Cons: So many that this netbook earns a below average rating.
The Bottom Line: Build quality is high, but alot of the design features make little to no sense at all. Sorry, but the HP mini note is a better contender.
bigtruckseries's Full Review: Lenovo IdeaPad S10e (4187RVU) Netbook
The LENOVO S10e was an S10 rebranded specifically for education purposes -for those principals trying to get affordable computers into classrooms and into teacher’s hands so they can do more data entry. Frankly, for education purposes, I prefer the Macbooks because they are easier to use and more resistant to downloading of viruses by kids, but, this is definitely a solid system which could be used to teach in a classroom environment basic computer skills.
The Lenovo S10e Netbook build quality is typical of a Lenovo made product. Its built very tough, with high quality materials and has a quality feel throughout the frame, hinges, keyboard and trackpad. In fact, the keys actually feel sturdier than on many full sized laptops I’ve used.
To give you a short rundown of its features, the S10e comes with a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor, 1 GB of RAM and a 149GB Hard Disk Drive (although other configurations give you 80 or 160GB Hard Disk Drives). The connections include: WiFi, an Ethernet port, 2 USB ports, 1 Expresscard slot, 4-in-1 flash card slot, VGA out, mic and headphone. There is a built in camera which comes with all SKU’s of this model.
The original S10 had a glossy white surface, while this model is black glossy. I think black definitely makes the netbook look sexier and sleeker. The hinge is high quality plastic, while the inner hinge is actually Lenovo’s specially designed battery which lasts a good time yet takes up little space.
USING AN S10e My S10e included Bluetooth (some do not) which is good because since it only has 2 USB ports, many people who would like to add a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard can do so without sacrificing a USB port for a printer. But the question then becomes: do you really want to do “work” on a netbook? Entering Excel data on spreadsheets with a keyboard 60% of a laptop’s? Having to rely on a screen smaller than 12 inches to type a Word document? Even with the font size turned up to “larger” I still had to strain to see most words. It does not help that this screen’s resolution is 1024 X 576 pixels while many other netbooks in this range score 600 and even 768 vertical pixel counts. This only ensures you’ll spend lots of time scrolling vertically to take in more of a page. My S10e came with Microsoft Office preinstalled so I’d have access to MS Word, MS Excel and MS Powerpoint. Both the programs and the Operating System boot up relatively snappy but, its still a screen I wouldn’t want to have to work on. A kid might find it ok, but I need no less than 15” ~ 17”screens to work.
BATTERY LIFE S10 and S10e can be purchased with either a 3 or a 6 cell battery. While I can’t speak to the life of the 3 cell, I’ve read that the 3 cell offers just around 2 hours. My laptop however has a 6 cell battery which offers over 4 hours of life. And I’ve had a great experience with Lenovo computers with extended life battery’s. My X10 tablet’s realistically offered over 6 hours continuous life. When I pulled this computer out the box, it was already fully charged, and that battery charge did last for the next 4 hours. The ratings claim it gets over 4hours and 30 minutes, but I’ll do more testing and update this review on that note. If not for web browsing, this lifespan would make this netbook great for video-watching on a medium range flight that last less than 4 hours. The $500 HP 2140 and the $400 Samsung NC10 by comparison last over 6 hours on a charge. This computer also has very intelligent, and aggressive energy saving profiles. You can choose between “Performance”, “Balance”, “Low Power” and “super Energy Saver”. When in Low Power mode, the system quickly switches off the screen and decreases the CPU draw while in Performance mode, you’ll get the computer to stay brightly lit and running at full speed.
HARDWARE The included Gigabyte of Ram and the 140GB Hard Disk Drive play very nice with the included Windows XP version. When using the internet, this netbook handles websites like Youtube and HULU very well once you’ve updated to the latest version of Flash. As far as upgrades go, all you’ll need is a screwdriver to remove 2 small screws and you have easy access to the hard drive and RAM module. The graphics chipset is an integrated 945GSE. Its good enough for viewing webpages but you definitely won’t get any games on here that require any acceleration. Not that you’d want to play them on such a small screen anyway. The camera is decent so long as you are in good lighting conditions. It is a 2 Megapixel model, but the on screen image looks a tad grainy in lower light levels. Unfortunately, there is no LED lamp to signal you that it is on.
