I might not be in college anymore, but I still consider myself a student. I’m always looking for an online class to take, or a new book to read and learn something new. When looking for a laptop that would work for those simple needs, I checked out the Lenovo Flex 2.
The specs include:
AMD A8-6410 APU with AMD Radeon R5 graphics card (2.00 GHz)
8GB of RAM
(1) HDMI port
(1) USB 3.0 port
(2) USB 2.0 ports
DVD-RW Drive
Currently retailing for $500 at Best Buy stores, the Lenovo Flex 2 is a nice little laptop for the price. I found the speed to be comparable to that of my HP Envy with the added bonus of the flip screen.
The screen can flip 300 degrees with enough pressure to make you feel secure about what you are doing. It didn’t take too much effort to make the switch, but it wasn’t so easy that I was worried about the screen loosening up on its own. When the flip happens, the keyboard area is disabled so you don’t do something by accident. Programs that work best in the flip screen mode are Netflix, YouTube, and webcam apps.
In comparison to other laptops of the same price range, only one laptop beat the Lenovo Flex out in specifications: the Toshiba Satellite. The only area the Toshiba really beat the Lenovo in was the memory, and its ability to be expanded. What the Flex has that the Satellite doesn’t is the flip screen feature. It’s a coin toss as to which one is better, but for those who enjoy being able to flip their screen and use their laptop in other ways, the Lenovo wins.
For students on a limited budget (that statement is kind of redundant), try downloading these programs instead of their more expensive counter parts.
The biggest piece of software that I downloaded to my laptop was OpenOffice. OpenOffice is a great resource for those who
need the ability to create and edit Office documents, but can’t afford the $300 price tag for the license of the name brand. I’m very happy with how fast the Lenovo Flex handled the programs. On average, it took only four seconds to open one of the OpenOffice applications and start working.
Another free piece of software I downloaded which works great with this laptop is Avast virus protection. It’s the only virus protection I use on my personal devices. It works great for keeping you aware of anything going on behind the scenes. The best part is that it doesn’t bog down your computer while keeping you safe online.
My final piece of freeware that I downloaded was Fotor (a simple photo editor) that has some of the same functionality of Photoshop without the cost attached to it. I like this program for its simplicity and how quickly I was able to install it.
No laptop is perfect though, and I do have a bone or two to pick with this one.
Lenovo VeriFace facial recognition software on this particular device is really annoying. Half of the time it didn’t recognize me and the other half I realized I could type my password in before the computer could even have one attempt at recognizing my face. After a few tries with this one, I finally just uninstalled it.
The only hardware problem I have with the Flex 2 is the fact that you can’t expand the memory. Memory is the cheapest and easiest upgrade you can make to your computer, and to not be able to give a boost later on could be a deal breaker for me under some circumstances.
I’ve been working on the Lenovo Flex 2 for a little over two weeks now. I’m surprised at how happy I am with it, especially since it doesn’t have my office programs on it. The speed works for what I need, and the weight isn’t a brick like my previous Asus laptop. I haven’t used the flip screen feature that much, but what little I have used it I found it to be a neat feature.
If you are looking for a laptop for your student that has enough resources for them to do their work, but not enough that they will be tempted to download focus breaking games like World of Warcraft, the Lenovo Flex 2 is the one you are looking for.
Disclaimer: GeekMom received a review sample.
