Lenovo IdeaPad U310

Hardware specifications

Christopher Null of Wired wrote, "Surprisingly, the U310 I reviewed performed almost identically in benchmark tests to the U300s I reviewed in November. That’s interesting, because the prior machine featured a 256GB SSD, and the U310 features a slow, 5400rpm 500GB traditional hard drive. It seems the faster CPU and slower hard drive manage to cancel each other out in the end. At about 4 hours, 20 minutes of video playback, even battery life is almost the same as it was last time around."

The U310 has a 13.3-inch 1366x768 resolution screen. The U310 has two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port, a wired ethernet port, and an SD card slot.

Wireless connectivity issues

Many owners reported poor wireless connectivity, a fact later acknowledged by Lenovo, and allegedly affecting all U310 and U410 models built prior to 23 July 2012. Lenovo suggested that users affected by the issue send their Ultrabook to customer support, however no official recall campaign was issued and malfunctioning units in stock were still sold internationally. After the repair, some users still reported the same issue.

However, despite the statement above, reports continue to come in of laptops manufactured after the date mentioned having the same wireless problem.

Lenovo is in the process of settling a class-action lawsuit to either repair the faulty laptops, refund $100, or give a $250 voucher towards another laptop purchase.

Cracking case and hinge issues

A number of users throughout the world have reported that the hinges of their Ideapad U310 notebooks were popped out and sometimes cracking sounds could be heard after half of a year or one year's normal usage. So far, Lenovo refused to acknowledge this problem and tried to charge customers for replacing the whole screen, which almost costs as much as a new U310. No official recall campaign was issued.

Reviews

A review in Wired praised the U310 for its "awesome value," "solid performance," and sturdiness while complaining about the screen quality and lack of keyboard backlighting.

Ultrabook

The U310 is an Ultrabook, although model options are available, which do not meet Intel's definition (in particular lacking any form of SSD). An Ultrabook is a high-end type of subnotebook defined by Intel. Ultrabooks are designed to feature reduced size and weight and extended battery life without compromising performance. Ultrabooks use energy efficient Intel processors with integrated graphics, solid-state drives for improved start-up times and responsiveness, and unibody cases. Because of their minimal size, the number of external ports (e.g. USB) is limited.

By this marketing initiative and an associated $300 million fund, Intel hopes to influence the slumping PC market against rising competition from tablet computers, which are typically powered by competing ARM-based processors. The Ultrabook directly competed against Apple's MacBook Air, which has similar form specifications and powered by Intel CPUs, but running OS X.