Lenovo IdeaPad S10 Review

Newegg has the S10 w/ 160g HDD, 1gb Ram, 3 cell battery for $379 shipped.

"Lenovo S10"

Lenovo has 6 cell batteries for $89, if you need 6 cell.

I really like my S10, great for travel.

 

Lenovo has the 6 cell for 90 $ ? listed at 120 on their site. Are you referring to the ebay battery that we saw (ie non OEM for 6 and 9 cell) ?

Well the HDD is a big question: do I really need 160gb ?
Or best put: will the hdd size affect the battery in any way ?

At the same time I could get a 3 cell out of the deal - but am also trying to squeeze the price as much as i can
So far, set at 408, with few extra that I will grab on a side i finish at 450.

S.

 

That's a really good deal IMO. I love the S10, I might get one if it gets even lower.

 

That's very close to the NC10, king of netbooks.

 

Well, I am very faithful to Ibm and now Lenovo

Plus a main seller for me is the ram and hdd easy access and the express card slot - and the quick access button from lenovo (to reinstall everything at once).

I guess at he end of the day it doesn't matter much.

 

Should be able to get a deal on an S10 from Circuit City due to the bankruptcy liquidation.

 

good point!

site down for the past 30 min though .... (1 hour now!)

Edit:

What do you think:
- I actually do not care much about BT (never used it on my laptops)
- 80 gb is ok, 160 is nice for later (will the 160 draw more power than 80 ?)
- i guess i could always buy a 6 or 9 cell later on
- i have a 1 gb stick i can add

what is the cheapest price so far for a s10 with 160 gb? and that i can get fast ?

Newegg states that max memory is 1.5gb ?? Thought it was 2

 

i wanna say this if you have not seen this netbook in the store GO SEE IT

I saw it at tigerdirect today i was stunned how awesome this thing looked this thing was like a work or art compared to the aspire ones

The keyboard and everything was solid. Is there any word on this netbook getting a 1026 x 768 or 1280 x 1024 screen? The screen is awesome, the current resolution just doesnt cut it cut for me though

This is a great netbook and if you are considering it dont hesitate i know i loved it

 

It is 2Gb but the S10 is like a few other netbooks that have 512mb of RAM built right onto the board. So when Newegg says that the max memory is 1.5gb they're assuming people aren't going to install that 2Gb chip and waste 512mb of RAM.

 

...what i just saw a craigslist add with someone who put 2.5gb ram in this notebook.....

 

Physically there can be 2.5Gb (512Mb built in RAM + 2Gb RAM chip) installed but the chipset only supports up to 2Gb of the RAM.

http://www.intel.com/design/intarch/PRODBREF/320217.pdf

This is true except for the all white one. The S10 was my top choice for a netbook before I found out about the Ion platform.

 

its sad but i saw a pink S10....it still looked good though Guess me and you will wait for ion together

so he was right it can do 2.5gb thats great

 

Not heard of that yet.

What is it ? Out when and will it be worth it to wait ?

 

Nvidia Ion platform uses an Intel Atom paired with the same Nvidia Chipset w/9400M integrated graphics that's in the MacBook Air.

Due out by June. Worth the wait for me because I don't really need a netbook right away.

 

same here my ipod touch will do just fine

if only the MBA was cheap then again the lack of ports is a huge hit you know its sad when a netbook has more ports then a macbook

 

Another netbook to keep an eye on is the new Dell Mini-10 which uses the Z530 and Poulsbo chipset instead of the N270 and 945GSE/950GMA.

http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-video-and-pictures-of-the-dell-inspiron-mini-10

Built in GPS is a major selling point to me for a netbook. That's what I was going to use the Express Card slot for on the S10.

 

hmmm thats nice i dont like the color scheme inside of the netbook the silver/black with a white cover? lol i think it looks silly

Have you seen the red lenovo S10 in person? I wonder if it looks really good in person the pictures show it as a dark red.

 

I just read about the hp 2140 ... seems good too, and supposedly starts at 499.

Just looked at the MSI wind. What are your thought on it ? Listed at 429$: bt, 6 cell, 1gb/160gb, card reader

I still like the s10 (for style, the express card ...), but it seems that the msi will run osx with everything working on it!

 

The 2140 is nice because it offers the option for the 1366 x 768 resolution...but that resolution is not part of the $499 starting price.

So what you're getting for that extra $100 over the S10(with the 160Gb HDD) is a larger, nicer keyboard, and an aluminum shell.

The new MSI Wind U120H is a step above other netbooks because it has built in 3.5G mobile broadband. I haven't paid much attention to it though because it doesn't really offer me an option for GPS outside of a Bluetooth module...so I don't really know anything about it running OSX.

The MSI Wind U115 on the other hand leaves me doubting the benefit of having a SSD and a HDD in a netbook. The SSD is the primary hard drive with the OS while the HDD is used for storage and gets turned off when not in use to conserve the battery.

That makes me think about how much time during use will the HDD actually turn off because it's not being accessed and if it is going off will that slow down access times to the data stored there.

Then again maybe there will be an option to swap the HDD for a second SSD then you can have the very first netbook with a RAID setup!

