Lenovo IdeaPad S10

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 represents the Chinese company’s first venture into the competitive Netbook market. It is a 10 inch netbook that is built from sturdy ABS plastic and comes in three colours, comprising of black, white and pink. Its design features a round hinge at the back with ports located at the side for a cleaner look. The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 only has two buttons on the unit excluding the power switch, namely the OneKey Rescue System and Wi-Fi radio. The netbook comes with a one-year regional warranty that covers Asean and China. There is even a knowledge database for every registered netbook available for simple trouble shooting. Not only that, users can also update their drivers, manuals and software upgrades by just downloading them off the site.
Specifications
The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 measures 250 mm x 183 mm x 27.5 mm (L x W x T) in dimension and weighs approximately 1.1 kg. It comes with a portable-sized power adapter that weighs approximately 300 g. There is also an ExpressCard/ 34 slot as well as a one-touch recovery application that allows users to back up and recover the system as a safeguard against errors and crashes. Not only that, there are also two USB 2.0 and VGA ports. In terms of the display, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 has a 10.2 inch LED-backlit display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. It is powered by the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 video processor. In addition to that, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 can also handle standard-definition videos and older games as well. In terms of audio, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 has stereo speakers. There is also a 1.3 mega pixel Webcam situated right above the LCD to allow for video conferencing and quick snapshots, and also an SDHC, MMC, Memory stick card reader. As for connections, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 has a 10/100 Ethernet port, Bluetooth and 802.11 b/g radios.
Reviews

“The ultra-portable laptop market has never been more active than it has in the last year. Since the introduction of the “netbook” category of small budget notebooks last year our office has been flooded with at least a dozen compact laptops priced well below $500. With so many manufacturers scrambling to create their own “netbooks” it was only a matter of time before Lenovo came to the table with their own value-priced IdeaPad S10.” (NoteBookReview,2008)

“Those who follow the ever-growing Netbook market have been waiting for one conspicuous straggler to arrive. Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10 Netbook was announced way back on August 4, but only started shipping in late September. Our review unit has an Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a standard 5,400rpm 160GB hard drive, as opposed to the smaller SSD hard drives found in many other Netbooks (including Dell’s recent Inspiron Mini 9). The starting configuration is a bit cheaper, offering 512MB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive for $439, while our upgrades (which are not currently available on Lenovo’s Web site), should come in about $550.” (CNET, 2008)

“Lenovo wins some points for providing a bloat-free machine, and for supplying a handy recovery application, CyberLink OneKey Recovery 6.0. That app allows you to create backups, as well as to set partitions and restore points–a more flexible backup option than simply restoring the PC to factory-fresh condition. Lenovo even goes so far as to place a OneKey panic button at the top of the keyboard. It’s a nice touch, and it’s a nod to ThinkPad loyalists, who might consider it a “lite” version of the ThinkVantage button. If you’re looking for a big, beefy hard drive and surprisingly sprightly performance from a mini-notebook, the IdeaPad S10 is a solid pick. If the S10’s slightly cramped keyboard and loose mouse buttons are deal breakers for you, Asus’s Eee 1000H would suit you much better. Though the Eee 1000H has a little more girth, it will definitely get you through your next business trip.” (PCWorld, 2008)