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LG LW70 widescreen notebook

By Randolph Ramsay on 25 May 2005

LG's LW70 Express has a magnificant 17-inch widescreen display. High-end specs ensure smooth performance and its swag of DVD features and will leave couch potatoes drooling. Due to its bulky size, however, frequent travellers should look elsewhere.

User rating:8.4
  • Good: Awesome 17-inch display • Fast processor, dedicated graphics memory • Full-sized keyboard with numeric keypad • Touchpad features scroll function • CD/DVD playback without loading Windows
  • Bad: Battery life dampened with brightness turned up • Pricey • Large screen hinders portability
  • Specs: 100 GB • 512MB • Intel Pentium M • 1.6 GHz • See more specifications
  • RRP: AU$3,999.00

Upside
LG's focused on entertainment with its new series of LW notebooks, with the 17" LW70 leading the charge. Despite the large 17" Fine-Bright WXGA screen, the LW70 is surprisingly compact and light, measuring 392x276x30.6mm and weighing 3.1 kgs. In fact, if it weren't for the size of the screen, the LW70 could be almost portable.

If a notebook's widescreen then you know it's meant for watching movies, and the LW70 is no exception. As with many notebooks in this class, the LW70 features an Instant-On function which allows you to play DVDs and CDs without booting up into Windows, plus it features a multimedia remote control that slots into the unit's chassis when not in use. The LW70 has a built-in subwoofer, and can output to a full 5.1 Dolby Surround thanks to its digital audio output.

When you want to work, the LW70 provides enough grunt to handle most work apps. Under the hood is an Intel Pentium M 740 processor, 512MB RAM as standard, a 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon X600 card and a 100GB hard drive. A DVD/CD combo drive comes as standard, but can be upgraded to a DVD writer. The LW70 has 802.11b/g built-in for wireless, but also features an infrared port, four USB 2.0 slots, S-Video out, headphone out, and a four-in-one memory card slot (SD/MMC/Memory Stick/Memory Stick Pro). And since this notebook is so wide, LG has managed to squeeze in a full numeric keypad next to the standard QWERTY keyboard, making input into spreadsheets a little bit easier.

Downside
It may be thin and light, but the LW70 is still quite wide, meaning it's not really a laptop for road warriors. As it is, it's more of a desktop replacement that can take on plenty of multimedia tasks, so don't expect to be able to easily lug the LW70 around to meetings around town.

Outlook
At AU$3999, LG's placed the LW70 at an attractive price point for those looking for a notebook with strong multimedia capabilities but can't quite afford to shell out for a powerhouse like the Toshiba Qosmio. It's quite petite considering its screen size, and should find plenty of fans among the style conscious. We'll bring you more information on the LW70 with a full review soon.

Topics: laptop, lw70, widescreen, lg, preview, computer, portable, notebook, multimedia, features

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Comments (14)

  • Sim gave a review on 28/06/2009 00:58 Report abuse

    • Good: big screen, brightness
    • Bad: Over heats, screen breaks easily and is costly to fix, power pin breaks easily.

    Its and ok laptop.
    Its battery gets used up quite quickly due to the large consumption of energy.
    I have found that this model overheats quite easily due to its fan not being large or powerfall enough and have had to replace the fan.
    And the screen breaks easily (it broke for me abit after warranty expired and cost me $300 AU to fix).
    And the video card isnt the best either.

  • pfbundy gave a review on 27/06/2009 21:34 Report abuse

    • Good: fantastic screen
    • Bad: battery life not the best

    I used this laptop extensively. I've flown all over the country for the last 3 yrs-the baggage handlers have managed to break & crack the housing in a few places but it's always delivered. Just recently it's developed pixel lines on the screen so maybe I could be looking for a replacement before long.

  • daliancreations gave 9/10 on 11/01/2009 02:00 Report abuse

    • Good: Almost everything.
    • Bad: Problems with dvdram

    Brilliant. Amazing clear screen. Being a Graphic Designer, this is the best Laptop for the job.

  • Dinosaur gave 7/10 on 17/11/2008 22:20 Report abuse

    • Good: Amazing screen (big and clear)
      2 gb of RAM
      Great keyboard
    • Bad: Despite the dedicate video card etc. it is not suited to gaming.

    I've had the LW70 for two years now and been very impressed by it - particularly the screen, it is spectacular. I have had problems though with constant overheating. After nearly 12 months it couldn't stay on due to overheating and would hibernate every few minutes. The motherboard and laptop were replaced under warranty. Now, another ~12 months later, it has started overheating again a little.

    Despite this problem, which I assume is an isolated case, I think it is a great product. A duo-core processor would have made this into an excellent (perhaps a 9/10) product.

  • advocatevaidya gave 2/10 on 06/07/2008 20:39 Report abuse

    This model gets heated up. Its keyboard is damaged in two years and there is no replacement possible In Mumbai?

  • justinho gave 6/10 on 05/02/2007 16:36 Report abuse

    • Good: Big screen, feature packed
    • Bad: Heavy, no bluetooth, display problems developed out of warranty

    I use mine as a total desktop replacement as well as for business on the road. It has been a solid performer with very little in the way of problems over the past 18 months. However the display has developed some vertical lines of pixel on over the past week and of course its now out of warranty.

  • konka gave 5/10 on 09/12/2006 22:25 Report abuse

    • Good: sweetness
    • Bad: loads of problems costing us loads of money to be fixed.

    I have this laptop, it is really good but i have had a lot of problems with it. My sister has the same one as well and when she got it, all it did was stuff up.

  • MWP gave 9/10 on 03/10/2006 23:33 Report abuse

    • Good: Ive now been backpacking overseas working on this laptop daily for 1yr with this laptop and its still going strong. Its proving to be very robust.

      Sure its more expensive than the Dell, but its got a full keyboard and better screen.
      I cant remeber all the reasons why i went with the LG over the equiv Dell, but they were good ones and im very happy i made the correct choice!
    • Bad: Battery life is a little short.
      Nothing else.

    Cant fault it

  • Anonymous gave 10/10 on 06/08/2006 13:51 Report abuse

    • Good: best ever
    • Bad: nothing wrong with it

    awesome

  • Anonymous gave a review on 31/12/2005 00:02 Report abuse

    Can not play World of warcraft

    Can not play World of warcraft

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