Panasonic Y2 Review

The Panasonic Y2 is an excellent laptop for those look for a sleek, durable and portable computer.

Note: the DesignTechnica review from 1/9/05 is slightly inaccurate. 2 of the pictures on the first page showing the side ports of the laptop are actually of the W2, not the Y2. Also, the product is indeed available in the US right now, but with only a DVD/CD-RW, 256MB RAM upgradeable to 512MB, and no color cover options.

Positives:

The Y2 is great for those who want great portability, long battery life, light weight, durability, a full size keyboard, and a large screen for it’s class. It is virtually silent with no fan and doesn’t get very hot with normal use. When running games and other intensive applications, the bottom does get quite hot.

Negatives:

The Y2 is not for power users or outdoor users. The screen does not fare well in the sunlight and often the color does not seem uniform throughout. It also only has a 1.3Ghz CPU and an integrated video memory so most games and processor intensive applications won’t work well. Also, at least in the US, the memory is only ugradable to 512MB although there have been reports of being able to upgrade to 1.25Gb using unsupported RAM.

Conclusion:

I purchased a Y2 for work and commuting and have had no complaints and issues with it. It works great on a plane’s economy seat’s tray, really does have the battery life as stated, and seems faster than it’s specs. The only negative is the price but if you can afford it, this is the ultraportable laptop to get.

Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.