Those of you who are ever so curious of what a Notebook capable of WiFi is – here’s one that sure to strike your fancy.
The Notebook
Notebooks nowadays, they all look similar to some extent and always look really good.
What sets the Lenovo Ideapad V360 apart from the rest of the crowd is the WiMAX ready support. Here’s how you know a notebook is capable of WiMAX connection.
The Ideapad V360 comes with Lenovo’s signature Fn key on the left most corner, one thing I really dislike about Lenovo products (whether they can switch it in BIOS or not).
The touchpad on the other hand felt really good and I like it that the left and right buttons aren’t formed by a single piece of plastic.
Along the side are the usual ports. Wireless device switch, audio input / output, USB, eSATA, HDMI and VGA port, along with the power adapter connector.
Additional USB port is found on the other side, along with LAN port, Memory card slot and the ventilation.
The notebook itself is powered by Intel Core i3 (2.27 GHz) processor, with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed on a 500GB SATA (7200rpm) Hard disk. It comes with 2GB DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 305M 512MB. It also has bluetooth, WiFi and most importantly, the WiMax support. 13.3″ glossy screen for great viewing and also a 6 cell battery that’s good to go for a few solid hours of mobile computing.
User Experience
Admittedly it felt like just another notebook BUT what I really like about it was how this unit connects easily to P1’s network.
I tried going around Klang Valley with the unit and had no problem staying connected to the Internet, as long as there’s the WiMAX signal. The signal strength varies, I could get 4 – 5 bars at most places. Going around town with it, there’s bound to be some points where it disconnects when passing by an area that’s beyond coverage.
Come to think of it, this article is now a P1 WiMAX reception review rather than the Ideapad V360 review, nevertheless the WiMAX connectivity must be highlighted as it is the strongest point of this notebook.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have other strong points. The Core i3 processor with 2GB RAM, ample hard disk space and 6 cell battery makes it an excellent companion for mobile computing, especially for tasks like photo editing and uploading. You can forget about hopping on your phones 3G connection or hunting for the nearest WiFi hotspot.
In some ways, I’m somewhat pampered by the availability of the WiMAX connection.
Conclusion
The Ideapad V360 is feature rich and this might be the notebook for you if you’re looking for one that’s provides convenient mobility. Be sure to consider the WiMAX provider’s rate as well, check with whoever the vendor on the best possible rate for you (eg promotional rates).
In my next article, I’ll show you how you can make your WiMAX capable notebook share the connection with other computers.
I think lenovo is my favorite notebook and laptop