Lenovo IdeaPad S10

Full review of Lenovo IdeaPad S10

Seeing that a majority of netbooks are based on the Intel Atom N270 CPU, GMA950 graphics, and Windows XP Home as the operating system (the s10 being no exception), you have to look at what other features it brings to the table. Besides the eye-pleasing and MacBook-like design, the base model of Lenovo's S10 is actually not that well equipped compared to similar netbooks. It has an 80GB hard drive and only 512MB of RAM, although most buyers will probably throw in an extra $50 and get the 160GB hard drive and 1GB RAM.

Keyboard and Trackpad

After testing the keyboard/trackpad combination on the S10 for a while, we found that the trackpad provided a nice and consistent experience, although the buttons where a bit loud when depressed. Also, the keyboard felt somewhat cramped like it does on most netbooks, but some odd-sized keys like a minimal tab key made it feel even more so on the S10 than most other 10" netbooks that we've tested.

Connectivity

Looking at the connectivity, the S10 has a nice set of features: Two USB ports, VGA out, headphone, microphone, LAN, multi-card reader, Bluetooth and Express Card. A big plus and a gold star to Lenovo for the last two items on the list - having Bluetooth is a must for some users, and an express card slot is also nice to see on a netbook. Again, like most other netbooks it lacks support for wireless N (the fast variety).

Performance and Battery Life

In our WorldBench test, the S10 delivered a score of 29, which is a slightly lower score than the competition, but this can probably be attributed to the 512MB of RAM. Upgrade to a gig of RAM and you will probably see an improvement to a score in line with other netbooks. According to Lenovo, you should be able to get almost 4 hours of battery life, but in the real world - with Wi-Fi on and screen brightness turn up - you'll be lucky to get 3:30 out of the 3-cell battery. This is to be expected from a 3-cell, but it would have been nice to at least have the option to get it with a 6-cell.

All in all, the Lenovo S10 is a nice-looking netbook that performs predictably. It can definitely be recommended, but I would opt for an upgrade to at least 1GB of RAM. Unlike some other netbooks, the S10 is also thankfully very easy to upgrade.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 Technical Specifications

• Processor 1.6GHz Atom N270
• Memory 512MB
• Harddrive 80GB
• OS Windows XP Home
• Weight 2.4lbs
• Screen 10.2 inches
• Screen resolution 1024x600
• Graphic Card Intel GMA950
• Battery Life 3.5 Hours

Pros

• Easy to upgrade
• Great design
• Several color alternatives
• Good trackpad

Cons

• Cramped keyboard
• Only 512MB RAM