Three things to know about the Lenovo IdeaPad 100

Lenovo has rolled out its back to school offerings, and among the lineup is the IdeaPad 100, a basic laptop that meets budget needs while also covering all the basic computing bases. We recently reviewed the laptop, and you'll need to give that a look to get all of the details. If you don't have the time for that right now, however, we have three big highlights that you'll probably want to know — the launching points from which you can shape your expectations of the machine.

1. It's cheap

That is to say, it will be gentle on your wallet, and that's never a bad thing. The budget laptop starts at $299 USD through Lenovo's website, making it slightly more expensive than the average netbook, but with a much larger screen, better keyboard, and more memory.

2. It'll probably meet all your needs

The IdeaPad 100 is a basic laptop, but "basic" at this point is pretty powerful. If you're an average user — someone who browses Facebook, chats on Hangouts, downloads videos, pays bills online, and cobbles together presentations for work or school — you'll find this model will meet all your needs.

3. The battery isn't great

All good things have a downside, and the IdeaPad 100 is no exception. The battery is not great — you can expect to get four or so hours if you're conservative with your usage, and this means you can't go too long without charging. If you're usually plugged in, that's not a big deal. If you need to go all day on a charge, though, this laptop definitely won't work for you.