 

too bad .... This resolution and the alu case made me dreamed.

well I was referring to the Wind U10 (at 429, 6 cell, bt, 1gb/160gb). But looking around a bit more the s10 can also run osx (not as great as far as I can tell, but still)

that would be fun

 

Does the 423135U (Black) include bluetooth?

Also are there any expected updates to the S10 line before the end of the month, don't want to buy this one now and then find out that a new one is just about to come out.

Thanks alot. Plan on purchasing this as a backup to my t400 in case I have to send it in for a repair or if I'm running scans and can't use it at that exact moment.

 

There's an update due in March.

The models in the U.S. were supposed to have Bluetooth but no model was sold with it. You can however purchase a bluetooth module off eBay and install it yourself.

Here's a video that shows how: http://www.edubase.com.my/lenovo-s10-netbook-hack-bluetooth

 

will the updated ones include bluetooth, it's a huge selling point for me because i can sync up my bb without having to plug in

 

i really dont understand i saw this is store and loved the screen but notebookjournal gave the screen a TERRIBLE rating unless that is either

A)A different Display Unit

or

B)The German version only

I just know the one i saw at the store was awesome.

Keith: There are quite a bit of netbooks currently with bluetooth have you considered other brands?

 

No idea on the specs but a friend said he saw a lenovo netbook for $250 at the local CC... sheesh

 

its led backlit and got good reviews on nbr, thats what im going by

 

What is the likelihood of a substantial update being made on the refreshed batch?

A local store is selling the 160GB version for $610 AUD inclusive of shipping (the equivalent of $395.843 USD), so I'm keen on buying it - only issue is the sale is only for another day. However, if they end up placing a 6 cell battery on it or some other hardware update, etc, etc I don't want to kick myself.

Also, I've read through this thread and there are a few mentions of different models like the MSI Wind, Asus EEE, Acer Aspire One, etc. Would there be any reason for me to get one of those instead of this? Apologies for the questions, but I don't have too much time to make a hugely informed decision as the sale is only for another day.

 

6 cell for the S10 is already available:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=4364BD0F20B94413B5AD6E684D2848E9


The S10 is on par with the MSI Wind and Asus EEE with the only differences being keyboard sizes, battery life, and the express card slot. The currently available Aspire One is usually cheaper but it only has an 8.9" screen even though the netbook is still the size of a netbook with a 10" screen.

 

Is the drive in the S10 a 2.5" SATA hard drive? Can it is easily upgraded?

 

Yes and Yes

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4620

 

Thanks. I think this is one of the better netbooks out there.

It seems to me, you could place a 7200rpm 320GB hard drive in there, use a 802.11n expresscard network card, and have a decent little media streamer. t
The Intel Atom might not be a powerhouse, but if all it's doing is serving up MP3 or maybe even some video, if would be okay.

 

I am back to let you know that I love my S10.

In fact I got a s10e, so do my gf. We had a better deal, and we got 6 cell batteries too.

So far, i really like the S10 and after testing some other netbook here and there, the s10 was definitely a plus.

One thing I do not like: the keyboard is raised on the right side (for both of us, i sent mine in, but it is kind of the same) and the keyboard is marking on the screen (so yep, constant cleaning!).
But I guess nothing's perfect and for the price and portability, this is a great laptop.

I am about to order a 9 cell battery for my gf - this would give with the cell I have and the 3 that came with the s10, more than an all day on!

S.

 

Does anyone here have or have seen reviews of the "limited" edition of the S10? The one that comes with 4GB SSD + 160 GB HDD, I think the product number is NS82H.

 

No, I have never read or seen such a model. How would you fit two drives in one drive bay? I don't think such a model exists.

The newer and soon to be released Lenovo IdeaPad S12 in late June or early July 2009 may be something you should look into. I wish the S12 had followed the S10 netbook case design instead though.

 

Sure it exists, it's cheaper than the regular model in my country:
http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?board.id=IdeaPad_Netbook&thread.id=3383

Anyway, after reading the lenovo forums, I'll be staying away from their netbooks until they start producing fanless designs (hopefully this fall with the roll-out of the new atom+chipset).

 

any idea how to reformat this model?

i think mine got corrupted.. i cant open my IE and YM...
its my first time using a netbook... with out any recovery disc and all

 

Buyer BEWARE! Read the fine print!"

Lenovo S10 comes in lots of configurations, not just different models. Their spec sheets lurk deep in the Lenovo website; complex, densely worded and hard to find, unless you know exactly what you're looking for.

I spent hours trying to activate Bluetooth on my new IdeaPad S10 (model "4231-AGU") until Lenovo Tech Support researched it and told me that Bluetooth wasn't supported on that model. They gave me the number for sales.

All the marketing material and reviews I had ever seen touted Bluetooth as an IdeaPad feature. but sales said "Bluetooth is an option. Didn't you read the spec sheet before you ordered it?"

"Fine", I told them. If its an option, I'll send this one back and pay you for the Bluetooth 'option'. That's when I discovered we weren't in IBMland anymore.

Lenovo wouldn't make it right. Their best offer was a 15% restocking fee plus return postage, And then they would sell me a different S10 model. Or I could just buy an external USB adapter...

I've been a Thinkpad user since 1995 and IBM, for all their faults, took care of me. Sorry, Lenovo. The S10 may be cheap, but my loyalty isn't.