Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 :Screen & Keyboard

Screen and Speakers
The Y570 has a 15.6-inch "HD Glare" 720p display. The "HD glare" is part is really just a fancy way of saying that the notebook can display HD content on a very glossy screen; I can see my reflection perfectly when the backlight is dimmed. Anyway, the contrast ratio measures in at about 148:1, which is below average for entertainment and multimedia notebooks; the display will appear washed out when compared to other displays that have higher resolutions and contrast ratings. The panel on this notebook really isn't anything special. On the upside, the backlighting is very even.

Viewing angles are the same as every other TN panel, just average. If you tilt the display backward or forward the viewing angles are very narrow, but from side to side they're a lot better. Watching a video with a friend next to you should be no problem.

Audio is way above average with the IdeaPad Y570. The notebook has Realtek HD audio and two speakers positioned at the top left and right of the keyboard. Volume reaches good highs and lows and only sounds somewhat distorted at 100 percent. The audio driver supports voice cancellation, pitch shift, equalizer, loudness equalization and environment audio enhancements. Users will most likely not feel the need to buy any external speakers for listening to music, watching movies, and other similar activities. The only complaint we have is that the bass in songs does not sound up to par.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Y570 has a true full-size Chiclet-style keyboard with a separate numberpad. The keys are spaced out more than usual even for it being Chiclet-style. They're also curved inward slightly, mostly for comfort because the keys are made to fit the natural curve of human fingers.

Typing on the Y570 might take some getting used to if you're not familiar with large keyboards with a bunch of extra spacing -- your hands may miss the keys by a centimeter or two, especially if you're a fast typer. I found that this was especially true for the enter key; for some reason, Lenovo designed it so that it's a lot smaller than typical. That's not to say that I didn't have a good typing experience, though. Not many typos were made and the keyboard is actually very comfortable; we just wanted to point out that some users might have to become accustomed to the size and spacing of the keys.

The Synaptics touchpad is textured (bumpy) to help with finger movement across the area. It's multi-gesture and has only one button, but two clickable areas on this one button. This results in a difficulty in pressing it in the right spot without looking because the bar itself is so big and stiff. However, it's just another thing that users will have to become accustomed to. Using the touchpad presents no problems, though; it's responsive and cursor movement is good even if you have moisture on your fingers.