green-z's Full Review: Lenovo IdeaPad S10e (418739U) Netbook
The Lenovo Ideapad S10e “netbook” is an offshoot of the popular S10 model. Either fact, or urban legends, I can’t say which, the “e” is said to stand for “education.” Oddly though there isn’t all much difference between the S10e and the S10, and what changes there are, are not really good ones in my opinon (wish I’d researched all this before I bought!).
So here is what you don’t get with the S10e that you do get with the S10: a 10.2” anti-glare WSVGA screen with “standard” 1024x600 resolution and Lenovo’s OneKey Recovery pre-installed. Instead you’ll find a glossy 10.1” WSVGA display with an odd 1024x576 resolution.
I know 24 vertical pixels doesn’t sound like a big deal, but some programs think it is. Even Windows XP keeps nagging me to change my resolution, which I think is odd. Why didn’t Lenovo code Windows to tell it the S10e had a non-standard resolution?
You also get, pre-install, a new linux based “instant on” app called Quick Splash. This program boots up in seconds after you press the power button so you can web surf, check email, make a Skype call, or Instant Message. I ended up uninstalling it on my machine. I don’t really see the point of it. The S10e boots up to Windows fast enough. What could possibly be that urgent you couldn’t wait 30 seconds.
Opening up the S10e’s box is uneventful. You instantly know this isn’t an Apple product. It’s all business (or education, as the S10e’s market is supposed to be for). The S10e rests inside unpretentiously. Alongside it is an accessory box with the A/C adapter and 3 cell battery. Below the S10e is the manual. There are no recovery CDs. Yes, that is not a typo.
I haven’t owned too many Windows PCs, but everyone I’ve had came with recovery CDs to allow you to reinstall a fresh copy of the OS. So I was a little beside myself. First I consulted the manual. The honeymoon is really over when I have to get the manual. It told me to use the product recovery program, a.k.a. OneKey Recovery, to make discs. OK, fine, except after looking inside every nook and cranny of my computer’s files there was no such program.
Rather than waste time hunting on the web, I called up tech support. I was rather snottily, yet in a pleasant way told that the S10e didn’t come with recovery software because it was geared for education. I wanted to ask him why retail stores sell it then! Anyway, he did not have a solution for me and said a higher level tech would call me back within 24 hours. Not. In fact, even three days later nothing from Lenovo.
Lenovo may not show me any love, but Google is my friend. I found a Lenovo forum which posted where to download the OneKey Recovery program from Lenovo. Funny how a random guy on a forum knows this but Lenovo’s own tech support doesn’t. That tells me a lot. If you are considering either the S10 or S10e, most configurations do not come with Recovery CDs, you have to make your own. And since netbooks do not have internal optical drives, you’ll need to buy an external one if you don’t own one.
Once I made my recovery disk I was comfortable with setting up my new toy and installing some software. The overall build quality is quite impressive. It feels like a mini laptop. However, it’s important to remember, it’s not a shrunken notebook computer, it’s a netbook. The Atom processor in almost every model of this genre is only about as half a powerful as a modern Celeron M processor of the same clock speed. So don’t expect any netbook to do heavy lifting. For example, don’t think you can reasonable run a program like Photoshop on one.
The S10e as mentioned has a 10.1” glossy screen. I’m not a huge fan of glossy screens because of the glare. I know people that adore them though because of the eye popping colors it creates. To each his or her own, just know what you are buying. The S10e’s display looks crisp and sharp, but it is a mirror with even nominal direct light.
For a netbook the S10e sports a bevy of ports, some which are absent on most others. It features two USB 2 ports, one on each side, as well as audio in and out, and VGA out in case you want to hook up an external display. Of course Ethernet. Then there is a 4in1 (really 2in1, but you know marketing). It accepts SD, MMC, Memory Stick, and Memory Stick Pro. And finally, an amazing ExpressCard slot, something I haven’t noticed on too many netbooks.
Other features of the S10e include 802.11b/g WiFi, a build-in 1.3MP webcam, and, I don’t know its a feature, but a 3 cell battery. I’ve found battery life to be in the 2 hour range, which is about what I expected. It’s not great, but suits my own needs fine. There is no bluetooth in this version of the S10e, although you can buy a module for about $20 on auction sites and install is fairly easy if you can use a screw driver. It also has a roomy 80GB hard drive. I know hard drives are not as sexy as Solid State Drives these days but I’d rather have a larger hard drive than a “cool,” but functionally useless 8 or 16GB SSD. Heck my iPhone is 8GB and it’s nearly full.
Using the S10e is clearly an acquired skill. I sadly admit I have small hands so it blows me away when I write that the S10e’s keyboard is crampt. HP really has the market on this feature. They keyboard on their Mini 1010 netbook is firm and nearly full size. The S10e’s keyboard meanwhile lacks real “feedback,” and worse, they keys are just too small.
Also crazy small is the trackpad. It’s multi-touch, which is great on the ocean sized pads on the new Apple MacBooks and MacBook Pros. But on a 1x2in pad it’s just awkward. There is no room to really flick your fingers around. I’ve seen other 10in netbooks with more usable trackpads.
Speed on the S10e is fine for apps like FireFox and Word. Even Excel is OK. On the other hand don’t get too fancy with those PowerPoint presentations. Used in its proper context the netbook experience is great. Be sure to add another 1GB or 2GB of RAM though. It’s cheap ($10-20) and easy so no excuse not to. The instructions are even in the manual.
Because performance among all netbooks is fairly similar what really makes the difference is the quality and design. Clearly Lenovo hits it with quality. The S10e is solid and doesn’t feel like a toy in the way so many other netbooks do. Design is also strong as too it’s looks, and it does look professional, and the screen, despite being an odd resolution is rich and bright, if a bit glarey. However, the keyboard and trackpad are also important to the use of a netbook and here Lenovo is only mediocre. That, and the fact Lenovo would rather save $1 and not distribute a restore CD or even better for a netbook, a restore flash key, and poor tech support (that doesn’t even return calls) leaves me to think this is not the netbook I really wanted, or that I could heartily recommend.
Get back to work Lenovo. Put HP’s keyboard on your S10 and drop in a restore disk and you might have a winner. But if the S10e doesn’t strike your fancy then you may want to consider the S10 with it’s “standard” display resolution and anti-glare screen.
What’s In The Box:
Ideapad S10e netbook 3 Cell Battery A/C adapter and power cord Quick Start Poster User’s Manual
Basic Specs:
Atom (N270) 1.6Ghz Processor 10.1” WSVGA (1024x576 Resolution) Glossy Screen 80GB (5400) Hard Drive 2 USB 2.0 ports Ethernet 801.11b/g WiFi Internal 1.3MP web cam VGA out Audio in/out ExpressCard slot SD/MMC/Memory Stick card reader Windows XP UMPC (SP3) pre-installed (no recovery discs provided) 2.7lbs
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 299.00 Operating System: Windows Processor: Other Processor speed: over 1000 Screen Size: 10 inches RAM: More than 256 Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
The new Lenovo IdeaPad S10e is designed to keep pace with your busy lifestyle - possibly even simplify it. At a mere 2.65 lbs and about one inch thin,...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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