Lenovo G550 Review Specs and Price

With its impressive usability, power and mobility, the Lenovo G550 15.6-inch notebook to offer business professionals reliable, affordable and straightforward PC technology.
The G550, a powerful, usable and portable system that vastly exceeds all expectations at this low price point. The price of around $500 may seem netbookish but the display size and performance is no nonsense.


The Lenovo G550 is an updated version of the Value Line G530 with the primary difference being the shift from a 16:10 to a 16:9 screen

Lenovo G550 Specifications:

* Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4200 (2.00GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
* Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (w/ SP1)
* 15.6-inch glossy 16:9 display (1366x768)
* Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
* 3GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM
* 250GB Western Digital 5400RPM HDD
* SuperMulti DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
* Broadcom WiFi (802.11b/g), 10/100 Ethernet, Modem
* 6-Cell 11.1V 48WHr Battery
* Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty
* Dimensions: LxWxH, 14.9 x 9.6 x 1.4"
* Weight: 5lbs 9.0oz
* Price as configured: $549

Lenovo G550 quick review:

Design and Build

The G550s 2.56kg frame seems to promise equally thick-set build quality, but it isnt up to ThinkPad standards. The laptop is a total plastic materials acceptable for a budget notebook is built. However, the design looks very elegant from the outside with a black weave pattern on it. The chassis is 2.5 kilograms to be relatively easily and conveniently carried out on short trips. The outstanding 293-minutes of battery runtime for more than three times the mobility of the Advent and easily beats many other competitors, so that the G550 a fantastic travel partner.

The design of the G550 has changed slightly from the G530, switching from a smooth matte exterior finish, to a black weave pattern. Build quality is excellent. The notebook is made entirely out of plastic, but it looks and feels solid. The interior of the notebook shares the same color as the lid, but is textured with a rougher matte finish similar to what you would find on unpainted sections of a ThinkPad.

Screen and Display

The G550's big change is the transition away from the 16:10 screen size to the wider (but shorter) 16:9 panels. The display has a good size of 15.6 inch displays 1366 x 768 pixels in standard-16: 9 aspect ratio.

The screen is a glossy one, which many bright colors and contrast, but as with other glossy displays, the reporting of blinding in bright environments such as the office is very annoying to see things on the screen. The fantastic 15.6-inch widescreen panel aids entertainment use. Stunning brightness, colour and contrast combine with deep black levels for truly vibrant images. The glossy Super-TFT coating is not overly reflective, making it easy to view in most lighting conditions.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is easy to type on, sharing the same comfortable and durable feel. The keys have good smooth travel and feedback. The light matte finish of the keys also feel good to the fingertips. Keyboard support is excellent, barely a hint of flex on the main section of the keyboard. The newer 16:9 chassis on the G550 allowed Lenovo to add a numberpad to the keyboard, but they didn't change the support under that side of the keyboard frame.

The touchpad is an ALPS model with average sensitivity is average. The touchpad, on the other hand was not that much impressive. The ALPS pad doesn't have as quick of a refresh rate, so at times it feels like the pointer is lagging behind your finger. Another problem is the surface isn't as sensitive for users who like to use tap to click and tap to drag frequently.

Port and Performance

The laptop has an USB, Optical Drive and the AC Power jack on the right side and a Kensington lock slot, LAN, VGA and another two USB Port on the left. The wireless on/off switch and headphone and microphone jacks are on the front and there are no ports on the back. We do not expect HDMI or a FireWire port from a budget priced notebook but at least another USB Port was expected from a 15 inch notebook. Also, there is no Express card Slot or Memory Card reader slot to be found on it.

Performance is quite good. The Lenovo G550 works very well as a desktop replacement notebook, handling most tasks with ease. The standard system comes with a Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200 processor clocking at 2.0 GHz with 1 MB L2 cache and 800 MHz FSB. The 3GB DDR3 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM is also enough for all of your necessities of a basic machine like surfing the web, playing SD or HD movies, or playing the occasional 2D game like Peggle.

Battery

The 6-cell battery provides up to 4 hours and 18 minutes in our tests with the screen brightness reduced to 70%, Vista on the "Balanced" power profile, and wireless active.