Laptop Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10: reviews, review of features, user guide

The Flex 10 model can be classified as a compact and inexpensive laptop, but it is equipped with a 10-inch screen, a small hard disk and an entry-level processor of the Bay Trail-M series. We can say that we have an ordinary netbook.

The hero of today's review is the laptop-transformer Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10. A little earlier in the race for the client netbooks lost to tablets in terms of price / quality indicators and almost disappeared from the market. For many users, the choice was obvious: why buy a slow netbook from Windows, when for the same money you can buy a middle-class tablet with the Android system, which performs similar tasks like working with mail, browser and skype.

Therefore, the manufacturer Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10 is betting on improved stuffing compared to the previous series of netbooks and a low price. Having on its board a touch screen, USB 3.0 ports, HDMI-out, 64-bit "Windows" 8.1 and "Microsoft Office", the model is able to interest its customers.

Design and build quality

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10 is made entirely of black plastic and feels solid enough to touch, so there is hope that the model will last a long time. Fingerprints notebook though covered, but not as fast as similar budget devices from coal-black plastic. The very quality of the assembly deserves all sorts of praise: there are no creaks, the parts do not bend and the body does not press through.

Loops allow you to open the notebook 270 degrees and work with it in different modes: "tent" and "podstavochnom."

Ergonomics

It is worth noting that the tent mode is not quite implemented successfully in Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10. Reviews are full of complaints from customers about the uselessness of the regime. After the transformation, the edges of the device can slide on the surface and change the angle of the turn, the manufacturer here had to take care of the rubber feet.

Also, customers note that the laptop is not equipped with screen rotation sensors and before installing the model in the "tent" mode, you have to turn the image manually in the settings. If the device does not have an auto-rotation, then Lenovo should have thought about at least some combination of keys, which allows to turn the screen.

In the stand-alone mode of Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10, the screen overview has a familiar position, and such problems, as in the first case, do not arise, since only the bottom half of the device is turned over.

It is also worth noting that there are no usual covers on the bottom of the laptop. The body will have to be removed completely, if you decide to get to the internal components of the device. The model allows the possibility of replacing the hard drive and RAM, and as for cleaning the fan, it does not need to be done because of the lack of the active cooling system itself. To thank for this you need economical and practical processors Bay Trail.

Interfaces

Netbooks never differed in a variety of ports, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10 brown notebook was no exception, although the already quite modern interface in the person of USB 3.0 and HDMI video output is pleased. Therefore, connecting any external drive will not be a problem, as well as synergy with new TVs and LCD screens.

The only and weighty fly-fly that Leno IdeaPad Flex 10 is not deprived of - reviews in all major online stores note the lack of an SD-card reader. This port has long become the norm for all new devices, but Lenovo has for some reason not included this port in its model. You can, of course, use a USB-adapter to transfer photos or video from third-party gadgets, but having only two ports, you have to disconnect either the mouse or an external hard drive, which is extremely inconvenient. Instead of the desired SD-interface, the developer installed a rocker-volume control to work in "podstavochnom" mode.

Users in their reviews are also irritated by the lack of an Internet port such as RJ-45 or any other equivalent. We have to use a special USB-adapter (again, only two USB-ports) and limit ourselves to working with other gadgets.

Alternatively, you can suggest using a mouse over the Bluetooth channel, then one USB port will be released, but not everyone will agree to give such a manipulator a tidy amount, especially since it has its drawbacks: interference from Wi-Fi and frequent charging or changing the battery .

Communications

As a communication module, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10 laptop has a built-in Qualcomm Atheros AR956x board that provides Bluetooth 4.0 reception and transmission and single-band WiFi at 802.11 b / g / n points. For more this budget model can not count, although some older analogs of netbooks and equipped with 3G modems, here it is not provided (a point in favor of the tablets).

The quality of communications does not cause any criticism. The stability of the connection and the reception radius of the WiFi signal is kept at an average level, which is more than enough for most offices and apartments.

Speakers

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10 speakers are bad, as well as all netbooks. The only way out for music lovers and movies is headphones or external speakers. With regular speakers, you can only look at the Youtube channel, where the sound quality is not so important.

Input Devices

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10 keyboard features will not allow you to fully plunge into writing a dissertation, but if you are limited to working with e-mail, chat rooms and social networks, then it is quite useful.

The distance between the keys and their shape is quite convenient, and during typing the effort for pressing is not too big - in general, quite comfortable and functional keyboard.

