If you're searching for a cheap laptop on Amazon Prime Day 2020, there really is only one place to start - Best Buy has slashed the price of the already bargain priced Lenovo IdeaPad 1 almost in half. That means you can now buy the Lenovo Ideapad 1 for just $119.99, a saving of $100.
Of course, the one concern with a super cheap laptop such as the Lenovo Ideapad 1 is whether it can deliver on the tasks that you want it to do. So is it worth putting your trust in a cheap laptop that can be bought for less than $120 on Prime Day? The answer, on the whole, appears to be yes.
Any laptop that typically comes in between $200-$300 is likely to have limited specs, but still represents an amazing opportunity to get online without breaking the bank - this is particularly true given the best laptops can set you back anything up to $4000, which is an eye watering amount to shell out if you use your laptop for day-to-day tasks and little else.
Lenovo is a respected brand among laptop aficionados too, providing some peace of mind that the Lenovo Ideapad 1 is unlikely to let you down - it's certainly not the most powerful laptop out there, but it shouldn't break down in the space of a few months either. So let’s consider the Lenovo Ideapad 1 in greater detail to see whether you should buy one.
How good is the Lenovo Ideapad 1: Specs
The Lenovo Ideapad 1 has a 14” screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 resolution - this is slightly below full HD but it’s more than adequate for a 14” screen - you’ll be able to watch Tv and movies on this thing without really noticing any difference.
Internally it’s powered by a AMD A6 processor with 4GB of RAM and an AMD Radeon R4 graphics card. That information doesn’t mean much to anyone, but the long and short of it is that this is a low-end laptop on the power front. It’s not going to run Fortnite at a buttery smooth 60fps, but it might just be able to handle it on low settings at a push. It’s also not going to be able to tackle intensive programs such as video editors or 3d rendering.
Ok, so what can it do? Well it will comfortably allow you to browse the web, use office programs like Word and Excel, and watch videos using TV streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus.
It comes with Windows 10 installed as standard and has 64GB of flash memory storage. Now that doesn’t sound like a lot, and that’s because it isn’t, but you can expand that storage pool later with an external hard drive if it becomes an issue. It’s enough storage for all your programs and a reasonable amount of photos and music files, but movies and games will fill this up very quickly.
How good is the Lenovo Ideapad 1: Battery life
One huge advantage of the relatively tame specs of the Lenovo Ideapad 1 is that it doesn’t have much of a drain on the battery life. As a result, the average battery life for the Lenovo Ideapad 1 is around 8 hours. This is plenty of juice for your everyday needs, and it means you can have it unplugged for most of the day while you’re moving around the house - ideal for playing music or videos while you’re cleaning the house or out doing work in the garden.
When you do need to recharge the lithium-ion battery, it plugs in with a standard charger with a USB 3.1 connection.
How good is the Lenovo Ideapad 1: Price
And now we come to the main selling point of the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 - the price. If you're looking for a cheap laptop, the Amazon Prime Day price of $119.99 from Best Buy is just too good to miss. Even the usual selling price of $229.99 is an incredibly low cost for a 14” laptop, even with these low-end specs. It’s not going to run games on high settings, or be powerful enough for video editing software, but as a streaming and web browsing machine, it’s really hard to argue with the value this little laptop offers.
If all you need is something to watch Netflix on, and maybe browse social media and do a little online shopping on, then the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 is an absolute steal.
How good is the Lenovo Ideapad 1: Customer reviews
The Lenovo Ideapad 1 has an average star rating of 3.6 stars out of 5 on BestBuy from 2,616 reviews. Of those reviews, 1097 people gave it a five-star rating. Additionally, 68% of reviews said they would recommend it to a friend. Positive reviews noted that it was quick to set up and easy to use. One reviewer specifically pointed out that it was “excellent for children”. Negative reviews focused on the lack of power, while some had issues with defective models or software problems.
Should you buy the Lenovo Ideapad 1?
If you’re looking for a super cheap way to get your online fix then the Lenovo Ideapad 1 is an ideal budget laptop. It’s reliable, comfortable to use and will handle your day-to-day browsing and video watching needs easily - it can even be used as a work laptop as it will comfortably run Office programs.
It’s also the perfect first laptop for your kids, letting you introduce them to the digital world without dropping a bomb on an expensive laptop that they might just break or get bored of.
