Nothing embodies the phrase “what you see is what you get” quite like the Lenovo Ideapad 110. This is a no-nonsense laptop built to be cheap and easily accessible to its two target audiences, businesses and schools. This Lenovo Ideapad isn’t any sort of award winner, and it’s pretty low on our list for the best travel laptop, the good laptop for kids, and the best laptop, but, if you need a simple machine that’s cheap and can perform basic tasks, it might be the laptop for you.
Why We Like It – Lenovo Ideapad 110
The Lenovo Ideapad 110 is an entry-level laptop in every sense of the phrase. Nothing about it is particularly jaw-dropping, but, it’s a worthwhile purchase if you need a computer for yourself or a young child and you don’t want to drop several hundred dollars more on one of Lenovo’s higher-end offerings.
- Surprisingly large storage capacity
- Disc drive
- Super inexpensive
- Terrible battery life
- Awkward keyboard
- Outdated port selection
Power/Performance
The Lenovo Ideapad 110’s performance is modest; with an Intel Pentium processor instead of the more powerful Intel Core processors found in laptops like the Lenovo Flex 14, this isn’t much of a surprise. The display, outfitted with Intel HD Graphics, is similarly modest. The brightness and contrast are decent enough to see what’s happening on the screen, but they definitely can’t stack up against more powerful competitors. That being said, the subpar brightness offered on the Lenovo Ideapad isn’t that much lower than that on the much more expensive HP Spectre x360 13t. Overall, so long as you don’t plan on using this laptop in direct sunlight or highly-lit rooms, it should be visible. Take a look at the Lenovo Ideapad 720S review if you want a fully HD laptop.
Battery
When held up to the average battery life of most computers today, like the Lenovo Yoga C940, that of the Lenovo Ideapad 110 is somewhat laughable. The 24Wh battery achieves less than four hours on a single charge, even with the already dim brightness turned down about 50%. This means any students or workers that plan on taking this laptop around with them must also carry the charger. Go through our Lenovo Flex 14 review for a laptop with a better battery life.
Ports/Expandability
Considering the age and price of the Lenovo Ideapad 110, the port selection is average; however, as the laptop continues to age, less and less of its ports will be useful to users. This laptop has a disc drive, HDMI, Fast-Ethernet, one USB 2.0 port, one USB 3.1, a 4-in-1 card reader, and an audio jack. On the topic of expandability, it is possible to disassemble this machine and swap out an SSD for the included optical drive, but other components, like RAM, cannot be changed.
Build Quality
The Lenovo Ideapad’s design is simple and adequate for light use; its matte black finish is smooth and somewhat grippy, though it unfortunately also attracts a lot of fingerprints. Still, it’s durable enough for taking to school or work. Several reviewers complain as well about the keyboard on the Lenovo Ideapad 110, finding its small chiclet-style keys and awkward layout highly difficult to use.
Value
If you need a cheap laptop for the simplest of uses, you will probably be satisfied with the Lenovo Ideapad 110. Seeing as Lenovo no longer sells this laptop, it’s more difficult to come by, meaning you’re more than likely going to find a used version. In all honesty, you’re probably better off buying a more widely-available laptop for school or business in the case that you need anything from the manufacturer like help with an existing order, shipping, faqs, live chat, and more.
Lenovo Ideapad 110 Wrap Up
The Lenovo Ideapad 110 is a fine computer for what it is, but don’t expect it to go above and beyond that. As a first computer or one used strictly for document editing and browsing online, it absolutely works, and anyone that prefers saving content locally will be happy with the large hard drive and durable chassis. Its battery life is laughably short, and the selection of ports gets more and more outdated as time passes. This is a fine laptop, so long as you know exactly what you’re getting beforehand.