Softkeys such as Fn and Ctrl are in their proper places, which is very encouraging, since Lenovo, judging by the opinions of many customers, has "pulled out" its users in order, changing many function keys in new notebook models. The brand has finally listened to the words of ordinary consumers, and not to the trends of fanciful designers.

However, some shortcomings still remained. The upper part of the keyboard (F1-F12) activates not the functionality of the keys, but additional features like the volume control, and in order to press the necessary F, you need to perform a combo with Fn. Users who are accustomed to frequent use of the top row of keys will have to go into the BIOS and change the keyboard keyboard settings and its functional characteristics.

Notebook Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10 has a very tiny clickpad, and if you have a little more than average fingers, then it will be very difficult to manage it with Windows, so there's an alternative to the touch screen, so use it better, or, as an option , Connect the USB / Bluetooth mouse. The clickpad itself is useful only for performing very simple operations with an interface, where accuracy or smoothness of movement is not required.

Screen

With a 10-inch diagonal, the notebook has a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. The picture is more or less clear, and you can easily see the average details of the interface.

The remaining characteristics of the model cause grief for many users. The maximum brightness of the display is only 140 Cd / m ² , and even in a moderately lit place this may seem insufficient, especially since the screen cover is made in a glossy style.

The level of black color was about 0.42 Cd / m ² , which is typical for mid-price notebooks, but the contrast is very small due to insufficient brightness, only 340: 1.

The color reproduction of the display, naturally, is inferior to many similar notebooks, and at work a strong blue tint is visible. Despite the presence of the TN-array, the viewing angles are very small, and the side view leads to an instant drop in brightness and distortion of all colors, so it is unlikely that you will see a movie or photos with friends.

Due to the low cost of the model, it can not have a good screen, but the company's capabilities allow it to equip its models with normal displays (S10-2, ThinkPad), and why it was not done in Flex 10 is unclear. Therefore one more point leaves in favor of the tablets supporting OS "Windows".

Performance Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10

The instruction indicates that the model is equipped with an Intel processor of the Bay Trail family with two or four gigabytes of RAM on board. Winchester does not have a large capacity and, as a rule, it has standard characteristics for netbooks in the form of 320 GB of memory, rarely 500 GB.

The most common modification of the Flex 10 is the Celeron processor N2806, 2 GB of RAM and the Hitachi hard drive with 5,400 rpm. The volume of 320 GB.

CPU

Built on the architecture of Silvermont, the BayTrail processor is recognized as a miracle of engineering from Intel. Nobody had ever thought that a super-economical x86 processor would appear on the computer market, operating without an active cooling system, that is, without a fan. And moreover, its performance can be compared with powerful analogs that have active cooling.

Separately it is worth mentioning the built-in hardware video decoder, which is capable of reproducing high-quality movies (from 1080p) without significant CPU load. You can view any video files directly in the browser without any braking and other problems.

The processor clock speed easily reaches its limit of 2 GHz without overheating the whole system, so simple games like GTA Voice City or Drift Mania will go without problems.

As for the amount of RAM Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10, it is always not enough, the benefit is the ability to add slats and increase the reserve to 4 GB.

Power consumption and autonomous work

The platform itself based on Bay Trail consumes very little power. Here you can also include a screen, the brightness of which is very ordinary, which also allows you to save on power consumption.

The capacity of the battery is identical to the old netbooks and fluctuates within 24 W * h, which allows you to sit in the browser for no more than six hours and play games no more than three. If you connect the Internet via Wi-Fi, then you can work for a maximum of four hours. When watching a video at 1080 r, the laptop was enough for four and a half hours.

It's sad, but Lenovo does not listen to the reviews of its consumers, who literally scream at every step that they need the x86 system, but with such a weak battery it's very difficult to use it at full capacity. Ideal option would be to equip the model with a 40-padded jacket, which will allow you to work many times longer, but, apparently, the company has its own ideas on this.

Summarizing

Model Flex 10 - is another attempt to return netbooks to the computer market. "Lenovo" significantly expanded the technical capabilities of this class, adding the device the ability to expand 270 degrees with two modes. Positive opinion can be left about the keyboard device, especially against the background of the fact that the old models were equipped with an inconvenient and poor-quality input system.

A jerk due to its size is inconvenient, and inappropriate - touch input solves all problems. The processor on the platform Bay Trail deserves all praise, as well as a video decoder that allows you to play video without delay (this is the most popular activity among laptops / netbooks).

Recommend the device to buy only those people who have realized all its shortcomings and are ready to reconcile with them, but in any case, the alternative options are more than enough among the tablets, so all at your discretion. In the rest the model is perfectly suited for viewing (single) films and playing pastime.