the palm rest. Touchpad and palm rest overlap without edges. The touchpad's surface is slightly dimpled. The fingers can easily slide over the surface. The two mouse buttons sit beneath the touchpad. Both have a clear pressure point. The touchpad is from Synaptics and is multi-touch capable. Functions such as zooming-in with two-fingers gestures are therefore available.
Display
Lenovo launches the computer on the market with a 15.6-inch display, common and expected for this price range, which has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. The screen surface shines. LEDs illuminate the display. Lenovo does not offer other displays. For such a low-priced notebook, the Lenovo model has an unusually bright display (average 236 cd/m2). Even much more expensive computers will not reach this in most of the cases. The screen illumination is fine, too.
The situation is different for contrast and black level. Here you will notice again that the display is in a very low-cost notebook. The black level is relatively high with 1.61 cd/m. Black areas are shown in shades of gray. Also, the contrast ratio of 145:1 is not worth mentioning. It's not fun to watch movies on the screen. Dark colors blur into a gray mass. It works better with animated films, which offer many intense and bright colors. It is better to watch movies on this display in a darkened room.(LENOVO L1036F01 Battery)
Basically, the screen brightness is sufficient for outdoor use. Direct sunlight, however, should be avoided. Otherwise, the reflective surface would make using the computer difficult. The low contrast of the display makes is necessary to avoid direct sunlight as well. The Lenovo G585 feels rather comfortable in shadows. We should not forget about the shiny casing of the notebook. In direct sunlight, reflections of the casing may distract you.
Changing the vertical viewing angle quickly makes the image collapse. The situation is different with the horizontal viewing angle. In this case, the image remains stable on a larger angle. All in all, this result is not surprising.
Speakers
The stereo speakers of the Lenovo G585 are - in contrast to the LENOVO G575 - at the bottom of the notebook. The speakers produce a perfectly acceptable sound. Language is easy to understand. We have tested many notebooks with way worse speakers so far. For an office device, the speakers are more than adequate.
Verdict
The question from the introduction can be easily answered at this point: with the LENOVO G585, Lenovo offers a persisting office notebook. The term netbook in XL hits the bull’s eye. The buyer gets a cheap notebook, which has a long battery life, is quiet and cool, and also consumes very little energy. For such features, one usually has to spend way more money. The good keyboard should be highlighted once more as well, something that should not betaken for granted in such a cheap Notebook.
The LENOVO G585 easily masters daily computing tasks like word processing, reading/ writing e-mails, chatting, skyping or watching DVDs and YouTube videos. But nothing more. The performance of the netbook APU is limited. Even the slowest Intel Celeron processor provides more computing power than the CPU part of AMD Vision E2-1800. Those, who want to play demanding computer games or do intensive photo editing or video editing, should not even think about buying the G585.
If someone is looking for a cheap typewriter, which handles all types of inter-communication and can play videos of all kinds in addition, he is making a good choice with the LENOVO G585. Users of conventional netbooks should take a look at the Lenovo G585 too. If you are tired of staring at a small netbook screen, you might do better with the G585. For a price of 339 euros, the buyer gets a sound offer.
More info: laptop-batteries.com.au , laptop-battery.org.uk , battery-store.eu
