Hands-on review of Lenovo G580 laptop

Posted Date: 31-Jul-2012	Category: Laptops
Author: Renin	Member Level: Gold	Points: 75

Lenovo has come up with its Essential series with G580. The laptop series promises some of the best features and looks at an affordable price. Let us have a look at the latest launch from Lenovo and know the pros and cons of the laptop as per my first hand usage till now.

Lenovo G580 series is the latest in the essential lines from Lenovo. Recently Lenovo has managed to grab the number one position in Indian laptop market all thanks to an aggressive marketing and features and looks which entice the youngsters. If you already like the Lenovo series, still the G580 will manage to surprise you. Following are some cool features of this great laptop from Lenovo-

(Please note that I have reviewed the Lenovo G580 dual core second generation laptop. The higher range laptops in this series also have the same look and basic features with the exception of higher processor speeds, memory capacity and graphics card)

lenovo g580 laptop picture

Specifications of Lenovo G580 laptop-

Second generation dual core processor
2 GB RAM
500 GB hard disk memory

Advantages of Lenovo G580 laptop-

1. Great looks: The Lenovo G580 comes with great looks. It has a glossy finished body and looks quite slim and high quality. The Lenovo logo is situated in the top left part of the lid. The Screen is quite shiny and the overall laptop looks real neat and tidy.

2. Great Keypad: The Lenovo G580 comes series comes with the island keypad which makes typing an enjoyable task. The keys are widely spaced making sure that there is no mistyping and at the same time provides room enough for fingers to lay on. The keypad would be a boon for people with large fingers who often complain of typing mistakes due to pressing the wrong button. The keyboard is a full sized keyboard and contains the numerical pad too like most of the other Lenovo laptops.

There is however no indicator lights for caps lock on or off as well as numerical on or off which can be a big turn off of this laptop. It is however notification on the screen about the same. Also there is no backlit illumination from the keyboard and hence typing in lowlight condition for amateur typists will be a problem.

3. Heat: the biggest problem with laptops is heating as it not only decreases the life of the component but is also related to several health hazards due to using the laptop on the lap. This laptop however is really cool and you will never feel the heat on the keypad unlike some laptops. Even the bottom portion of the laptop doesn't heat up so much and I am saying this after continuously using internet and Microsoft office while listening to mp3 songs for twelve straight hours!

4. Great Speakers: The Lenovo G580 has one of the best and loudest laptops I have ever come across. The laptop speakers are situated at the bottom of the laptop and produces crystal clear sound with good treble and even some amount of bass and the best part of it- the loudness of sound is comparable to a small sub- woofer. The laptop sounds great even when connected to a standard subwoofer. There are however some glitches. First when the laptop is in charging and connected to a subwoofer then there is a humming sound from the subwoofer indicating interference from the power source. This may be because both the jacks are quite near. Also there is no port for inserting mic. Jack and one has to completely rely on the inbuilt mic located near the keypad. The inbuilt mic however is a big disappointment and produces a slightly distorted sound. So get ready for people asking if you have a cold when you chat them in Skype.

5. Silence is golden: The laptop produces absolutely no sound. No sound of the fan, no sound of the hard disk. It is the best laptop if you are going for a secret mission and want to stay clear of enemy commandos. Jokes aside, the fan is noise control and all the sound that comes from this laptop is when you load a disk.

6. USB 3.0 and HDMI port: USB 3.0 is the latest and promises faster uploading and downloading speeds from your USB drive. Also with the HDMI port one can connect to HD TV and watch videos and presentations on the large screen instead of the small screen of the laptop.

7. Speed: The laptop is quite speedy and rarely hanged during the past two weeks even though I use it for around 8-9 hours every day. Although I haven't tested the same with 3D games, it works perfect for net surfing, Microsoft office and watching videos.

8. Clarity of screen: The Lenovo G580 has a clear screen and watching HD videos is a great experience. Despite the dual core second generation lacking an external graphics card, the images rendered are of superb quality and produces great contrast. The screen is viewable from 170 degrees and hence won't be a problem if you want to watch a movie with friends. The laptop however has a shiny screen which means it is hard to watch directly under the sun.

9. Lenovo One key rescue system: The one key rescue system can be the savior if your laptop happens to crash or get infected by virus. Just a click on the button is all you need and the last backup version of the software would be there as if nothing happened to the laptop.

10. Energy management features and cleaning features- the laptop comes with various energy management features and allows you to select maximum battery life option so that you don't have to go hunting for batteries any soon. What happens here is that the battery is charged upto only 60 percent and after which the laptop consumes most of its power demands from the direct ac supply and hence increasing the life span of the battery. Also the battery lasts for about 4 hours when fully charged.

11. It comes with all the connectivity features viz. Bluetooth and WiFi.

12. The best of all, the Lenovo G580 dual core costs only Rs 24990 at Emall stores, which makes it one of the cheapest laptops in India. The prices might have fallen down slightly by now.

Disadvantages of Lenovo G580 laptop:

1. The lack of microphone jack is a major turn off! The microphone jack is missing even for higher range of models of the same series.

2. Although the body looks quite great with the glossy finish, the same causes problems as it also doubles up as a finger print magnet and every ten minutes you would find yourself cleaning the finger prints from the crime scene.

3. The glossy screen also makes sure that operating the laptop outdoors is not a pleasing experience. A matt version of the laptop would be a welcome relief here.

4. The USB ports are a bit tight and it takes some care while inserting and removing pen drives.

5. A Lenovo backpack is included with this model which looks more like a school bag. Definitely a turn off for professionals who would like to carry a side bag instead.

6. Absence of a preloaded operating system means you have to load the operating system yourself, wait for all the procedure and hence waste some time in doing the same. It may however not be a problem for people who have been doing it for some time.

Do I recommend this laptop? Yes! I would say this is the laptop everyone must buy and it is the best laptop available at the cheapest price. (Click on the link to see how I came to this conclusion)

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