Lenovo G550 review

Lenovo's G550 is one of the cheapest laptops that we've ever seen, but you wouldn't know it from looking at it.

The keyboard takes up most of the space beneath the 15.6in widescreen display. It's a little spongy to type on and not up to the quality of those on more expensive Lenovo models. A small numeric keypad has been squeezed in, but it's a little too thin to use comfortably.

The core specification of a 2GHz Pentium Dual Core T4200 and 3GB of RAM are pretty much what we'd expect at this price and managed an acceptable overall score of 56 in our benchmarks. The onboard Intel GMA 4500M HD graphics managed only a paltry 4.2fps in our Call of Duty 4 test. The 250GB hard disk provides plenty of storage space.

At 2.5kg, with a battery life of just over four hours, the G550 is suitable for occasional forays into the outside world, but great for using around the home.

Inevitably, there are signs that this is a budget laptop. While the 1,366x768 screen is bright, evenly lit and capable of bright whites, we found that colours lacked vibrancy and text wasn't that sharp. Viewing angles aren't great, and you need to position the screen carefully; move slightly off-centre and the screen looks overblown with a lack of colour.

There's not much in the way of ports, either, with only three USB slots and a VGA output sitting alongside the built-in DVD writer. The stereo speakers aren't up to much, either. They're quiet, and sound very tinny, with no bass.

One unique feature is VeriFace, which uses face-recognition technology in the webcam to log you in to the computer automatically. Sadly, it's not very good as it hammers the hard disk, which will affect battery life, and can be fooled by a photograph.

Considering the decent build quality and low price, Lenovo's G550 is a reliable if uninspiring laptop. If you can stretch your budget, Samsung's R520 is a better choice.