Lenovo is a brand synonymous with notebook computers for the business segment. But with the IdeaPad Y510, the company has added many consumer notebook elements and laced it with business features.

A lot of style has been added to the notebook inside out. On the cover, it has a distinctive weave texture that protects against scratches.

A design novelty you will see once the notebook is opened is the glossy screen surface that extends to the edges of the cover. Lenovo calls this the “frameless screen”, which gives the notebook a clean, distinguished appearance. Also eye-catching is the multi-light battery indicator located on the screen bezel at the bottom-right. Each light represents 20 per cent of battery life.

The Y510 has a 15.4-inch extended graphics array liquid crystal display (LCD) with sharp contrast, great colour and backlight. The display is impressive with a straight and horizontal view, but its over-glossy protective layer reflects surrounding light. Personally, the screen feels more like a mirror than a display. Even after tweaking the display brightness, the reflection remains clear. The user will find himself shifting focus between what is being displayed on the screen and what is being reflected on the glossy surface of the screen.

A unique feature of the Y510 is the wider separation between the keyboard and the LCD with the use of a hinge that provides the user with a more relaxed experience.

The full-sized keyboard with solid and user-friendly keys also ensures a pleasant typing experience.

The Y510 has multimedia capabilities engineered to deliver a home theatre experience. Above the keyboard are touch-sensitive media buttons that provide instant access to Microsoft Media Player for viewing movies or pictures or listening to music.

Notebooks tend to have poor audio quality due to their integrated sound system. But the Y510 is an exception with its five speakers and a Dolby surround sound system. The machine also can be integrated with a home theatre system to deliver a 5.1-channel surround sound experience.

To safeguard the Y510, Lenovo has incorporated its Veriface technology, which can even keep a record of the people who try to access the system. And with the built-in 1.3-megapixel Webcam, the user can scan in his face and use it to log into Windows. The face recognition technology also can lock the user out if there is no activity.

Besides that, the Y510 comes with an energy management feature that helps the user to set battery consumption parameters. A dedicated button named Novo allows the user to select among three main energy-saving features: low performance, balanced and high performance.

For Web surfing and Office application usage, the notebook’s battery should last an average of

three hours.

The Y510 comes with the standard drives and ports, including a dual-layer DVD drive, three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port and a six-in-one card reader.

If there is one thing I could change about the Y510, it would be its weight. At over 2.9 kilograms, it is rather heavy to lug around.

Product: IdeaPad Y510
Manufacturer: Lenovo
Enquiries: Think Products Malaysia (Tel: 03-76818000)
Price: From RM3,599

Specifications

Dimensions: 360mm by 262mm by 36.2mm
Weight: 2.96kg
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5550
CPU speed: Dual-core 1.83GHz
Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium
Hard disk drive: 160GB
Memory: 2GB DDR2 (667MHz) with two slots expandable to 4GB
Display: 15.4-inch WXGA LCD
Resolution: 1,280 by 800 pixels
Video graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS, 128MB DDR2 VRAM with Turbo cache up to 512MB
Optical drive: DVD SuperMulti DL
Networking: Modem, 802.11a/b/g

Our verdict ****
Physical design ****
Documentation ***1/2
User-friendliness ****
Features ****
Performance ****
Value for money ****