Processor, Memory, Storage, Input/Output compatibility, Keyboard/peripherals, Wireless card, Display resolution, Screen size, Display performance, Video card, Bluetooth, Weight, Battery, Included software, Software compatibility, Durability, Warranty, Support, Security Features, Build Quality Cons: powersupply could be smaller
I've had a Lenovo laptop S10 for 2 months and I love it. Initially I was worried about it breaking down on me because I wasn't familiar with the company. I purchased the laptop from Fry's with a 2 year warranty. Fry's warranty is 1/2 the price of Lenovo's warranty. Having the warranty is a great piece of mind.
The LCD screen is old school but if you compare it with the competitor ACER laptops, I believe this screen is much better. Both laptops LCD screens are 1024x600 but the Lenovo's screen is bigger, while the Acer's is annoyingly smaller.
Lack of Optical Drive: I've had friends complain about my laptop that it does not contain an optical drive. They would like to watch movies.
My response, you don't need an optical drive unless you want to install an operating system. If you need an optical drive, you are probably 5-7 years behind the times. Use the USB or network your computers and transfer date back and forth from it and/or install programs from a networked computer. If you absolutely need an optical drive, you'll have to purchase a USB optical drive for about $60~$120 (prices as of March 2009)
Personally, I wouldn't watch movies on a laptop. I don't need my CPU constantly decoding movies causing heat buildup in my laptop. Remember people HEAT destroys ELECTRONICS – don’t forget that. Treat your equipment with respect and it will last a long time. Just Purchase an IPOD or a dedicated portable DVD player if you wish to watch movies.
The only time I noticed a performance problem with my laptop was when I was used a facebook sub-program. It's one of those many little things/programs in facebook you can mess around with like (send someone good karma/send someone a virtual drink etc...).
This facebook program was written in Java and it almost exhausted all of my available memory (I have 2GB of memory). As my memory usage for the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) climbed to 1.34GB, I noticed a considerable slowdown in overall performance with my laptop until I quit the program. I’m not sure why memory usage caused my overall performance to deteriorate as I had plenty of available memory and my OS did not have to swap data out to disk as much, but it did and it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
I've read reviews about problems with heat buildup in the laptop but I haven't experienced it personally. I always take proper measures to make sure the vents are not blocked. I also never place the laptop on a surface that absorbs and retains heat (wood, plastic, parts of the body).
Please be aware, if you purchase a machine with 80GB hard drive, your usable space is only about 68GB as Lenovo pre-allocates about 12GB for backup
Keyboard: The keyboard is just short of being perfect for me - that means it's small but not too small but functional. If it were bigger, I would always be wishing that they could have made a smaller laptop.
One of the first things I did when deciding to purchase the laptop was to inspect the size of the power supply. The included power supply was not overly huge thank God! After all, why would you want to purchase a small laptop but lug around a huge and heavy power supply? The good news is that you can purchase a smaller power supply at an additional cost ($100.00). However, I think Lenovo should have provided this for free or a nominal charge. After all, they are selling and advertising a laptop with a tiny footprint. I think they should done the same for the power supply.
Final Note: I haven't played around the laptops from Acer but I would stay away from that and buy a Lenovo. The Acer’s look like a toy. The screens don’t appear to display text as clearly and the screens are in fact smaller in physical size.
Fry's sells the laptops. In the past 2 months, I have visited 6 Fry's Electronics stores up and down Calif (Roseville, Sacramento, Mountain View, Ventura, San Diego, San Marcos). None of the stores display these laptops anymore however, they have them in stock in the back. Last week, I asked one person if they carried them, they told me they did not. I went to the next person and they told me that they had it but just didn't display it. Perhaps they are pushing the Acer laptops - I don't know.
This is the best computer i have ever seen. It is the computer i have been looking for years. It is just the right size. Looks amazing. It is fast and reliable. and i now use it as my everyday computer. I only use cd/dvd drives to add software to my computer so I think its great that these machines dont have that extra weight. If i need to add software I just plug my external drive into the usb drive. The touch pad is perfect and the click buttons are very solid. The keyboard is smaller than on a notebook but it is very easy to type on. If your looking for a netbook, dont waste you money on the others. This makes the other brands look like toys. Thanks Lenovo, your the best.
