Lenovo’s new 3000 line of notebooks wasn’t full without ultraportables. Recently lenovo fixed this by introducing widescreen ultraportable V100 series.

“The latest addition to Lenovo’s line of non-ThinkPad laptops for small businesses, the Lenovo 3000 V100 walks the line between ultraportable and thin-and-light. With a starting weight of 4 pounds, the V100 combines a relatively small form factor and a 12.1-inch wide-screen display with features you’d usually find on larger laptops, such as a comfortable keyboard and a built-in optical drive. And while the V100 isn’t the only “large ultraportable” on the market (the similar-sized Dell XPS M1210 and the Sony VAIO SZ offer a comparable set of features), its $1,099 starting price makes it one of the least expensive models in its class. Our test system included $500 worth of upgrades for a still reasonable $1,599. If you’re looking for a laptop that’s portable but still has all the features you’ll need for work (and some play), the Lenovo 3000 V100 is a very good choice.

The V100 is the smallest Lenovo 3000 laptop available; like its siblings, the C100 and the N100, the V100 is silver on the outside and dark gray on the inside. Its steel hinges and relatively sturdy construction reflect its ThinkPad heritage, though it doesn’t have the ThinkPad’s drain holes, shock-mounted hard drive, or keyboard light. The V100 weighs 4 pounds and measures 10.5 inches deep, 14 inches wide, and 1.5 inches thick, so it’s a bit larger than the Dell XPS M1210. Total travel weight with the V100’s modest AC adapter is 5.2 pounds, striding the line between ultraportable and thin-and-light. There are certainly lighter laptops on the market, including Lenovo’s own ThinkPad X60s, but the V100 is reasonably portable for regular travel.

Priced at $1,599, our Lenovo 3000 V100 test system includes some pretty sweet components: a 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 1GB of fast 667MHz RAM, a roomy 100GB hard drive spinning at a brisk 5,400rpm. About the only average part of the configuration is its integrated Intel graphics card that borrows up to 128MB of system memory. The V100 performed admirably on CNET Labs’ mobile benchmarks, almost matching the performance of the Dell XPS M1210, which has a faster processor and a graphics card with dedicated memory. Like the consumer-focused XPS M1210, the V100 should handle multitasking very smoothly. The V100’s 4-hour, 5-minute battery life was a bit above average for an ultraportable and should carry you most of the way through a cross-country flight; however, the XPS M1210’s battery lasted 15 minutes longer, while the Sony VAIO SZ’s battery held out for more than 5.5 hours.” - writes Cnet.com
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This entry was posted on June 26, 2006 and is filed under 3000 V series.