Lenovo's U Series Ultrabook line is growing in more ways than one. The newly announced IdeaPad U510 Ultrabook follows the same general aesthetic and build of Lenovo's U310 and U410, but adds a 15.6-inch screen, discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 625M graphics and a DVD drive. Here comes the best part: a starting price of $679.
MORE: Lenovo IdeaPad U510 Hands-On Video
While those features give the Lenovo IdeaPad U510 an edge over the thin-and-light competition, they also cause the laptop to stride the fine line between an Ultrabook and a full-blown notebook. In fact, while the 0.82-inch thickness falls firmly (yet heavily) into Intel's Ultrabook definition, the IdeaPad U510's 4.8-pound weight is on the heavy side.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U510 boots from sleep in just over a second. Under the hood, third-generation Intel Core processors and up to 8GB of RAM accompany the Nvidia GPU, with SSD cache drives and up to 1TB of HDD storage also available. Ports and features include a 720p webcam, Dolby Home Theater v4 and a a 2-in-1 card reader along with USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and HDMI connections. Even with all that un-Ultrabook-like firepower, Lenovo claims the IdeaPad U510 will carry a charge for up to six hours.
Buyers will have to make a choice: are the Lenovo IdeaPad U510's 15.6-inch screen, discrete graphics and optical disc drive -- all rare features in an Ultrabook -- worth the extra size and weight? Stay tuned for a full review.
