Review: Lenovo IdeaPad Y450

[singlepic id=91 w=450 float=center]

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y450 is the little brother to the 16-inch IdeaPad Y650, which I previously reviewed here. It looks very similar inside and out, and has a lot of the same features, albeit with a smaller 14.1-inch widescreen. The Y450 is playing in a crowded market space here, so let’s take a look to see if Lenovo has what it takes to compete.

Quick Glance

Good: Stylish design, good performance, tons of features, well priced

Bad: Ill-placed touchpad, weak battery life

Find the best deal on a Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 at LogicBuy

Design
As stated previously, the IdeaPad design is love-it or hate-it. Whichever camp you are in, you have to give Lenovo props for putting a classy design into machines that cost in the $500-700 range. The multi-tone glossy finish inside is well executed, if smudgy, and the attention to detail around the lighting still catches my eye. At the center of the black “control center” (as I call it) above the keyboard there are a series of LED’s which light up and follow your finger across the touch sensitive strip below it, used for launching one of four Lenovo utilities built into the IdeaPad. During normal operation, these ebb in and out, signifying nothing of real use.

The exterior sports a very similar black textured design, with a bit of orange trim around very edge of the LCD top cover. While the textured material on the top cover doesn’t feel quite as soft and rich as the higher end Y650, it still comes off very well, especially on such an inexpensive machine. Even the bottom of the machine is adorned with vents that are cut into distinct patterns, for whatever aesthetic value that adds for you. Unfortunately the entire chassis of the Y450 is made from ABS plastic, whereas the higher end Y650 has carbon-fiber reinforced plastic and a magnesium alloy, but it doesn’t detract from the impression one gets from the notebook, and you do have to cut costs somewhere in a $500-800 machine.

Keyboard & Touchpad
As with most consumer laptops, the IdeaPad lineup uses a 6-row design instead of the 7-row type found on business notebooks like ThinkPads. Being used to typing on full-size and ThinkPad keyboards nearly exclusively, I didn’t have much trouble adapting to the Y450′s keyboard. As with the Y650, the keyboard delivers an excellent typing experience, with great stiffness and tactile response.

[singlepic id=92 w=600 float=center]

If I have to use a 6-row keybord, I generally prefer the commonly used Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys to be stacked vertically on the right and that is how Lenovo has implemented it here. With the recent debate around Fn key placement, Lenovo has kept that consistent with ThinkPads: you will find the Fn on the far bottom left. What they didn’t keep entirely consistent is which functions the F-keys (F1, F2, etc) perform when combined with Fn. A handy, and classy, touch added to the keyboard are two LED’s that light up when the CapsLock or NumLock are engaged, the NumLock light being on the F8 key where that function resides. Heck, in a dark room the NumLock light provides decent area lighting, although your typing will of course be all messed up due to the embedded number pad.

As beautifully executed as the keyboard is, the touchpad is a disappointment. Despite not having the acre of palm rest space that the Y650 has, the Y450 has a sizeable area for you to mouse around. The texture and feel is very similar to that of the Y650 and numerous people have reported they hate it. I don’t mind it and I didn’t mind the Y450′s touchpad either. The vertical scroll strip works well, but you will learn to keep your finger just barely on the outside edge of the touchpad and are rewarded with a very precise and sensitive scrolling operation. Multitouch features are included and even the touchpad buttons are sublime, with moderate travel and a soft touch. There is also an LED that lights up inbetween the touchpad buttons to let you know the touchpad is disabled. What disappoints about the Y450′s touchpad is its location.

[singlepic id=96 w=700 float=center]

For some reason, Lenovo’s designers placed the touchpad slightly left of center. I’m disadvantaged to begin with, being used to a ThinkPad X61 keyboard that doesn’t have a touchpad, the fact that I’m left handed, and that I have large hands. During typing, I find my palm causing unintended mouse actions because it brushes the touchpad, and I can only adjust my typing position so far. I did adjust the “PalmCheck” option in the Synaptics driver settings, noticing a few less triggers with it set to Maximum. That doesn’t do much to relieve the frustration of unintended actions occurring when I’m in the middle of typing a long document (like this review).

