Our new Lenovo S10 Ideapad

Well, our trip to the Sitex a couple of weeks ago netted us a new laptop, the Lenovo S10 Ideapad. Safe to say, it's exactly what we've been looking for in a second laptop. Although, IMHO, it is not necessarily for everyone out there...

First let's get down to the basic specs:

Processor: Intel Atom N270 1600
Video Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
Display: 10.2", 1024x600 pixels (Max)
Dimensions: 9.8" x 7.3" x 0.9"
Weight: approx. 2.2 kg
Battery Life: approx. 2 hrs.

Memory can be upgraded to 2GB; same with the hard drive, up to about 160GB. Great amount of space for something so little. Ideal for massive transfers while not giving up mobility. You know, something that I government spy will find useful.

The packaged OS is Windows XP SP3, although according to the manual, it should be able to support Windows Vista as well. However, knowing how much Vista tends to hog all the resources, I think it is much more prudent to go for WinXP.

Under WinXP, the S10 boots up really fast and can run many memory and CPU-intensive intensive applications -- that is, games, hehehe -- very smoothly. Not bad if you ask me. Top notch performance in one really small package.

The feature software is the OneKey Rescue System, supposedly for backup and recovery. I haven't exactly seen this at work, since I haven't been in the situation in which the laptop crashed that I needed to recover it. Anyway, at the very least, its good to have that feature.

BTW, take note that the maximum resolution is only 1024 x 600. You might have some problems with some applications. In our case, we tried installing our old-time favorite Age of Mythology -- a fairly old Microsoft Game, so you would not expect any problem when installing it in a Windows OS, right? Well, when we tried to run it, we got an Initialization Failed error. Turns out, it has a problem with the resolution; tried running the "Safe Video" version of the game, then everything is running smoothly after that.

Portability is no sweat, thanks to its small dimensions. You can carry it literally like an actual writing notebook; it's smaller than an A4 paper. :)) BTW, it comes with a reversible slim case, which you can easily place inside your bag. Not sure if there were other available colors though; the one that came in with ours was gray one side, and pink on the reverse... not really the ideal colors that I can be proud of.

Of course, because of the size, the keyboard is a little cramped up than what I am used to. Also the touchpad is only about half the size of those in other laptops. Then again, I'm not really a touchpad person, that's why I almost buy a separate optical USB mouse.

That brings me to the other issue I have with it: it has only two USB ports; one on the right -- which is where I usually attach my mouse -- and one on the right. I would have preferred if there were at least one more USB port. IMHO, three USB ports would be ideal, especially now since tons of USB devices are out in the market. Then again, all I have to do is attach a USB port on the right USB port, then problem solved. :)

People also have some issues with the battery life being limited to only about 2 hours, depending on the applications running. Personally, I'd prefer the laptop to be plugged in anyway, so not an issue for me there. But others should take note of it.

Aside from that, it has the most usual features like the built-in webcam and microphone, built-in bluetooth and wireless, plus an ExpressCard for WWAN. :)

Lastly, this laptop does not heat up as much as the other laptops out there. I can have it sit on my lap and I barely felt it. You can place it comfortably on your lap and really call it a laptop.

So would I recommend it? Hell, yeah! Just think about some of the tiny little caveats I have here as well as in other reviews. I think its strengths are its portability and performance. For the most part, if you're looking for a really light yet relatively powerful laptop, you should really consider Lenovo S10 Ideapad.