Lenovo's reasonably priced stylish consumer 14-incher: IdeaPad Y450

Lenovo gets budget stylish: the Y450

(Credit: Lenovo)

Formerly known for the iconic, if boxy, ThinkPads (which the company still does well: see our review of the T400s), Lenovo has also begun branching into more stylish consumer products, loosening up its slightly uptight design aesthetics along the way.

The recent IdeaPad line reflects the change most starkly: we looked at the 16-inch IdeaPad Y650 awhile ago, and were impressed by the thin, sturdy feel and bolder touches, including texture-patterned lids and glossy materials used in the interior.

While the IdeaPads retain Lenovo's comfortable keyboard and some of the same custom software, the prices are also more reasonable, making them, by some measures, budget-friendly notebooks bearing a better-than-average design.

The $799 Y450 is a smaller-screened relative of the Y650, with an extremely similar design on the inside and out. While the 14-incher is also thicker than its 16-inch big brother, the overall feel and performance of the Y450 make it a worthwhile alternative for those who want a little more portability.

Read the full review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y450

[greentechit]

Lenovo is lagging far behind other IT companies when it comes to helping save the environment. It ranks at the bottom of Greenpeace's Cool IT Challenge, which scores how much IT companies are doing to address climate change. IT companies can help cut global greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 15 percent by 2020. Greenpeace?s Challenge uses scorecards to evaluate a dozen major IT companies in five areas: Public Climate Speech, Political Advocacy, Climate Solutions, Reducing Companies? Own Emissions Target, and Renewable Energy Use. In addition to producing the technology necessary for the implementation of climate solutions and reducing their company?s carbon footprint, the leaders of these powerful companies can use their influence to impact key political leaders and call for a strong agreement at the Climate Change Negotiations in Copenhagen this December. Greenpeace will update Cool IT regularly and release the next assessment in August/September. To find out more about Cool IT and learn about who is winning the Challenge, visit http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/green-guide-12.

[macbook86]

Can you help me with the heat issues regarding the 418939U model with P7450 Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It has Nvidia G105M graphics chip. I read online reviews that the right palm rest gets quite warm. My usage would be normal Internet surfing, email and occasionally youtube.