Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 reviewed – let down by keyboard & battery life

As the name suggests the Lenovo Ideapad S10-2 is a refresh of the Ideapad S10. It improves on the S10 in a number of areas including a bigger keyboard and touchpad. It is also thinner, lighter and has a new textured lid design. Despite these improvements, it takes a backwards step by removing the Expresscard slot seen in the S10. It also has a glossy display compared to the matte display on the S10.

Laptop Mag has given the Lenovo Ideapad S10-2 netbook a thorough run through and whilst they thought it was a competent performer, it didn’t have the same appeal as some of its peers. They liked the performance, its lightweight form-factor, bright screen and the instant-on OS. However, it was let down by a poor keyboard and mediocre battery life. Overall, Laptop Mag scored it 3 stars out of 5 and preferred the Toshiba N205 and Asus Eee PC 1005HA, which offer better keyboards and longer battery lives. Check out the key review points after the break.

Key review points of the Lenovo Ideapad S10-2:

• Lenovo has trimmed 0.2lbs off the weight and 0.2 inches off the thickness. The design looks cheap and is not attractive; they refer to it as a “giant leap backward”.
• The 6-cell battery protrudes from the frame, making it 0.4-inches thicker in the back than the original.
• Ports: Three USB ports, Ethernet, VGA-out, audio in/out, a 4-in-1 card reader, and a Kensington lock.
• The 89 percent sized keyboard is larger than the S10 (85 percent). The keys are also larger and widely spaced. However, compared to its peers (Samsung N120/Toshiba NB205) it feels cramped and uncomfortable. It also suffers from keyboard flex.
• The multi-touch touchpad is smaller than the same netbooks too. However, it wasn’t too responsive when zooming. The two mouse buttons are large and have good tactile feedback.
• The 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) glossy display is bright and colourful.
• The Splashtop instant-on OS loads in 10 seconds and is easy to use. You can’t install additional software though or customise the included apps (browser, music player, photo viewer, Skype, IM and flash games). It also has a dedicated Quick Start button.
• The Ideapad runs warmer than room temperature, although is still comfortable to touch.
• It has no problems in playing 720p HD video.
• Speaker sound is accurate although appears muted.
• The IdeaPad S10’s 802.11g Broadcom adapter delivered transfer rates a bit higher than the netbook averages.
• Battery lasted 5 hours and 52 minutes, 30 minutes below the netbook average with 6-cells. This is below that of the Toshiba NB200, Asus Eee PC 1005HA and Samsung N120.
• There are access panels for both memory (1 slot only) and 2.5-inch HDD.