Future Shop
Future Shop: Refurbished Lenovo 15.6" Intel Core i3-2330M Laptop w/320GB HD, 4GB RAM, Webcam $329.99
This deal has expired!
If you're in the market for a new laptop and don't mind buying refurbished, Future Shop has a great deal on a Lenovo you might be interested in. Right now, you can pick up the Refurbished Lenovo 15.6" Intel Core i3-2330M Laptop with 320GB HD, 4GB RAM and Webcam for $329.99. Usually, you're looking to pay a bit more for a laptop with these specs as this is venturing into netbook pricing territory. However, if you're not bothered with it being refurbished and are looking for a notebook for mainly word processing and web browsing, this is a decent option.
At just over 5 pounds and with only 4 hours of battery life, this would be a hard sell to daily commuters. The lack of a dedicated GPU means it won't do much, if anything, for you in terms of gaming but, at its price, we can hardly fault its exclusion. Still, if you're looking for a notebook for basic productivity tasks this is a much better option when compared to netbooks priced in the same range. Definitely check this out if you can look past its shortcomings.
The deal is live now and is available in-store and online. Because store stock is unavailable, we'd recommend calling your local Future Shop before heading out to confirm they have it.
Future Shop ships orders of $20 or more free.
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-$75 if you buy on saturday 31st only with coupon (75 off any laptop over 500)
I would like yout opinion on this as well.
LOL - the comment about it would be hot if an i5 is just so totally "unrealistic" (used in place of a forbidden RFD forum descriptor). The cost of an 2nd gen i5 chip, in even normal 1K lots, is approx 50% the cost of a $300 machine. There are i5s popping up in the $400 range, posted on the forum yest and today.
A mini bluetooth dongle is often on sale at newegg for about $10-$15, so adding bluetooth is an easy affordable upgrade.
The quality of the Lenovo refurbs I have received (2 to date) have been excellent. This machine appears to be the exact same config other then the processor and associated video, as the ones we bought a couple of weeks ago (ours AMD E450 at $259).
Be advised that about 20 GB of the hd is partitioned off in a secret partition for the back up of the op system. To get it back, you would need to reformat the drive and reinstall Windows. I don't ever bother as I only use hd space for program storage, not file storage.
The webcam is very basic - 0.3mp resolution, and really a "use only when no other alternative" webcam type, although the cam software is quite decent.
Pluses of the Lenovo B series:
a) very fast ram which you could upgrade to 8gb
b) refurbs I have seen to date have been good quality - indistinguishable from new in appearance.
c) 4 usb 2.0 ports with 2 to a side (making use much easier), esata, HDMI out, vga out, mic/sound outs. You also get a one touch restore key, and a dedicated on/off wifi switch. And a writable dvd/cd drive. Altogether very good port selection for price.
d) not only a fingerprint reader (off to the side where it does not get in the way) but also face recognition software
e) almost no bloatware - only had to ditch macafee plus one or two other very small programs.
f) the lenevo software supplied is all very useful - optimizing startup, battery life plus the face recognition security suite. I have my startup in the 30 second range now.
g) includes microsoft office starter - so you get word and excel permanent licenses (only some very advanced features disabled), and full Windows Home Premium
h) good quality LED screens on the ones I have received so far.
I) Good battery life - I did a test and got over 4.5 hrs. I think I could even get over 5 if I powered down the dvd and did a couple of other tweaks. Its a good quality 6 cell li-ion not a cheapy.
j) 1 yr warranty - a huge bonus on a refurb!
Negatives:
a) basic webcam
b) intel graphics - so very basic game play although who in right mind would expect anything else at this price?
c) no bluetooth or usb 3.0. Bluetooth is easily rectified at min cost. I have not yet seen usb 3.0 at this price point fyi.
d) there will be idiots who will pop on the forum shortly complaining about 5400 rpm drive and 720p screen res. There has never been either of those on any computer at this price point to date (or either on any machine under $399 to date - and never together), so ignore this type of stupid comments. In the next yr or so we may see faster hd specs at lower price points, but not now.
While I have been attempting to get more of the B575 E450 at the $259 price I paid 2 weeks ago (with no luck) I am going to suggest this to at least 2 family members who want 2nd pc's that are inexpensive, for the kids, kitchen, backup, etc, as an alternative.
Thanks given to OP.
Whats interesting is that- at least from the photos- Lenovo has moved the function key back to "normal" on these units...
Any chance of getting i5 cheaper than this anytime soon?
Posting to the front page and might even head to my local FS to check this out too.
BTW FS normally does not have refurbs available in the store except under special releases, only new stock, according to multiple FS management that I have spoken with recently.
Thanks
After having to type on my Kohjinsha SX9 keyboard for a month while on a trip some time ago, I have never since complained about any keyboard!
The warranty is great, although I don't think i have ever actually used a notebook warranty - I regard all notebooks over 6-8 months as end of lifecycle even if I do subsequently get years of use out of them.
On the coupons, they seem to be available only in Quebec. While that might get some up in arms, Quebec does not get access to a lot of the deals due to their language police (apparently one can not say anything negative about them on the RFD forum). So perhaps the exclusive coupons is an offset.
People say it's 2 core but Windows says 4 cores....
That is because you have hyper threading turned on.
the i5 is $430......so it is only a hot deal if $130 is taken off?