Product test

Lenovo B50-10: A cheap laptop put to the test

15.11.2016

Translation: machine translated

Good quality is expensive. Or is it? Although the Lenovo B50-10 has clear weaknesses, the low-cost laptop is certainly convincing.

It happened a few months ago: My laptop gave up the ghost after almost exactly ten years. This was particularly surprising because until that day I was convinced that my laptop was indestructible. Honestly. I was convinced that after the nuclear apocalypse, our new cockroach overlords would be doing their accounting or something on my old laptop. Here's a short and incomplete list of things my laptop has put away, including consequential damage:

Lightning strike to the house power supply, blown fuses: sound card hissing
One night in 2cm deep water: no noticeable damage
Minus temperatures at night in January in Iceland: No notable damage
Dropping X times: A spot on the screen that is always darker

Over the years, however, I've been able to do a lot of work with the thing and have also put a lot of work into it. In 2014, I carried out all the technologically possible upgrades. Cost: 70 francs. Upgrades: One SSD. That was the best I could do.

And the device still boots perfectly today. The reason why I bought a new device with a heavy heart is that the WLAN module is no longer recognised. And without an internet and/or network connection, the device is useless in my life. Unfortunately.

Off with the old, on with the new

Good, enough nostalgia. A new device was needed. "Buy a Lenovo X1 Carbon", my employee told me at the time. He has had one himself for a long time and is happy with it.

Notebooks

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

14", 512 GB, 8 GB, CH, Intel Core i7-6500U

X1 Carbon. Sounds pretty sexy, doesn't it? Just like the HP Elite. Or Google Chromebook Pixel. Or Macbook Pro. Or any other device that's supposed to be a flagship of its type. Could I have afforded the device? Yes, just about. With a bit of mental justification anyway. I don't really need the high-end device. I really like high-end devices because they are usually the least worrying, but my use case for a laptop can be summarised as follows:

Writing when I'm on the train
Watching films and YouTube on the train
Movies and YouTube in the kitchen while cooking
Display recipes in the kitchen
A companion when travelling: Timetables, camera backups etc
A bit of Photoshop here and there

You see, really needing something is different. So I thought I'd experiment a little. The question: How little technology do I really need in a laptop? Instead of comparing high-end machines and looking for the most features for my money, I turned the thought around. What can I do without? What are actually bells and whistles and how much money can I save?

My choice: The Lenovo B50-10.

Big impression for a small budget

The Lenovo B50-10 is so insignificant in the manufacturer's line-up that it has not progressed beyond a type designation. No UltraPro Gold Elite Hyperstorm or anything like that. Just B50-10. Nobody can or wants to pronounce it. And you can't show off with this slap either.

Notebooks

Lenovo B50-10

15.60", 4 GB, CH, Intel Celeron N2840

Despite the fact that the device is extremely unremarkable in terms of technology, I bought it. Because it really only does exactly what I want it to do. Since I'm writing about the device, you can assume that I'm very impressed by the little nameless machine.

Of course, when our editorial intern talks about his three-year-old MacBook and praises its features, the B50-10 can't compete. But the B50-10 is the perfect candidate for people who need a laptop as a second machine. Or who only want to use a computer to consume digital content.

Many strengths for little money

Windows 10 runs smoothly and without any problems on the B50-10. The wireless connection with 2.4GHz is not the fastest, but still fulfils what feels like the most common standard. There's actually nothing the B50-10 can't do. Office runs smoothly. Chrome runs smoothly. Youtube, VLC Media Player, Photoshop et cetera. All good. I am very satisfied. No matter what commands I give the device, it works. It hasn't crashed once in the seven months I've owned the device. Sure, some programmes have hung up here and there, but they do that on the X1 Carbon too.

However, the device has clear weaknesses. These are mainly to be found in the computing power. It takes an eternity for Windows 10 to boot up and the waiting time is very reminiscent of the booting process under Windows 95, when many computers simply didn't have the power to run the new operating system properly. However, once the somewhat protracted booting process is over, the B50-10 purrs like a kitten and the difference to a high-end notebook is small. Even with notorious RAM guzzlers such as Chrome and Firefox tabs, the device never gets down on its knees.

As you would expect from Lenovo, the B50-10 is a workhorse. It receives a job, starts working and doesn't stop until the job is done or the user gives the command to cancel. Instability and such? Not a thing.

Some weaknesses, few additional costs

This does not mean, however, that the Lenovo B50-10 can keep up with the big boys. The weakness on the software side can easily be ignored, as it doesn't really come into play after booting up. On the hardware side, however, the device has some shortcomings that can be mitigated, but still spoil the fun with the laptop somewhat.

The webcam is modest. That's a charming understatement, but I'm not someone who really needs a webcam. However, if you like making video calls or running a vlog, then this device is definitely not for you. With a resolution of 0.3 megapixels, it just seems to be built in because that's what you do and because a laptop can't be sold without it. I don't think it's worth installing it at all. Because if someone is going to install a webcam, then it should be a model that doesn't jerk with every movement and isn't pixelated. Since every smartphone these days has at least one camera with a resolution of several megapixels, I see the installation of the rubbish camera in the B50-10 as superfluous. If Lenovo hadn't installed it now, I could have saved another five francs and wouldn't have this strange useless lens in the device.

I could also have saved another five francs or so by not pre-installing McAfee antivirus nonsense on the laptop. Even "Lenovo Share It" - what is that anyway? - the manufacturer could have done without it. Even the inventor of the McAfee software, John McAfee, no longer has anything to do with his programme. A few years ago, he even got carried away and said that the programme bearing his name was one of the worst of all time. He then posted instructions on how to uninstall it on YouTube.

However, these weaknesses in the software can be overcome with a little patience.

Other parts that Lenovo could have done without: The speakers. Sure, the B50-10 makes sound and there's nothing wrong with the speakers in a quiet room. But as soon as there is even a little background noise, they fail. Here too: Not installing speakers would have been easier, cheaper and also more honest. Because let's be honest: we don't expect much from built-in speakers. No basses like rolling thunder or tweeters like lightning strikes. But we do expect the speakers to work and, in case of doubt, to fill the room with tinny, muffled sound. So that at least a Skype call is possible. If I now buy a device that doesn't have speakers and Lenovo tells me that I have to buy speakers if I want sound, then that's fine. Twenty quid less, no rubbish speakers and I know exactly what I have.

Time for a conclusion: I like the Lenovo B50-10 and it's actually the big surprise in my experience with personal laptops. If the B50-10 ever gives up the ghost, I'll think twice about actually buying a flagship again. Because Lenovo proves that you can have a lot of performance in your home with little money. However, this only applies to the basic functions of computer operation. The shortcomings are clear and obvious, which is why I would have gone one step further in Lenovo's place and not even installed some parts in the first place.

If you only need a device to carry out some of your work on the move or simply to display data, then the Lenovo B50-10 is your candidate. For more, however, it's worth digging a little deeper into your pocket. <p

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Dominik Bärlocher

Senior Editor

dominik.baerlocher@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.

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