My final comment is about the system function buttons above the keyboard. They all work fine, but the volume controls are a little unintuitive. At least in the US, most volume controls on any device have the “decrease volume” function on/towards the left, and the increase on the right, whether it be a knob, button, or whatever. The Y450 has this in opposite fashion, likely a holdover from the mainly Chinese design these machines have evolved from. It’s not the end of the world, but I did a double-take when I instinctively pressed for the volume to lower and it went up instead.

[singlepic id=91 w=600 float=center]

Display
Billed as an ultraportable multimedia machine, good display quality is an important attribute to have for the Y450. It sports a 14-inch 16:9 ratio LCD, running at 1366×768 (WXGA) resolution with an LED backlight. Specs aside, it is a competitive, if not excellent, display. It is plenty bright, has rich colors, and is a pleasure to watch video on. It does of course suffer from the same problems that most consumer notebook LCD’s have, as did the Y650, namely lacking viewing angles. However you won’t find yourself pining for the right angle by adjusting the LCD all day, as this notebook’s hinges prevent the LCD from adjust so far back that you lose the optimal viewing angle. In fact, if you just set it a hair or two forward of the full rear position, you should be golden.

Multimedia
Complemented by a strong screen, the Y450 lives up to its promise of multimedia prowess. While the speakers aren’t labeled as “JBL” like the Y650, they do have simlar attractive grillwork and most importantly, produce loud, crisp sound. As with most notebooks the speakers do lack bass, but can achieve sufficient volume to overpower nearby distractions. There is a dual-array microphone and webcam for you VoIPers. However if you prefer to use your laptop in your lap, you’ll find that the webcam cuts all but your head if the LCD is adjusted for optimal viewing. You can still view the display if its tilted forward for a better camera shot, but webcam usage might be better left for a desk.

[singlepic id=88 w=600 float=center]

Despite having a price tag near that of the stripped down netbooks, the Y450 comes well loaded with multimedia features that should meet most everyone’s needs. A DVD burner, HDMI output, VGA output, eSATA, ExpressCard 34 slot, and even a 4-pin Firewire port are standard on every model. The HDMI output works flawlessly within Vista, as it did on the IdeaPad Y650, and both audio and video transmit automatically. Pictured above is the ExpressCard34 slot, with the slot blank sticking out, eSATA, and Firewire ports.

Features & Technology
As touched on above, Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y450 comes with a number of standard features that make for a robust notebook, even in the lowest-end models. Below is a list of the standard features across all Y450′s:

• Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (64-bit is included on models with 4GB RAM)
• 14-inch LED backlit 16:9 display
• Multi-touch touchpad
• ExpressCard 34
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• eSATA
• 4-pin Firewire
• HDMI & VGA video output
• Ethernet & Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100
• 6-cell battery (no higher capacity available)

I really want to stress the high level of features included in this model. Firewire isn’t found in many laptops today at all, but it is standard here along with eSATA and the complement of ports you see above. The only thing noticeably absent from this and most Y450 models is Bluetooth. I personally have no use for Bluetooth, but it appears the higher end models with NVIDIA graphics do have it, although those models aren’t sold on Lenovo.com. Pictured below are the ports on the front of the Y450, with the card reader blank sticking out of the slot.

[singlepic id=90 w=600 float=center]

When choosing between different Y450 models, you’ll find choices in hard drive size, amount of RAM, and processor speed. Our model does have the higher end Core 2 Duo T6400 2GHz CPU, but most everyone will find the much less expensive Core Duo T4200 2GHz chip in the lower end models more than sufficient. Even the baseline model comes with a generous 160GB hard drive and 2GB RAM, with other systems having 3-4GB or 250/320GB hard drives. Lenovo seems to be skipping the 7200rpm hard drives in their IdeaPad notebooks, but given the large value one gets for the design and features, I’m not complaining.

