Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 netbook ready to order, maybe

Just days after FCC approval, the IdeaPad S10 netbook just popped on Lenovo's retail site tossing a big Chinese wrench in ASUS' plans for global Eee PC domination. At least we think so -- the S10 wasn't expected to hit the US until October (China September 5th). Availability says "ships within 2-3 weeks" but clicking on the "customize and buy" link results in an "Exception Occurred" error -- pretty much on par with Lenovo's US retail launch routine. Anyway, for $399, er $429 (thanks again dollar) you'll take home 512MB of memory and 80GB worth of hard drive, a 1.6GHz Atom N270 proc, Windows XP, and a paltry 3-cell Lithium-Ion battery. Annoyingly, the progression from the base-model black color to white or red costs an extra $10 without any appreciation in specs. While ASUS' is approaching the netbook market like attrition warfare, it might just be a few, well-placed products with stellar support that wins over the netbook market in the end.

[Thanks, Kevin]

[Tex-Twil @ Aug 19th 2008 3:55AM]

When I click on the "cutomize & buy" it works.

[Mike Cerm @ Aug 19th 2008 10:07AM]

I clicked through to buy one, and it worked fine. Then I saw where they had put the right SHIFT key, and hit cancel.

Despite what you may think about Thinkpad keyboards, the S10's keyboard is totally unusable. The SHIFT key is supposed to be next to the ? key, always. The S10, like the Eee before it, puts key in the wrong place. It's a shame, because the S10 looks great. If you can't type on it, what's the point?

[Kris @ Aug 19th 2008 10:21AM]

These _will not_ ship until October. It says so right on their website on that Engadget linked to (look at the top, the asterisk signified that each one will not ship until October).

[David @ Aug 19th 2008 11:05AM]

MikeCerm:

I just upgraded from an Eee 701 to the msi Wind. The shift key is now in the "right" place, but I got used to the Eee, so I'm now hitting the up-arrow instead.

My point is that you CAN easily get used to the Eee's set-up and I could touch-type on it just as fast as on a full-sized keyboard. I did NOT upgrade to the Wind for its larger keyboard. I had no problem with the Eee's tiny one (unlike most people, it seems).

Also, to the other poster, the Wind comes with 1GB of RAM, so your theory about XP license limitations in incorrect.

I started laughing when I saw it only comes with a 3-cell battery. I said "a-ha! there're the catch". Add another $100 on for the 6-cell and you're back in Eee 1000H/MSi WIND land.

[pyrotech @ Aug 19th 2008 5:30PM]

@Mike,


Same goes for the Dell. Was #1 on the list until I saw the R Shift. Don't see why the priority is directional keys over the Shift button. Could easily place the keys like the mentioned Wind or even the Aspire One.

[Srini @ Aug 19th 2008 4:04AM]

The site doesn't show any memory upgrades??? is it upgradeable?
does anybody have a link to specs pdf??

[Dopefish @ Aug 19th 2008 6:37AM]

Because of the Microsoft limitations to the XP licence you cant have more than 512Mb on it...


Im suprised they didnt do a 1 or 2gb version with linux on it though.....

[Shawn (32packets.com) @ Aug 19th 2008 4:06AM]

Use the Coupon Code USPIDEAPAD15 to get an extra 15% off!
That is if they honor it...

[diode3diode @ Aug 19th 2008 4:48AM]

Woohoo!! With 15% discount it's $364.65

[Andrea @ Aug 19th 2008 4:11AM]

Put 1GB of memory in there, and you have a winner.

[jd @ Aug 19th 2008 8:37AM]

please.

i run xp on my desktop. and i rarely go over 560mb. i doubt you will go over 560mb usage with this netbook.

[rj @ Aug 19th 2008 1:44PM]

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981

[DJ @ Aug 19th 2008 4:10AM]

Will the S10 have multi-touch?

[marcelo @ Aug 19th 2008 4:15AM]

Damn you guys, first time to be a rockstar at the site... missed sending the news for a minute and saying customization it doesnt work 2...

Oh well, they do look damn sweet and, hope they're not plagued with the hinge issues the Y510 has.

[bidur @ Aug 19th 2008 4:17AM]

black mac book are more expensive then white one .. whereas
white ideapad are more expensive then the black one ...

waste of money for color ..

[Alex @ Aug 19th 2008 4:45AM]

Would you pay more to get a car in your favorite color?

[Dan @ Aug 19th 2008 1:36PM]

No

[tehsu @ Aug 20th 2008 7:19PM]

^
Idiot

and yes I would pay more for a specific color

[adamc @ Aug 19th 2008 7:28AM]

Hope it doesn't take them long to get them to Australia

[sodakar @ Aug 19th 2008 4:43AM]

Hmm, no word on max RAM, screen resolution, Bluetooth, and 6-cell availability...

So close...!

[Srini @ Aug 19th 2008 4:43AM]

it is a xga(1024x768) resolution and intel gma x4500 better than expected wsvga and gma 950

[Mario @ Aug 19th 2008 6:34AM]

X4500? That's a BIG jump from all the other netbooks!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X3100#GMA_X4500

Well done, Lenovo!

