Lenovo IdeaPad G565 Review

By Vinod Yalburgi

13-12-2010

Vinod Yalburgi

Digit Rating: Average

3/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

Affordable
One touch recovery
Biometric login

CONS

Bulky
Ordinary performer
Cramped key-spacing

BUY

N/A

MRP: 38090

Available at 1 store/(s)

BUY

N/A

Summary

The Lenovo IdeaPad G565 is a decent mid-range laptop which provides good value for money, with its executive style features at an affordable price. Although, its bulky form-factor weighing around 5.5Kilo-grams is a major hindrance for office goers and frequent travellers. Also, its ordinary performance does not satisfy a pure performance hungry freak. However, it makes a good buy at Rs. 38,090 with its ability for casual gaming at decent frame rates and presence of executive style features being the major selling points.

Review
Specifications & Performance

The Lenovo IdeaPad G565 incorporates a contemporary design with executive class features which include biometric login known as “veriface login” and OneKey Rescue System. The veriface login allows the user to create his facial profile along with a retina scan, which acts as the security check for subsequent logins preventing unauthorized access. The cover lid, screen bezel, the keypad layout and the rear-panel including the battery compartment are all coated in matte black finish. The textured design on the battery compartment at the top of the keypad matches with the textured palm-rest and adds a touch of class to the keypad layout design. The black metallic finish on the keys provides a stark contrast with the textured black matte finish on the battery compartment and the palm-rest.

Lenovo IdeaPad G565 (front view)

The power button, OneKey recovery and battery status shortcut buttons are sandwiched between the battery compartment and the keypad. Two LED indicators namely: the caps lock and the num lock are located right next to them. The wide seam on the touchpad allows the user the scope for comfortable navigation on the screen. The four LED indicators below the touchpad represent the power, battery, Wi-Fi and processor status respectively. The integrated webcam is placed at the top centre of the screen bezel along with a biometric sensor right next to it. The sensor is activated during the Veriface login for performing the retina scan.

Lenovo IdeaPad G565 (rear view)

The Lenovo IdeaPad G565 is quite bulky, weighing around 5.5 kg. It includes two USB ports, one VGA port, one ethernet port & room for air-flow on the left; one USB port, one power port, one DVD writer (multi-speed), one headphone port & one microphone port are located on the right. It also includes one multi-card reader slot (MMC, MS, MS Pro, SD, xD) and one Wi-Fi on/off switch located at either sides on the front of the palm-rest.

Lenovo IdeaPad G565 (port views)

The keypad is cramped for space, making way for the textured design over the battery compartment, including two integrated speakers on it and the textured palm-rest below the keypad. We feel that too much of space is underutilised on either sides at the top and bottom of the keypad. Otherwise, we could experience better ergonomics in terms of usability of keys and comfortable keypad navigation. We encountered a few typos owing to cramped-up space between keys and lack of sufficient tactile feedback. The only plus is the special function keys marked in saffron with two function “Fn” operator keys for quick dual-hand and multimedia operation. Overall, the keypad build quality and ergonomics stood average at best, which fails to justify the executive class design portrayed by it.

Lenovo IdeaPad G565 (keypad layout)

Read on to know the Performance, Our Take, Specifications and Performance test results in the next page...

Processor: AMD Phenom II N850 (2.2GHz)
Memory: 3GB DDR3 533MHz
Chipset: AMD 785GX
Graphics card: 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470
Hard drive: 500GB
Display: 15.6-inch LED backlit, Screen resolution: 1366 x 768;
Weight: 5.5 Kilo-grams