Lenovo IdeaPad V470 – Nicely Built 14-in Laptop

Pros:

The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 is a nicely build system with rock-solid keyboard and these are two of the finest aspects of the system and the best thing is that you can have it in a wide range of configurations.

Cons:

The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 boasts a generous design and has a price tag which is similar to plenty of other systems in the market with similar specifications and it doesn’t even have USB 3.0.

Introduction:

The definition of a laptop according us is changing every passing day. The machine that we initially thought was simple and straightforward computing functions now has started boasting spectacular features and exceptional design. But sadly none of those aspects could be seen in Lenovo IdeaPad V470.

Now, that’s not to say that the Lenovo IdeaPad V470 is a bad or poor laptop. It’s just that this system this is just too average. Priced at $599, the Lenovo IdeaPad V470 comes loaded with Intel Core i3-processor, and is a pretty bulky, but with an incredibly exceptional keyboard. In comparison to the $549 priced Dell Inspiron 14z, the IdeaPad V470 is priced $50 in addition and brings in USB 3.0 instead of an eSATA port, though at the same brings a fingerprint reader. Seeing at all those features we can say that the IdeaPad V470 is being aimed at small-business centered buyers. The brushed metal touch and the strong build quality of the system are incredibly appreciated, but despite that all the V470 just wasn’t up to the mark.

Design:

The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 boasts a metal casing and brushed-metal trim gives the Lenovo IdeaPad V470 a professional, sharp-edged and polished look, which we haven’t seen in many of the other lustrous plastic IdeaPads, but sadly that doesn’t do any favors to the system. Though the IdeaPad V470 ends up having a clean and angular look, which theoretically is a lot more “specialized,” but the thick metal build here makes it look a tad more out of date.

The biggest highlight for the Lenovo IdeaPad V470 is the keyboard of the system and hence we’d also move straight on to that. Despite their odd designs we like the ThinkPads, because of their keyboard. The light and crispy concave keys of the keyboard having decent travel results in precise typing with minimum errors. The raised island style keyboard has been fitted on the V470, and the best thing is that it works pretty nicely. One problem that we’ve with the keyboard is that it isn’t backlit and the right-side piece of page down and page up keys spasms the access to the Shift/Enter keys.

The touchpad of the IdeaPad V470 is pretty small with separate buttons positioned underneath for doing the job. But the overall experience of using the touchpad is pretty strange as oppose to the huge multitouch touchpad that we’ve seen in many of the modern laptops. The touchpad will please the old laptop fanatics. But rest we don’t think will like the touchpad, and even pulling the 2-fingure gesture is pretty tough.

One strange but nice feature here is a fingerprint reader, which is available here as standard features and is being positioned on the right side of the touchpad. The touchpad here is part of Lenovo’s preinstalled safety features. Mainly the fingerprint reader is used for password protection.

The display of IdeaPad V470 is a 14-in lustrous display, and is pretty nice, but when viewed from different angles its pretty sharp. The IdeaPad V470’s display has native resolution of 1,366 x 768-pixels which we think is pretty standard for the system of this size. Positioned above the display is a 2.0 MP Webcam which is capable of capturing HD-quality video and is pretty decent for Web chats. This again is pretty standard feature. The speakers of the system perform decently with high volume.

System Configuration

• Price: $599
• Manufacturer: Lenovo
• Part Number: 43962BU
• Notebook type: Midsize, Budget
• OS Provided: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition
• Processor: 2nd Gen Core i3, Intel i3-2330M / 2.2 GHz
• System weight: 4.9 lbs
• Dimensions (W x D x H): 13.4 in x 9.3 in x 1.2 in
• RAM: 4 GB / 8 GB (max), DDR3 SDRAM – 1333 MHz
• Features: ThinkVantage Active Protection System, Hard drive password, Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately), Power-on password and Administrator password
• Built-in Devices: Wireless LAN antenna, Bluetooth antenna and Stereo speakers
• Graphics Processor / Vendor: Intel HD Graphics 3000 Dynamic Video Memory Technology
• Hard Drive: 500GB 5,400rpm
• Chipset: Intel HM65
• Video: VGA & HDMI
• Data: 3 USB 2.0, 1 USB 2.0/eSATA and SD card reader
• Networking: Ethernet, Bluetooth & 802.11n Wi-Fi
• Supported flash memory cards: xD-Picture Card, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO & MultiMediaCard
• Service & Support Details: One year warranty Limited warranty – Parts and labor – 1 year – Carry-in

Performance:

The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 comes loaded with 2nd gen Intel Core i3 processor, a 500 GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM. But none of those specifications are exceptional and that becomes pretty apparent in the performance of the IdeaPad V470.

The IdeaPad V470 is powered by a 6-cell battery pack, which again is mediocre and delivers an unimpressive result of 3 hrs and 54 mins for video playback. The battery life is under the tradition 5-hr mark that we’ve seen on a lot of laptops in the market. So, in general there isn’t much to talk about the IdeaPad V470 in terms of performance, and considering the fact that it’s aimed at business-centered users we think asking anything serious from it is no fair.

Support:

The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 comes loaded with 1-year standard warranty from Lenovo. You could extend that base warranty from Lenovo’s Web site and could get yourself an extra 3 years of warranty for extra $99 or $160 together with in-home service and accidental damage protection. The support could also be got through chat or 25 x 7 toll-free numbers, together with documentation and software downloads.

Word from the Experts:

The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 could be seen as a nicely built 14-in laptop at respectable price. The system doesn’t have anything exceptional to separate it from the crowd, and hence you very well could go unnoticed.