The IdeaPad S12 - coming to Register Hardware soon - uses Nvidia Ion hardware to power Windows 7 Home Premium on its 1280 x 800 screen. This is a clear indication that the Atom set-up is pushing its limits with the 10in screen.
Also available in pink
Installing Windows 7 isn’t completely bonkers as it comes with Windows Media Player 12, which adds native support for MP4, DivX, H.264, XviD and AAC audio formats to those already handdled by WMP 11, but this seems like a small gain.
The look and feel of the S10-2 is reminiscent of the larger ThinkPads although we were unsure about the appeal of the ‘is it carbon?’ decal on the lid. The extended six-cell battery that came with our loan sample raises the rear of the netbook, which tilts the keyboard and gives it a good natural feel. Unfortunately, the lid doesn’t open much past the vertical and as the rear of the chassis is raised, you may not be able to get the viewing angle that you desire.
Above the keyboard there are two function buttons. The OneKey rescue button opens the CyberLink OneKey Recovery 7.0 backup application, which leaps into action to rescue you from whatever disaster may have befallen.
Then there’s the QS (Quick Start) button. This boots Device VM’s Splashtop ‘instant on’ software for those occasions when you fancy looking at a photo or using instant messenger, but can’t be fagged to wait for Windows 7 to grind into life.
An extra USB port replaces the Express card slot featured on the S10e
With the Lenovo connected to a router using good, honest Ethernet cable we found it behaved perfectly. When we tried to use the Splashtop software browser with a wireless connection we had to click the ‘enable wireless’ box whilst simultaneously getting a ‘page not found’ error. We found it was quicker and easier to simply start Windows 7 as it saved our preferred wireless connection and as a result there was no hassle to contend with.
Next page: Test Results
COMMENTS
The new ThinkPad is a... Samsung
An earlier coward was right to say that Lenovo have wasted their ThinkPad inheritance.
If you yearn for ThinkPad look and feel - and serious quality to boot - look at the Samsung N510. No "is it carbon?" here, just corporate black.
Stuff in the extra 1Gb RAM and you've got a nice clear 11 inch LED screen, solid hardware, good graphics performance and long haul battery life.
And for all Win7 refuseniks out there, grab one with XP while stocks last.
Bad day at the office?
The reviewer seems to have ignored the huge body of evidence out there that netbooks run Windows 7 Home Premium/Ultimate/Professional very well indeed. I can't vouch for Home Basic but can they have botched it so badly? I run Win 7 Ultimate on a 2Gb Dell Mini 9 and Win 7 Professional on a 1Gb Dell Mini 10 and am very pleased with them.
Negative negative
I have a Lenovo s10e and I cannot recognise the negative review and responses.
I run triple boot Win XP, Win 7 Ultimate and Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Clearly Ubuntu loads and runs the fastest and would be even faster as a plain Ubuntu, but Win 7 beats Win XP by a significant margin, even with all the bells and whistles turned on. Splashtop wireless connectivity presents me with no problems whatsoever.
Considering the specification, I am very satisfied. Of course it doesn't compete with the latest dual, triple and quad core computers but it is no slouch either. A memory upgrade probably helped.
Battery life is a bit disappointing, but I do not understand the criticism of the screen angle.
I love the format.
Works for me
Did you actually *test* Win7 on this netbook, or are you just assuming it'll be rubbish?
I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate (RC1) on my Samsung NC10, and it's behaving perfectly. Runs like a dream with the exception of Windows Media Center (which does run, but is painfully slow).
I've got all the Aero fripperies turned on, and on the 1024x600 screen it's gorgeous. I admit the taskbar is a bit hefty but when I've installed my touchscreen (www.fidohub.com) I think the size will be perfect.
Windows 7 works fine for me
Loaded Windows 7 Home Edition to my Samsung NC10 and as far as I can tell, it runs just as fast as it does under XP. I've made it a due boot system which makes it pretty easy to compare performance. Also loaded the Office 2010 Beta and that runs just fine too. Maybe I'm just lucky...
Michael
