Review: Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 10-inch netbook

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Quick Glance

Good: 3 USB 2.0 ports, good keyboard feel, improved size & layout

Bad: No dedicated Home/End keys, no expansion slot

The Rest: Just like every other netbook

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Find the latest deals on Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10-2 netbook

Portions of this review have been copied from the IdeaPad S12 review, as the machines are very similar except for the chassis size. These sections are indicated with an asterisk, as below:

Design*
Our model is the jetblack S12, sporting very little color on it. The LCD top cover has a design similar to all IdeaPads, there are a couple silver Lenovo logos splashed about, and the usual stickers on the palm rest. If you are a fan of ThinkPad design and want the minimalist look, this is the machine to go for. Lenovo also sells a white one on their U.S. website, but other colors appear to be absent.

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The chassis is made entirely out of plastic, as are most netbooks, but it still feels very solid. There is some flex in the base of the system, but it is overall so light you don’t notice it. The LCD top cover is exceptionally rigid, showing very little deformation when taunted.

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Keyboard & Touchpad
The keyboard feel and touch is excellent, a trademark of Lenovo notebooks. There is no flex to speak of and the key travel is nice. Keyboard layout is a whole other matter and one that is highly personal. I love the near standard layout that is new to the S10-2, and I even like the PgUp/PgDn keys on either side of the arrow keys, they are very convenient for scrolling and almost make up for the lack of a TrackPoint.

My gripe about the keyboard comes from someone who writes a lot on a computer and thus I use Home & End extensively when browsing documents. These keys are embedded into Fn actions of the aforementioned PgUp/PgDn keys. You have to compromise something, but I’d rather have seen Pause & Insert made into Fn keys rather than Home & End.

The layout is actually the exact same as found on the larger S12, but the keys are shrunk proportionally to fit in the smaller chassis. I definitely have larger than average fingers and find myself typing accurately for the most part. My only minor complaint is that getting to the Ctrl key can be a bit of a challenge for my long fingers on the small keyboard, but it’s not the end of the world.

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The touchpad is functional, if on the small side. The mouse buttons have very shallow travel, but work just fine. Thankfully the touchpad itself is much more responsive than the IdeaPad S12′s.

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Display
While the S10-2 may have a smaller screen than the S12, it is near identical in image quality and viewing angles. Reflections from the glossy screen seem to be minimal, but of course you will suffer in an environment with lots of fluorescent lights. Viewing angles aren’t great, but they also don’t matter much. The screen is too small to worry about horizontal angles and you can only adjust the LCD so far back, so vertical angles aren’t very relevant either.

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Multimedia*
As previously mentioned, netbooks just aren’t cut out for multimedia on the whole. Most units only have Intel integrated graphics which leave all the graphics workload on the wimpy Atom processor. HD video is out of the question and even decent resolution Flash video (aka Hulu or YouTube HD) can be choppy.

Audio, on the other hand, is pretty decent. The speakers have about the same quality as any other average notebook and get sufficiently, if not overly loud. You also have integrated volume and playback controls via Fn-key combinations.

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Features & Technology
Whereas the S12 stands out with a decent feature set and three different technology platforms to choose from (Intel Atom, VIA Nano, and NVIDIA Ion to come), the S10-2 and most all 10-inch netbooks are far less impressive. It does have 3 USB 2.0 ports, which is very nice for adding peripherals and such. However in moving from the S10 to the S10-2, it lost the ExpressCard/34 slot that added a lot of expandability to such a small system. Let’s not forget the 1.3MP webcam built into the LCD bezel either.

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Luckily the hard drive is easily removed and there is even a spare Mini PCI Express slot ripe for a WWAN card. Unlike most netbooks, the IdeaPad S10-2 doesn’t have the standard 1GB RAM soldered to the motherboard. Rather it occupies the sole memory expansion slot, meaning you will need to spring for a 2GB stick to max out the S10-2′s memory.

Connectivity & Ports

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Right side (front to back): WiFi switch, two USB 2.0 ports, Kensington lock slot, AC plug

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Left side (front to back): Headphone output, Mic input, USB 2.0 port, VGA output, fan exhaust, Ethernet

Software Preload
Given the lack of multimedia capabilities, and of course optical drive, in the IdeaPad S12, you won’t find as many applications installed out of the box. This is overall a good thing, as it helps from slowing down the already barely-fast-enough netbook. You get the ubiquitous Office 2007 and Norton Internet Security trials, the latter of which was punted as soon as it turned on. There is also a utility for the webcam, but that is about it; overall, nice and light.

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Battery Life
As with most netbooks these days, the IdeaPad S10-2 exhibited long runtime for the relatively small 6-cell battery. Unfortunately for some reason my battery tests were not consistent nor in line with the larger IdeaPad S12, so I am omitting those results. All around I saw over 5 hours of runtime during my general usage, which was generally web browsing, word processing, and music playback.

I have included the IdeaPad S12 results below, as they should be very comparable to what you see in the S10-2. Apologies to my readers – I am working on selecting a new battery testing method, as my current one isn’t compatible with Windows 7.

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Real World Usage
Below is my passage from the IdeaPad S12 review, because my impressions of using a netbook were nearly identical. I will add that the teeny-tiny size of the 10-inch form factor was nice for me to pull the S10-2 out of the couch cushions for a quick reference trip on the intarwebs.

*This was my first opportunity to use a netbook extensively “in the real world,” and I better understand their value. Multitasking is non-existent and performance sluggish at best, but what you have is a low-cost PC that will go nearly anywhere with you and provide excellent runtime for its size. Pull up a web browser, or an e-mail/document, and go to town. Don’t get too crazy and load up a bunch of browser tabs or try to run Photoshop, but if you stay within its means, the netbook will please you with its utility.

*Let me stress this: multi-tasking is non-existent. The single-core processor that is based on Intel’s older microprocessor architecture just isn’t optimized for handling parallel tasks well and even loading several web pages at once will give it pause. Some of this inadequacy is due to the Microsoft-imposed limit of 1GB RAM from the factory, but don’t kid yourself and think that you can simultaneously have several cycle-hungry applications running and be satisfied with the performance.

I’ve touched on a few pain points already, around certain keyboard keys and the system buttons. Compounding a bit of frustration during general usage is the lack of an On Screen Display (OSD) for key actions like volume, brightness, and other activities. These are a simple, but highly important usability factor that have been on PCs for a very long time, yet this one is noticeably lacking of any OSD.

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Conclusion
Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10-2 is a solid netbook, with decent features and design. However pretty much everything about it is average: performance, battery life, features, and price. The keyboard feel is top notch, and key layout as natural as I can expect on a 10-inch computer. I do wish it hadn’t lost the ExpressCard/34 slot in moving from the S10 to the S10-2, but the reality is that most people wouldn’t use it – until later in the machine’s life when it would prove helpful.

There are some new versions of the S10-2 coming out with Bluetooth, the faster N280 processor, and even custom graphic designs. You can generally get these features without adding a ton to the price tag, which helps the S10-2 stand out in a crowded field.

Unfortunately I can’t recommend the IdeaPad S10-2 unanimously over any other netbook in the field, but rather suggest that shoppers compare the latest entrants from HP, Dell, and Asus to see what best matches your needs. They all have a few minor differences that can make one more suited to your needs over another. A particular competitor to highlight would be the Toshiba NB205, a 10-inch netbook that looks to deliver over 9 hours of battery life.

Find the latest deals on Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10-2 netbook

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Tagged as: ideapad s10-2, Netbook