Lenovo 3000 N100

Lenovo, the company that bought IBM's ThinkPad business last year, has developed an alternative brand of desktop PCs and laptops designed to "address the needs of small-business customers" at a cheaper starting price point than most ThinkPad models. The first two laptop offerings under the Lenovo 3000 umbrella include the C100 (starting at AU$1,199) and the N100 (starting at AU$1,799) -- similar to the ThinkPad Z60t). Our well-equipped N100 test unit delivered a strong combination of components (including Intel's new Core Duo processor), performance and connectivity. The battery life wasn't remarkable, however, and despite the N100's low price, its one-year warranty is inferior to the three-year warranty offered with a comparably priced Dell Latitude D510. That said, the N100 looks fairly strong against the small-business competition, including the Sony FS series, HP Compaq's nx6110 and nx6125 models, and the Acer TravelMate 2410. However, the Latitude D510, though it cannot be configured with an Intel Core Duo processor (yet), offers similar performance and features for a similar price, and the HP Pavilion dv5100, designed for a consumer audience, offers far superior multimedia functionality.

Design
Aside from its colouring -- silver on the outside, dark grey on the inside -- the N100's design reflects its ThinkPad heritage. It's attractive and well designed, and though it doesn't have all of the ThinkPad's beloved features (drain holes, shock-mounted hard drive, keyboard light), the N100 does have big steel hinges and a relatively sturdy construction. Depending on how you configure it, the N100 weighs 2.87kg and measures 360.1 x 266.7 x 38.6mm; the modest AC adaptor brings the total weight to 3.2kg. It strides the line between thin-and-light and midsize, and many laptops around are more portable than the N100, but it's light enough for occasional travel and movement around the home or office, and its rounded back edge makes it easy to carry.

ThinkPad laptops generally have excellent keyboards. The N100 isn't a ThinkPad, and it doesn't have a ThinkPad keyboard, but what it does have is pretty good. The keyboard is a bit more cramped than those on comparable systems, such as the Pavilion dv5100, but the keys are firm, wide and very comfortable to type on. The touch pad is a bit small, though, and the touch-pad buttons don't give as much as we'd like; alas, it lacks the ThinkPad's red, eraser-head pointing stick. Above the keyboard are three handy external volume controls -- the extent of the N100's dedicated multimedia controls -- and a fourth button, which summons Lenovo's useful system-management and help utility.

Features
Like many of Lenovo's laptops, the N100 can be configured with one of two screen sizes; in this case, either a 14.1-inch or 15.4-inch wide-aspect display. Our test unit featured the 15.4-inch widescreen display and a fine, 1,680 x 1,050 WSXGA+ native resolution, which looked very crisp and clear and offered more screen real estate than the average 15.4-inch display, though it wasn't as bright as we'd have liked. The N100's stereo speakers are simply awful, even for a business machine, delivering exceedingly tinny and soft audio.

When it comes to ports and connections, the N100 offers a solid assortment for the price. You get a generous four USB 2.0 ports (three clumped together on the right edge, and another on the left); one four-pin FireWire port; headphone and microphone jacks; a slot for a Type II PC Card; a 4-in-1 media card reader (a handy feature missing from many ThinkPad models); as well as VGA and S-Video outputs. Networking connections include 10/100 Ethernet, 56Kbps modem, 802.11a/b/g wireless and optional Bluetooth; a handy switch on the front edge turns all wireless radios on and off. Our unit came configured with a cutting-edge, double-layer DVD burner.

Though it lacks the multiple security features found on ThinkPad models and other business-focused systems, the N100 does have an optional fingerprint reader. About the only entry level connection missing is an ExpressCard slot, which is included on the Pavilion dv5100 and most other consumer laptops. The software bundle includes Microsoft Windows XP, Symantec Norton Internet Security, a few disc-burning apps and a number of home-grown connectivity and backup utilities.

Performance
Our test unit was configured with a solid set of components, including a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor; 512MB of 333MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a low-end NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 graphics card, and an 80GB hard drive spinning at 5,400rpm. A Pavilion dv5100 configured similarly runs a few hundred dollars more. The N100 turned in a competent score on CNET Labs' benchmarks, performing as well as the other similarly configured dual-core systems we've seen and significantly ahead of the previous generation of Pentium M-equipped business laptops, except the overachieving Latitude D510. (We tested two configurations of the Latitude D510, a lower-end version, which we reviewed, and a higher-end version, which we're using here for comparison).

NOTE: Products in this test are for comparative purposes only and are not necessarily available in the Australian market.

Our N100 test unit shipped with a standard, six-cell battery that lasted just slightly more than three hours in our drain tests -- not bad, but behind a number of competitive models (see charts below). You can upgrade to the nine-cell battery, which will add a few grams to the weight of the laptop but should extend its runtime for another hour or two (CNET did not test the extended battery).

The laptop comes with one-year international carry-in warranty at the ThinkPad service centre. Through the IBM Web site and phone lines, Lenova provides software support and troubleshooting.

Editor's Note: The N100 is now also be available with Intel's new, faster Core 2 Duo processor. The base price AU$1699. We tested a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo (RRP $2049) with the same specifications, and found while the battery life was lower at 131 minutes, it managed a higher score of 204 in MobileMark 2005.