Lenovo didn't waste any time launching its own netbook when ASUS, HP, and Acer first introduced theirs. That first version of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 possessed many desirable netbook traits, including an ExpressCard slot and a 10-inch widescreen, that kept the other three from running away with this category. But that was six months ago. Since then, netbooks have been evolving at a furious pace, with manufacturers improving aesthetics, slashing prices, and bridging the features gap between them and mainstream laptops. New to the IdeaPad S10 (Red) ($410 street) are a Linux pre-boot environment and several color options, and it's still one of only two netbooks (the other is the HP Mini 2140 with an ExpressCard slot. The additions, unfortunately, are overshadowed by a small keyboard and a pricing strategy that lacks aggression.
Lenovo didn't really go out of its way to spice up the S10's design. While adding an array of color options (for $10 more) that include red, pink, and blue is admirable, the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and Mini 12 now offer seven color options for buyers, and netbooks like the HP Mini 2140 and the ASUS EeePC 1002HA are wowing customers with metallic designs. Granted, concocting a winning design is guaranteed to drive up prices, but Lenovo isn't going to win over new customers by slapping colors on a netbook. I'm sure it's already in the road map, but Lenovo needs to expand its netbook lineup beyond colors; perhaps an 11-inch or a 12-inch model such as the ones that Acer and Dell recently launched, or even a netbook tablet—a field Lenovo knows very well, given the success of the ThinkPad X200 Tablet.
The S10 (Red) tips the scales at 3 pounds, slightly heavier than the original S10 (2.7 pounds) because of a heavier, six-cell battery (the latter was reviewed with a three-cell battery). The Acer Aspire One (10-inch) and the Samsung NC10-14GB are slightly lighter at 2.9 pounds with their six-cell configurations, while the ASUS EeePC 1000HE is the heaviest at 3.2 pounds. The extended battery sticks out an inch from the back and elevates the rear of the S10 about a half an inch from a hard surface. Though the battery is a small bump in the road on design, that's outweighed by the fact that it's larger, with plenty of battery life. ASUS, on the other hand, designed its EeePC 1000HE so that its big battery is flush against the base. Little design details like these count when there are so many similarities among netbooks.
Six months ago, the S10's 10-inch widescreen and 1,024-by-600 resolution were the cream of the crop. Now, larger netbooks like the Dell Inspiron Mini 12, the Samsung NC20, and the HP Pavilion dv2 are deploying 12-inch widescreens and higher resolutions. Though the Dell Mini 9's screen, at 8.9 inches, is even smaller than the S10 (Red)'s, Lenovo needs to raise the stakes in screen size. More important, the S10 (Red)'s 89 percent keyboard is less than perfect to me, as others like the ASUS 1000HE, the NC10-14GB, and the HP Mini 2140 have bigger keyboards. The typing experience is crucial, and right now the S10 (Red) is losing significant ground in this area (which is ironic considering Lenovo's ThinkPad keyboard expertise). Furthermore, the pair of mouse buttons are noisy and hard to click, and the touchpad is small relative to those of the Acer One (10-inch) and the HP Mini 1000.
The feature set is the S10's saving grace. Even though it doesn't offer an embedded 3G modem like the HP 1000 and the Dell Mini 12, or have an HDMI port like the HP dv2, an ExpressCard can fill these voids. By adding this slot, Lenovo limited the S10 to two USB ports, while other netbooks like the Acer One and the ASUS 1000HE have three. Otherwise, the 160GB hard drive matches those of the One and the 1000HE, and standard netbook features like VGA-out, a 5-in-1 card reader, headphone and microphone ports, and webcam are also present.
A new software feature in the S10 (Red) is a pre-boot Linux environment, powered by a company called Splashtop. A Linux splash screen appears as soon as you power up the system, giving you to either enter the environment or boot into Windows XP Home Edition. Within the environment, there are options for a Web browser, music and photo manager, games, and Skype's video chatting software. You also have access to your 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connection, which connected flawlessly to my home router. The music and photo manager can sync to their respective folders (My Music and My Pictures) in Windows XP Home Edition, but that's it—there's no file manager that lets you access other file types. Overall, though, this Linux pre-boot is a neat little addition that can save time and battery life (since it consumes less power than Windows).
As for parts, the S10 (Red) uses the same processor as the configuration from six months ago. The 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 processor and 1GB of memory are standard parts for netbooks. The Atom N280 processor found in the 1000HE is slightly faster, but you wouldn't be able to distinguish performance differences in the real world. In video-encoding tests, the S10 (Red) finished in 5 minutes 7 seconds, which was actually slower than the original S10. The ASUS 1000HE and the Acer One (10-inch) finished in less than 4:30. SYSmark 2007 Preview testing is a better measure of overall performance, and the S10's overall score was in line with those of the Samsung NC10-14GB and its predecessor. The 52-Wh battery delivered a smidge over 5 hours, according to MobileMark 2007 tests; both the Acer One (10-inch) and the ASUS 1000HE easily surpassed 6 hours in the same test.
Since Lenovo is known for its business laptops, the presence of an ExpressCard slot makes it a compelling netbook, say, for small businesses that need to support features like 3G, extra USB ports, or even a Serial port. While the IdeaPad S10 (Red) seems inexpensive, netbooks like the HP Mini 1000, the ASUS EeePC 1000HE, and the Acer One (10-inch) are about $25 to $50 cheaper. The additions of a bigger battery, colors, and a Linux environment in this version of the S10 are modest, not groundbreaking advances. Overall, unless Lenovo provides some siblings for this netbook, preferably ones with bigger screens, higher resolutions, and sleeker exteriors, it risks falling behind in the one category where it cannot afford to do so.
Check out the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Red)'s performance test scores
