Lenovo IdeaPad 1 Student Laptop, Intel Dual Core Processor, 12GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 128GB eMMC, 15.6" FHD Display, 1 Year Office 365, W11H, Wi-Fi 6, SD Card Reader, Grey, Additional 1 Yr ADP

It is a little slower than my other Lenovo but I had it custom built. It was fast but it is not compatible to window 11. I like the new one it has so features on it that my old one doesn't have. One feature I like about it is it is smaller than my old one.

A few details first: it doesn't have a touch screen, the keyboard isn't backlit, it has Bluetooth, a headphone jack, SD card reader, WIFI, USB ports, NO CD READER, HDMI, USB C, and a number keyboard. I think this is a really good option for someone who needs a laptop to do everyday stuff. I am a grad student and I work as a writer, so I spend most of my days in front a computer, and since I don’t really need any special software, any normal computer works fine for me. The screen looks great, I did modify the colors a bit, but this is likely a “me” thing. The battery lasts around 4-5 hours with normal use (writing, internet, watching videos, etc.). Haven’t had issues with this either but also haven't tested it a lot. It’s very light, which was weird to me, but I know I won’t get shoulder pain when I carry it somewhere. I ordered the “gray” color, but I was pleasantly surprised when the color was silver. I don’t know if this was an error or if the one I got is really “gray.” (Pictures attached) Windows 11 has its flaws, and I would recommend doing a bit of research on it to know if it’ll work for you. My old laptop had Windows 10 and it worked fine with what I needed, so the new OS might not be worth the change. Now, I do have an issue with the keyboard with its layout, and again, this might be a “me” issue. I was used to the F1-12 keys and the rest of the row having specific functions, and it was really annoying when in this new laptop, for example, the F5 key was first and foremost the volume button instead of the refresh button. I sort of solved this by locking the Fn key, hence the light on the Esc key, but still annoying. Additionally, the fact that the home, end, page up, and page down buttons are not independent is still a struggle. I have to press the Fn key and then the arrow key corresponding to the home, end, page up, or page down function I want. The media keys are cool, but I don’t think they’re worth moving the home, end, page up, and page down keys. Another thing that I haven’t been able to solve is that if I turn off my laptop, close it, and then open it again a while later, it’ll automatically turn on. The tutorials I’ve found don’t seem to work for me, so every time I open my laptop it turns on. I know it says it on the description, but the laptop does not come with a CD reader, but you can easily buy one. It has a headphone jack, 2 USB ports, 1 HDMI port, 1 USB C port, and an SD Card reader. The webcam had a little shutter to block it, but if you’re on a video call and don’t want your webcam on and have the blocker on, it’ll still tell everyone that your camera is blocked. Kinda annoying. The speakers work okay. They’re at the bottom, so the sound will get blocked if you have it on a desk, table, your lap, etc. The front of the laptop is NOT fingerprint-proof, so I can always see where I put my hand to move the screen. None of these issues are unmanageable, and I think that even if I’d known about the weird keyboard layout I would’ve still bought this model. Overall, it was a good purchase that I don't regret. I do think you should probably buy wet wipes to clean the front for the whole fingerprint marks on the front thing.

So Hubby has needed a laptop for a good minute. We usually buy his refurbished bc he doesn't use a computer as much as I do. A #TB hard drive and top-shelf or even mid-level graphics card would be wasted on him, but he does need a laptop to access work files from home and general computer tomfoolery. So his last system was a refurb/open box Lenovo Ideapad, 4g RAM, and 1T hard drive. We got it from BestBuy Outlet a few years ago. It was so nice I told my sister about it and she got the same one. Fast forward to last December and the age was showing. I think the manufacture date is 2019, and it's showing the age. I was using it for work (WFH) bc he didn't need it. But then he DID need it so I had to go to a backup until he got me a desktop (see review). The BB Lenovo was slow, so very slow it was like Chinese water torture. Booting it up took time, yeah, 2-5 minutes depending on its mood. I'm not talking from shutdown. I mean from sleep/hibernation to lock screen to desktop. Painfully slow, so we needed to upgrade him. We couldn't shell out a lot of money for it, though, so I went shopping. This system has good storage for him. He doesn't take enough pix or do enough browsing to need more than 512G so the extra 128G is just gravy. The 12G RAM is a major step up and he's no longer grumbling about how slow his computer is. Yay. I'm a little jelly. This thing is sleek. At this price, we could afford to grab another. I just got a gamer desktop, though (see review!) so it's not practical. Pros: See above Plus: That card slot is a good thing since it doesn't have a CD/DVD tray at all (see pic). The camera cover/lock is NICE (see pic). I always tape a little paper over webcams but there's no need with this. One of the USB ports is a USB-C (see pic), which is nice since things seem to be moving that way. I thought I was settling for the 15.6" screen but it's not as small as I thought it would be. My desktop system monitors are 22 and 24 inches respectively and my last laptop was 17", so 15" feels small to me until I actually see it. As stated: Hubby doesn't care. This laptop is the same size as his old one and even the same manufacturer, so yeah. He's good. Cons: No disc tray. Anything he needs to physically add has to be on an SD card, thumb drive, or downloaded. Please note: Hubby doesn't care. For my geeky/gamer heart, it's not nearly enough HD space, but for Hubby it's perfect. The preinstalled bloatware insists on being used even when you uninstall it, but isn't it always? Minimal ports. I need way more USB ports and no ethernet is a deal breaker for me. Caveat: This laptop isn't for me, since I have a gaming/work desktop system. Hubby doesn't care about this at all, so it's just a "that would be nice" thing. Anyway, I like this machine a lot. It's light and clean and a fantastic value for the price. I think it will serve Hubby well. 9/10 would recommend.

Update time, It has been a couple of years since I bought this laptop. I still love it but have noticed that at times the screen will go blank for a few seconds for no reason. It does fix itself but it does go blank every day. It will do it much more often if you have multiple pages open at same time. You know like when you want to see a product on Amazon so you right click to open in another window? That is when it does it the most. Not just the Amazon pages but any website that you right click to open in another window like maybe a YouTube video you want to watch. same thing. For the price it is still good but can be frustrating at times. Fast Delivery, fast computer, Set up is easy, and starts up fast every morning.