Will this Lenovo Laptop be OK for us? Thanks!

[TheNiceGuy]

My wife is going to buy a laptop within a few days. Just basic needs, but wants at least a 15" display, RW DVD, and the ability to plug it into our TV to watch DVDs. She also does a bit of accounting, so a keypad would be nice.
This Lenovo G560 seems to fit the bill, and is a best seller right now here in Japan. Its about $500 or so here.


Here's the specs:

Lenovo G560 06792HJ

LCD15.6 in. WXGA (1366x768) Widescreen
CPU Core i3 330M 2.13GHz (512KB) 　
HDD 320 GB 5400 rpm
Memory 2GB DDR3 PC3-8500
Memory Slots (Available) 2 (1)　
Intel HD Graphics 　
DVD ± R / ± RW / RAM / ± RDL Supermultidrive
LAN 10/100Mbps
Wireless LAN
IEEE802.11b (11Mbps)
IEEE802.11g (54Mbps)
IEEE802.11n 　
Web Camera
HDMI port
OS Windows 7 Home Premium
3.8 hours

Size
Width x height x depth 376.8x34.9x249.8 mm Weight 2.6 kg


The shop link is here:
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000092862/spec/

A list of comparable 15" laptops is here:
http://kakaku.com/specsearch/0020/

Some of them are over a $100 cheaper, and all still 15" display. There's quite a few under the $500 or so target. Which do you recommend? Sorry, I know the page is in Japanese, but if you scroll to the right, all the main spec details are in English.

What do you think? And does the "HDMI port" mean it can be plugged into the TV? Also, I noticed on the comparison list, that some of the other laptops (ie a couple of the HPs) have a life of over 5 hours, while this on has only 3.8 hours. I thought these Lenovos had new tech for battery life?

Thanks!

 

[corkyg]

It will do what you want. HDMI port will connect to TV if TV has HDMI port. Battery life varies with what size of battery you get. 6 cell vs. 9 cell.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Ah, thanks Corky. Sorry I didn't get back on teh other thread - got a bit sidetracked here. But we are really gonna buy it this time! LOL
Just wanted to make sure it wasn't an INlet port or something. HDMI is digital, right? Our current oldish TV uses RCA cables. Is there an adapter or something for that? Or are we out of luck? Thanks again!

 

[corkyg]

HDMI requires a digital TV. Looks like your best bet for that will be to upgrade the TV when feasible.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Ah, ok, thanks!

Between Lenovo, HP, MSI, Dell, Acer, and Dynabook - which is the better quality brand? Since high specs are not a priority, I'd rather get quality and ease of use.

 

[bluwing]

Hi,

I would say Lenovo, But if you buy Dell or HP Business laptops they would be in the same range.

bluwing

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Thanks!
And I just realized that 2nd link you need to put "15" in the second box and hit enter for it to display all the 15"+ laptops.

I like the look of the Thinkpad over the Lenovo, not much difference I suppose.

 

[corkyg]

Thinkpad is a Lenovo model - their main business model.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Looks like we have a winner, the Lenovo G550 29585PJ. Costs about $450.
No HDMI, but it does have a VGA outlet. This is with the Mobile Intel GL40 Express video chipset. It should work with a VGA to S-Video adapter to use on analog TVs, right?