Lenovo IdeaPad U550 - 37495EU
Specifications
Pricecompare
Average of 3 scores (from 5 reviews)
Reviews for the Lenovo IdeaPad U550 - 37495EU
Source: Notebookreview.com Archive.org version
Lenovo aimed to create a 15.6-inch notebook that was lighter, thinner, and had better battery life than typical notebooks with the same screen size. I think they accomplished this goal with the U550. The notebook itself is not super exciting but has a lot to like. It is extraordinarily thin and light for a 15.6-inch notebook and four to six hours of battery life. The build quality is satisfactory and the keyboard and touchpad are excellent. There are areas of the notebook that need improvement; I yearned for a higher screen resolution and better speakers. Overall the IdeaPad U550 is a recommendable notebook, though it will be up to the end consumer to decide whether the thin-and-light design is worth extra money over a standard 15.6-inch notebook.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 06/16/2010
Rating: price: 70% performance: 60% features: 80% ergonomy: 60%
Source: Mobile Tech Review Archive.org version
For $679, you get a very capable notebook that can handle work, multimedia and even gaming with a relative ease. The low voltage CPU works well with Windows 7 to provide enough power for daily usage, and when you add the ATI graphics, the machine can excel at multimedia and gaming as well. The long battery life should please road warriors and students who desire mobility, and the thin body and good build quality add more appeal. Long time Lenovo notebook users will like the rich Lenovo software bundle, and the laptop has plenty of ports. The audio isn’t the best we’ve heard on a 15.6” notebook and while the screen looks great, it has a very small viewing angle.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/01/2010
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Digital Trends Archive.org version
As a do-it-all notebook in this price range, you could do worse than Lenovo’s U550. But where other notebooks stand out by paying attention to the details, Lenovo earns itself demerit after demerit by rummaging through the bargain bin in places it doesn’t think we’re looking. Cheap materials and confused styling make the outside something to be tolerated more than appreciated, and a low-resolution screen and pile of cruddy software waiting on the desktop for new owners carries that cheap feeling right over to the inside.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 02/08/2010
Rating: Total score: 65%
Foreign Reviews
Source: PCM NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 06/02/2010
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Komputer for alle DA→EN Archive.org version
Review Type Unknown, online available, Length Unknown, Date: 05/14/2010
Comment
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD: Onboard (shared Memory) GPU built in the GM45, GE45 and GS45 chipset (Montevina). Because of two more shaders and a higher core clock, much faster than the old GMA X3100. Still not advisable for gamers (DirectX 10 games not playable or only with very low settings). The integrated video processor is able to help decode HD videos (AVC/VC-2/MPEG2) , e.g., for a fluent Blu-Ray playback with slow CPUs.
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Pentium Dual Core: The return of the name Pentium, though it is a Yonah core. In fact, it is a double Core processor with a very good relation of performance to current consumption.
SU4100: Entry-level dual core processor for slim and light subnotebooks. Due to the Pentium name, the CPU may have less power saving features than Core 2 Duo processors.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
15.60":
15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.
The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Lenovo: Lenovo ("Le" from English legend, novo (Latin) for new) was founded in 1984 as a Chinese computer trading company. As of 2004, the company was the largest laptop manufacturer in China and, after acquiring IBM's PC division in 2005, the fourth largest in the world. In addition to desktops and notebooks, the company manufactures monitors, projectors, servers, etc, and specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, enterprise solutions and related services.
In 2016, the company ranked first in the world in computer sales. It still held it in 2023 with about 23% global market share. Important product lines are Thinkpad, Legion and Ideapad.
In 2011, it acquired a majority stake in Medion AG, a European computer hardware manufacturer. In 2014, Motorola Mobility was purchased, which gave Lenovo a boost in the smartphone market.
71.67%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.