Lenovo G550

The Lenovo G550 is a media-centered notebook laptop that hails from Lenovo’s Value Line range. It is an update to the Lenovo G530 that is also from the same range. The main difference between the two is the shift from a 16:10 display to a 16:9 display. Besides that, in terms of design, the Lenovo G550 sports a black weave pattern as compared to the Lenovo G530’s smooth matte exterior finish. The main cover is made of durable material that can prevent any screen distortion even if the back of the screen is hit or flexed. As for the interior, it is of the same colour as the lid but is textured with a rougher matte finish that is similar to that on unpainted sectios of a ThinkPad. In terms of colour scheme, the Lenovo G550 sports a classic back-to-basics ThinkPad colour that makes it black inside and out. As for the chassis, it is constructed entirely out of plastic but feels solid enough to be sturdy.
Specifications
The Lenovo G550 measures 1.43 in x 15 in x 9.6 in (H x W x D) in dimension and weighs approximately 5.95 lbs. It comes under a one year limited parts and labour warranty. In general, the Lenovo G550 has a normalized cache size of 2, a normalized display size of 15.6 inches and a normalized installed memory of 3 GB. In terms of storage, the Lenovo G550 has an internal hard disk drive that has a capacity of 320 GB. It also has a DVD + / – RW DL optical dive. There is also a 15.6 inch LCD display with glossy screen and LED backlight. Besides that, the display also has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a maximum WXGA resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. In terms of video features, the Lenovo G550 incorporates an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500 MHD. The Lenovo G550 operates on a Microsoft Windows 7 Professional operating system. Alternatively, it is also backwards compatible with a Microsoft Windows XP Pro. Additional features include a network card that features Ethernet 10/ 100 Mbps, Wireless Ethernet IEEE 802.11 Draft N, Wireless Ethernet IEEE 802.11 a, Wireless Ethernet IEEE 802.11 b, and Wireless Ethernet IEEE 802.11 g. There is also a built-in web camera situated right above the display. The Lenovo G550 is powered by a 6-cell battery that has the capacity to provide up to 3.8 hours of battery life. Not only that, it is also Energy Star compliant. In terms of memory, the Lenovo G550 incorporates DDR3 memory with up to 3 GB of installed memory capacity. However, it also has the ability to support up to a maximum of 4 GB of installed memory. Input devices consist of a keyboard and a touchpad. Interface connections consist of Audio line in (1/8 inch mini), audio Line out (1/8 inch mini), Ethernet RJ45, HDMI, USB-Universal Serial Bus 2.0, and VGA. Besides that, there are also several slots on the Lenovo G550’s body itself, including an Express Card 34 slot, and a 5-in-1 Memory Stick MultiMediaCard (MMC), SD Card and an xD-Picture Card.
Reviews

“The Lenovo G550 is a very solid and durable notebook, but now is missing some of the features that were standard on the previous revision. From what could only be considered cost-cutting measures, Lenovo took away one USB port, removed the ExpressCard slot, and moved to an ALPS touchpad. These types of changes might not look as bad if the retail price also dropped, but it is selling for the same price as (if not slightly more than) the previous model. I would still gladly take this model over a lot of the small-business targeted notebooks on the market, but it is just a shame that it is no longer as nice as it once was.” (NotebookReview, 2009)

“Lenovo G550 is a solid notebook delivering good performance. It is better than most other business targeted notebooks in the market. The only problem is that it lacks some of the standard features found on the previous version. ” (LaptopAdvisor, 2009)

“While this is a budget product it contains certain features are typically found on higher end products.” (Retrevo, 2009)