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Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM)

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List price as of Nov 3, 2008:
S$739

Product Summary


Very good

7

out of 10

View score

The good: Excellent keyboard; large screen; affordable; ExpressCard slot; OneKey Rescue system.

The bad: Solid-state drive not available; no HSDPA option; below-average battery life.

The bottom line: With its easy recovery system, low price and generous keyboard, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 easily sits in front of the 10-inch Netbook pack.

Read full review of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 »

 

Average User Rating

from 6 users


Readers' Choice
Very good

7.3

out of 10
 

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CNET Asia Review

By Darius Chang, CNET Asia

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is the Chinese company's first foray into the competitive Netbook market. Though this segment has received much attention this year, it is a little hard to get excited about individual models as their feature sets are a dime a dozen. The IdeaPad S10, however, pulls away from the crowd by offering a couple of features which give it an extra edge. Best of all, the entire package is also one of the most affordable among 10-inch Netbooks.

Design

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is built from sturdy ABS plastic and comes in three colors: Black, white and pink. Weighing a mere 1.1kg with a 250 x 183 x 27.5mm footprint, you can slot it into almost any bag and forget it's even there. The power adapter is not that large, either, and adds just over 300g to the overall weight.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, we felt Lenovo could have added more curves and taper the front of the unit a little more. The round hinge at the back is a nice touch though, and locating the ports at the sides gives the unit a clean look. There are only two buttons (excluding the power switch) on the unit, and these control the OneKey Rescue System and Wi-Fi radio, respectively.

One of our favorite parts on the IdeaPad S10 is the keyboard. With adequate pitch and travel, we never felt that typing on the S10 was a chore, though we would have liked it better if the "Shift" keys were a little larger. The trackpad, on the other hand, is a touch too small for our liking, but most users will probably plug in a USB mouse anyway.

Features

There are two main features which put the IdeaPad S10 ahead of the pack. With the exception of the HP Compaq 2133 Mini-Note (which is not a Netbook), the S10 is the only Netbook currently in the market equipped with an ExpressCard/34 slot. This opens a range of peripherals previously denied to other Netbooks.

The other key selling point of the S10 is its one-touch recovery application. The OneKey Rescue system allows the user to back up and recover the system should it suffer an error or crash. In the event of a catastrophic operating system failure, the IdeaPad can even be restored to factory default settings, though your data will be lost in the process.

For S$739 (US$533.54), you get a very decent system with two USB 2.0 and VGA ports. The 10.2-inch LED-backlit display has a 1,024 x 600-pixel resolution which is sufficient for most applications and Web browsing. Powered by the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 video processor, it can handle standard-definition videos and older games as well. The stereo speakers are surprisingly loud for its size, though like most laptops the audio quality is tinny with little bass.

A 1.3-megapixel Webcam above the LCD allows for video conferencing and quick snapshots. We also like the fact that an SDHC/MMC/Memory Stick card reader is available for digital camera buffs. Wired networks are handled via the 10/100 Ethernet port, while Bluetooth and 802.11b/g radios offer wireless connectivity.

Performance And Battery Life

Under the hood lies a conventional Atom processor running at 1.6GHz. The system comes with 1GB RAM of which 512MB is soldered to the mainboard. Upgrading the system to the maximum of 1.5GB is easy. Just remove the bottom panel and replace the 512MB chip. The 2.5-inch 160GB SATA harddisk can be changed just as quickly. Since the system does not come with SSD options, you can switch it with third-party alternatives.

Performance-wise, we expected and received a competent showing from the Atom chipset. Productivity and Internet surfing are not a problem unless you insist on opening too many concurrent applications. Possibly the biggest disappointment we had with the S10 was with the battery life. The three-cell battery holds only 2,600mAh of charge, which translates to about 2 hours 10 minutes of use with the Wi-Fi on. Though there is a six-cell option, it adds significant weight to the unit, not to mention that it also increases the price of ownership. Keep near an outlet if you intend to work for long hours on the IdeaPad S10.

Service And Support

The laptop comes with a one-year regional warranty which covers Asean and China. On Lenovo's support Web site, you can register your warranty, after which the site will automatically detect your machine configuration and offer the appropriate support. A knowledge database is available for simple troubleshooting. Updated drivers, manuals and software upgrades can be downloaded as well. If the issue requires a professional assistance, a telephone helpline is available during working hours from Monday to Friday, though the unit can also be diagnosed or repaired at Lenovo's service center.



Tags: Netbook, Laptop Computer, processor, Lenovo Group Ltd., knowledge
 

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Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM)
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User Reviews

Average netbook.



Rating: 3 out of 10 (Poor)
Pros: Cheap.
Cons: Keypad & touchpad + usb port.
Opinion:
Got S10 in May when my labtop finally died. For my personal opinion, I dislike the keypad alot esp the [Fn] & ctrl button arrangement. The touchpad is always giving off static charges making my finger very uncomfortable. Also a lack of additional usb port (2 ports only).

At the PC Show, I got something else for my bro & it's so much better (lighter & hassle free) than S10. If I hadn't had S10 set up w/ my stuffs I would change it.

But this is a really affordable average netbook. Free upgrade ram, one mouse & notebook sleeve... Plus 4gb thumbdrive. Package attractive. I think the price @ the show should be SGD649 instead. I went 1st day of the show at the level 3 Lenovo booth.

Do look around & try the keypads & touchpad for ur ideal netbook.
(^__^)

 

Worth the buy



Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: Excellent battery life with 6-cell, Low cost
Cons: ctrl key, 6 cell battery pops out, touch pad buttons
Opinion:
This is an excellent netbook except for few negligible cons like its awkwardly placed ctrl key, 6-cell battery poping out. Does all the borwsing realated stuff exceptionally well.

 

One of the best netbooks I've seen



Rating: 8 out of 10 (Excellent)
Pros: Great performance for a small processor. One-key rescue is really helpful. Upgrading is a breeze.
Cons: Hate the CTRL button being in the middle rather than the end needs getting use to that.
Opinion:
This netbook is so easy to use. The webcam and mic are excellent. Its nice that all indicator lights are blue. I'm a fan of blue lights and all of them are easily recodnized. Would have been nice if there was a esata port or an extra usb port making it 3 ports. The keyboard needs some getting use to otherwise this is a awesome netbook.

 

See all user opinions »

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User Discussion

ferdiei: it's 2GB dude, would be dismal if only 2MB RAM. price are steadily going down for this one as ...
puberty: Hi, Yes it has got Bluetooth built in as stated in the local specs. Also ram up grade to 2 mb ...
Altan: I thought I read elsewhere this S10 has bluetooth. But today's Courts advert says S$799--a bit high.
kl281071: hi, can someone let me know where i can buy this (www). i am based in london
JacKaPloy: I am in Thailand. Can I repair it in Lenovo Thailand Center Service ?

More discussion »

 

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