Excellent"0 of 1 people found this review helpful.Share this Review:Review 6 for 42312CU Overall5out of 5Performance5out of 5Mobility4out of 5Design5out of 5Features5out of 5Value5out of 5Reliability5out of 5 Anonymous Reviewer Location:Tampa Area, Florida Owned Product:1-6 months Operating System:Genuine Windows XP Home Memory:1.5 GB First Among EqualsDate: November 19, 2008Pros: Processor, Keyboard/peripherals, Wireless card, Display resolution, Screen size, Display performance, Weight, Build Quality, lack of bloat software Cons: Battery
"I’ve owner a number of computers, laptops & desktops, over the years, but never was comfortable doing the heavy duty work on a laptop; so I wound up using them for the simple stuff such as internet browsing, e-mail, word processing & simple spread sheets. But most of them seemed oversized, over powered and overpriced for those tasks. So naturally I was intrigued when I became aware of the new class of laptops known as laptots or netbooks. After doing a lot of spec research & review reading I decided to buy the Lenovo Ideapad S10. I ordered it online from Lenovo & received it in short order. I have had the unit about 6 weeks now and I am very happy with my choice. The overall unit pleases me; the physical appearance is good & the matt finish keeps me from having to wipe fingerprints off the case. It feels solid but not heavy; there is no flexing of the case or keyboard. While I don’t use the keyboard for extensive input, it does have a nice feel with the main keys being large enough to not cause any entry problems. My feeling is that you can’t have too large a monitor, but the S10 screen (10”) is just right for my purposes. It is sharp & bright (even when on battery) and does not have any glare. Some laptop touchpad’s always seem to give me trouble regardless of how many tweaks I apply, but the S10 pad works just fine & scrolls nicely. The mouse keys are where they should be (under the pad) & have just the right amount of positive resistance. My unit has a 80GB hard drive which gives my plenty of capacity for the applications that I am using. It is quiet and does not generate a excessive amount of heat. Heat in general is not a factor even when I have the S10 on my lap for long periods of time. The Intel Atom processor does a good job, not blazing, but certainly enough power to avoid aggravating the user. I upgraded the 512MB of memory but in all honesty for the applications I mentioned the standard amount of memory I expect is sufficient. The upgrade is very easy; a couple of captive screws (you can’t loose them), remove the cover & the new memory goes in the blank slot; probably a ten minuet job. Upon reboot no change to BIOS is necessary. Battery life is in the area of 2.25 – 2.5 hours; not a lot, but since I do not do much traveling it is not a big factor; although a larger battery would be my first priority if I was on the S10 design team. There are other good netbooks out there but overall, especially for the uses I mentioned above, I think the S10 is the first among equals. As an underline to that statement I expect to purchase another S10 for my wife in the near future. It is the only way I will be able to keep her away from my S10."1 of 1 people found this review helpful.Share this Review:Review 7 for 42312CU Overall5out of 5Performance3out of 5Mobility5out of 5Design5out of 5Features5out of 5Value5out of 5Reliability5out of 5 Anonymous Reviewer Location:Arizona Owned Product:1-6 months Operating System:Genuine Windows XP Home Much better than I expected!Date: November 19, 2008Pros: Input/Output compatibility, Keyboard/peripherals, Wireless card, Weight, Durability, Build Quality, built solid and ultra portable Cons: Display resolution, low on memory (easily upgradeable)
"This laptop (you may almost consider it a PDA due to it's size!) is fantastic. Despite its low resolution screen and low amount of memory (I upgraded to 2GB for $32 from another company, and the low memory is the only reason I gave it 3 stars in the performance category) I'm extremely thrilled with this purchase. Its small size and sturdy and well thought out design make it EXTREMELY portable and very user friendly.
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