Visually, the Lenovo G550 puts about the plastic charm, which we would expect from a budget office laptop. Matte austerity wherever the eye glances. The chassis has not one glossy surface, apart from the display panel. Ornamental surfaces or elements, like silver strips, bright LEDs or artistically formed power-on keys are searched for in vain. Even the loudspeakers are masked in an unadventurous perforation.
The lid is held firmly in position by tight hinges. A small tendency to see-saw is present. The joints make a good impression as they sit tight in the case. The maximum opening angle of around 140 degrees is sufficient for using the laptop on your lap. When it comes to connections, Lenovos B560 appeals to feng shui followers. If youre looking for variety, you should not read on. The connections are concentrated on the left side of the case. Here users find the obligatory Ethernet-RJ45 for a network card, VGA for the external TFT and two USB ports for peripherals. One of the USB 2.0 ports, on first glance, looks like eSATA, which is simply down to the unusual cutting of the slot.
What almost turns out to be the highlight is the ExpressCard34 slot for upgrade cards. If you want to upgrade to more interfaces, such as USB 3.0 or FireWire, you can buy the appropriate card for ExpressCard34. The lacking digital image transfer, via HDMI/DisplayPort, can, however, not be retrofitted. Connecting a TV or TFT via HDMI is, therefore, not possible with the B560.
The right sight of the case is adorned by two audio jacks and a further USB 2.0 slot. Lenovo accommodates the card reader inconspicuously on the front of the laptop. The clear lettering on the hand rests above point out the supported formats (MMC/MS/MS-PRO/SD/SDHC).