Connectivity & Ports

[singlepic id=95 w=600 float=center]

Right side (front to back): 4-pin Firewire, eSATA, DVD burner, USB 2.0 port, power plug

[singlepic id=93 w=600 float=center]

Left side: 2 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet, VGA, vent, Kensington lock slot

[singlepic id=89 w=600 float=center]

Front (left to right): microphone, headphone, SD card slot, wireless switch

Software Preload
(Copied from the Y650 review, since the preload appears to be the same)
Something of concern to many computer users, especially the more advanced ones, is what kind of software the system comes preloaded with. All Y650 models come with Vista Home Premium and the one we are reviewing has the [32-bit] version. You have everything you need for playing back any type of media you might want and yes, the ubiquitious Office 2007 trial is there.

What I found annoying though was the plethora of Lenovo’s practically adware software, from the first bootup to the regular messages about the Carbonite online backup service. You can uninstall these programs and I’d personally recommend you do so – they add more annoyance than they do value. The Lenovo Idea Center is primarily an accessory and affiliate sales device, with a couple half-hearted RSS and video features built-in. Remember Message Center from ThinkPads? Now it’s called Idea Notes – brilliant.

There is a decent CD/DVD burning suite from Cyberlink called Power2Go and the Lenovo utilities that enable the multimedia buttons are handy. A 90 day trial of Norton is included, for what it’s worth.

Battery Life
Unfortunately I’ve been having some trouble completing my usual battery tests on this machine, due to Vista and my battery testing program – not the Y450. I think I have the issue worked out, so as soon as I have some complete numbers I will update this review. I can say that in my casual usage of this machine, mainly consisting of web browsing and writing, I got around 3.5 hours of runtime. I expect my results to reflect in the 3-4 hour timeframe, which is average if not quite impressive. Unfortunately the lack of any high capacity batteries hurts the Y450′s competitiveness, as it does for the entire IdeaPad lineup.

[singlepic id=87 w=600 float=center]

Real-World Usage
As with most people these days, my regular usage of a laptop revolves around web access, multimedia, and sometimes a local application like Office or Photoshop. The Y450 is marketed to handle all that while still being portable and inexpensive. I have to agree.

While it is no ThinkPad T400s with its listed 4.63 lb weight and 0.8-1.4 inch thickness, I was never really bothered by the Y450′s size. The 16:9 display ratio makes the system a bit longer than a 16:10 machine like the T400s, but not as wide. Likely due to its proportions, I never paid much mind to its weight or thickness when carrying it around the house or toting in my bag.

Performance is of course more than satisfactory, with a speedy Core 2 Duo chip and 3GB RAM. The lower end models use a “slower” Core Duo T4200 chip, still running at 2GHz and with plenty of power for almost everyone’s needs. Battery life was sufficient, but “all-day” users will be disappointed with the 3-4 hour runtime. If you sit the machine on a blanket or cloth, heat will start to build-up on the underside of the system, but for the most part it stays quite cool and quiet. As with the Y650, this model’s HDMI output connected to an HDTV flawlessly at full 1080p resolution and transferred audio without a glitch.

Also as with the Y650, probably my biggest complaint about using the Y450, except for the previously mentioned touchpad, is its hinge design. Like a MacBook’s, this hinge slides behind the base of the system and provides a nice pinching point. It also severely limits the range of adjustment for the LCD and prohibits placing any ports on the rear of the system. For a system intended to be portable, placing the headphone ports on the front can be a real downer.

[singlepic id=94 w=600 float=center]

Conclusion
14-inch laptops chock full of features don’t have to cost thousands of dollars and Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y450 is proof of that. It has pretty much every feature you could want in a portable, multimedia-centric machine and is priced starting around $600. You won’t be computing all day with only a 3-4 hour runtime and no higher capacity batteries, an unfortunate compromise of the feature-packed chassis. While there is a model available with NVIDIA discrete graphics, this will decimate the already so-so runtime and should be avoided unless can stay near a plug. I also caution you to try to find one in person to try out: the off-center touchpad proved very troublesome for me in typing. While there is a convenient Fn key combo to disable the touchpad, it’s still an annoyance. At least the touchpad is incredibly nice to use, if ill placed.

The screen is decent and keyboard excellent, if it just weren’t for that pesky touchpad. With the inclusion of a full power processor, optical drive, and tons of features, the value-priced IdeaPad Y450 should be given a close look against similar CULV laptops and even high end netbooks.

Read other reviews or shop for the best price on a Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 at LogicBuy

Tagged as: ideapad y450