I like the fact the WiFi on/off button is located on the top of the keyboard, rather than near the base, where it is easy to accidentaly flick off, but, i wonder why didn't they put an LED next to it (or on it) to signal whether it is on or off? The LED for WiFi is located at the base, while the light near the button is the Hard Drive access light. Does this make sense? The Hard Drive light should be near the power light.
WEIGHT At just 3 pounds and a few ounces, the S10e has a light weight that makes it easy to carry around in a bookbag, and even most purses. Its about the weight of a typical bible and twice the thickness of a composition notebook – with similar dimensions. The S10e’s combination of light weight and good looks definitely make it attractive.
DISSAPOINTMENTS There are a couple of problems that stood out right away when I began crunching numbers with the S10e. #1 The Keyboard is too small and buttons are hard to hit Now, for someone to complain about a netbook’s keyboard being too small is a bit ridiculous, but, there are netbooks that do have larger keyboards with keys easier to hit (like the Mini Note). It takes along time for the larger hand to get used to using this netbook but, my biggest problem with the keyboard is that the shift button is on the right side of the [up] key. Its really confusing and hard to hit naturally. Fortunately the left [shift] key is ok, but I don’t use that one when I type. It also doesn’t help that the [Fn] and [Ctrl] keys on the left hand side are reversed.
#2 The speakers are located on the underside of the unit What annoyed me most of all about the speakers underside positioning, is that the area right beneath the screen on the top of the keyboard looks like a speaker placement because it is made to look like mesh. I wouldn’t be annoyed by this if the speaker drivers were louder, but, at its highest volume, the speakers are just a tad above the average volume of a speaker phone on a cellphone. Of course, netbook’s typically don’t have high performance speakers so this is a mute point.
#3 The USB connectors Besides the disappointment that the S10e has its USB connections located opposite each other: one on the left, one on the right… they are located in stupid places. The USB on the right side is right next to the Ethernet cable connector which means the USB device will have to reach over or under the Ethernet if its used. The SB on the left is even worse – located at the front end of the computer, beyond the SD card slot. If you had to plug this into a printer or USB adapter for a cellular modem, it would be right at your palms. Why not place all connections in the rear? Or why not place all of them further back? And even worse, this computer only has 2 USB connectors when the unwritten standard is for netbooks to come with 3. EEE PC’s have 3. HP Mini Notes have 3…in fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a netbook without 3 USB connections. Why is 3 connections a big deal? Well, if you had an add-on CDRW drive, you’d probably need it since most of them require 2 USB connections for power on the road when an AC adapter isn’t available. I wasn’t crazy about the trackpad either. Its definitely small, but my big problem here is the scroll vertical scroll strip isn’t as responsive as I’d like it to be and scrolling requires tapping rather than a finger slide. The metal left/right click buttons are also louder when pressed than the keys on my full sized laptop.
OVERALL The Lenovo S10e could have benefited from more development and more thought. True the looks of this baby are sexy, and true, the competition isn’t very saturated when you consider the hard drive size and included features like Bluetooth, but, when you run this netbook up against the latest models of MSI Wind and the HP Mini Note, the S10e comes up a bit short. True most netbooks like the Mini Note don’t have an Expresscard slot like the Lenovo, but there’s a good reason for that: no one wants to make Expresscard devices when they could just as easily make them for USB 2.0. Cell modem designers and digital TV tuner makers prefer USB because consumers want to be able to swap the device with their desktop while their home. True expresscard slots let you add more USB ports or Firewire, but there are USB dongles that do that too. So, considering that the S10e, doesn’t have a lot of the features most of us would probably need, yet has a feature most of us probably don’t, and its an annoyance to type on, you should definitely consider looking elsewhere if you need a netbook for a specific purpose. I strongly recommend the HP Mini 2140.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 450 Operating System: Windows Processor speed: over 1000 Screen Size: 10 inches
Designed for students for one-to-one computing in grades K-12, as well as those in higher education, the new IdeaPad S10e netbook combines the portabi...More at PC Connection
Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, No Optical Drive, 10.1" WSVGA TFT, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, Camera, Windows XP Home Edition ...More at MacMall
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.