Although a 4GB SSD version of this notebook is said to be available, we couldn't find them anywhere listed, let alone in stock, so the only option is the 160GB hard drive version – plenty of room for media, but not as sturdy.
Readily accessible innards
With the screen at full brightness, volume at 50 per cent, Wi-Fi on and Bluetooth off, we managed to get 2 hours 11 minutes out of the conservative 2500mAh battery with full-screen standard-definition H.264 video playback. Expect this to double when doing less intensive tasks such as word processing. This places it at around the same battery life as the original Eee PC 701.
Boot up time was just over one minute to a working XP desktop. We also installed Ubuntu 8.10 and had very similar boot up times. For those interested, with Ubuntu, everything “just worked” - wireless, Bluetooth, function keys - no extra tweaking was needed and the S10e dual-booted happily.
The S10e weighs in at 1.3kg, an average weight for a netbook. The rounded edges and thin profile make it perfect for slipping into a bag, but we were surprised not to see a carry case included. It certainly felt comfortable to carry around and more convenient than a notebook – and that's what counts.
Not a bad trackpad
Benchmark results were as expected, due to the standard Intel Atom setup. In PCMark 05, it closely matched machines such as the Samsung NC10 or the Asus N10. It's evenly matched on the Gimp test too.
Verdict
The Lenovo S10e is a great netbook. The Quick Start feature is lacking and the battery life could be better. At £249, it's competitively priced and worthy of consideration. If you need extra battery life, consider the similarly specced Samsung NC10, with double the battery life, for only £50 more. ®
More Netbook Reviews...
Samsung NC10 |
Toshiba NB100 |
Dell Inspiron Mini 9 |
Asus Eee PC 1000 |
Lenovo IdeaPad S10e netbook
COMMENTS
3G
Hi Chaps,
The latest Ubuntu works a treat with every 3G dongle I've tried, even the Split-Mode ones. I was merely saying that SplashTop didn't support it - which is a big down side.
As far as the lack of nipple - remember that this is not a ThinkPad branded laptop - it's a Lenovo :) Personally, I love the nipples and would have liked to have seen one!
Who decided to swap the Ctrl and Fn keys?
"Who decided to swap the Ctrl and Fn keys?"= Nobody. This is the absolutely normal layout at all IBM / Lenovo keyboards.. like the one i'm typing now...
@AC No 3G
It's just that splashtop doesn't have support for 3G dongles built in. Most dongles work fine under linux, but depending on the dongle and the distro you might need to get the helper app from here:
http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/
good review - great netbook
i have owned one of these for about four months now.
i bought it because it was the smallest physical shall that contained a 10" screen, as this is what matters to me in a netbook above all else; diminutive size.
i can recommend it to all except netbook gamers who might find the vertical screen resolution of 576 pixels an impediment.
operation flashpoint from GoG works great tho.
Value
"At £249, it's competitively priced and worthy of consideration. If you need extra battery life, consider the similarly specced Samsung NC10, with double the battery life, for only £50 more."
£50 represents an increase of over 20%... on the other hand, I guess it's the cost of a good 3 course meal with wine...