:-)

[Hellios @ Aug 19th 2008 7:06AM]

I also just noticed the graphics chip is awesome, and if it does have that resolution it would be the most awesome little device ever. Although, 4:3 res on widescreen monitor isn't such a smart idea...

[MC7447A @ Aug 19th 2008 7:12AM]

I'm 99% certain that X4500 is just an error an the website, and the machine has the same 950 as every other Atom device.

[Ruben @ Aug 19th 2008 7:31AM]

I wish these things had dedicated graphics. These would be the most amazing portable frag machines in existence. Their low resolution would allow the weaker graphics chips to handle the game at the devices native resolution and be able to play it smoothly. And the graphics card would offer processing boost, as soon as applications written for GPU's could take advantage of them.

If the x4500 isnt a mistake, at least you will be able to play a game or two.

[WiiFTW @ Aug 19th 2008 9:27AM]

I really wish that were an x4500 or a better graphics. I'd love an inexpensive mini-frag machine.

[WiiFTW @ Aug 19th 2008 9:31AM]

"GMA X4500

In a review performed in May 2008, it was established that the GMA X4500 had a performance superior to the low end GeForce 8400M G dedicated graphics card, that same review estimated that the final version of the GMA X4500 driver will have a performance comparable to the GeForce 8400M GS.[65]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X3100#GMA_X4500_2

That's pretty cool...it better have a x4500 now or in a newer version.

[trancer @ Aug 19th 2008 4:51AM]

black or white? what to get?

black would go with my room decor, white would match my NDS ;-P

[trancer @ Aug 19th 2008 4:55AM]

oh, and white might also match the HTC dream, if i ever get it.

[diode3diode @ Aug 19th 2008 5:06AM]

If you want to know how you may be viewed with the S10 put yourself in these models shoes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzLY_sfEcGs

[gpdrummr @ Aug 19th 2008 4:57AM]

cant wait to get one!

[James @ Aug 19th 2008 5:03AM]

Got it in my cart but wouldn't go beyond trying to process the credit card. It said "Please try again later."

[James @ Aug 19th 2008 5:04AM]

Got it in my cart but wouldn't go beyond processing the credit card. It said "Please try again later."

[LordFarkward @ Aug 19th 2008 5:25AM]

and indeed you did try again a minute later and posted it again

keep trying

[JW @ Aug 19th 2008 5:48AM]

Exactly! What happened to the six-cell battery? Is this an option? Will the US not be getting the six-cell? Has Lenovo retracted the six-cell like MSI did with the Wind, only to ship it later (like Nov or Dec) for a much larger price? I'd pay $499 for a six-cell S10 and place my order today, if it was available!

I'm really getting tired of the netbook bait and switch PC manufacturers have been playing. When I first read about the MSI Wind back in April, I was all ready to order. Then, it gets delayed in the US. Then it ships with only a three-cell, and delays the six. Now, the six is shipping, but at a much higher price point. And finally, it seems MSI keeps changing the internal hardware of the Wind with each shipping batch (i.e. the Synaptics touch pad issue), apparently using cheaper components of dubious quality and with less features. It really seems like with the Netbooks, the specs announced never ship, and you never know what your actually getting when it does ship! I was about to order a Wind when I read about the Lenovo, and I decided to wait hoping it would be better quality and because MSI pissed me off (and scared me a bit) with all of their antics I mentioned above. I hoped Lenovo would be above this, but as the lack of a six-cell battery shows, maybe it isn't!

Oh, by the way: What's with the two-toned white battery with black case the S10 is sporting?

[Rich @ Aug 19th 2008 6:02AM]

512MB RAM and 3 cell battery = no thanks.

[gpdrummr @ Aug 19th 2008 6:18AM]

buy the ram yourself and upgrade. its not that fucking hard. a fucking two year old could do it.

[Daron @ Aug 19th 2008 3:44PM]

Tell us what you really feel, don't hold back

[Chaotix @ Aug 19th 2008 7:06AM]

And even a 3 year old can upgrade 3 cell batteries to 6. amiright?

[CargoJack @ Aug 19th 2008 7:25AM]

Where is the model with 1 meg memory and a 160 gig hard drive?

Can memory be added to the S10 as it currently stands?

I do love the Lenovo page where the S10 is described. It says, "Lenovo recommends Vista Home Premium" and of course, this is an XP machine ;)

So, can ram be expanded on this thing?

I have had an R40 since 2002. It has outlasted my friend's Dells, Macs, HPs, and Toshibas and survived a few falls, but, like you all, I love gadgets, and the old R40 is too heavy to tote around.

I think I am going to buy myself an S10. The question now is which color? I read that the black is not standard Thinkpad matt finish. Which color is best?? A white Ideapad/Thinkpad seems sacreligious.

[cargojack @ Aug 19th 2008 7:25AM]

Are any of those extended warranties worth it? What exactly do you get with the at home warranty?

[Joel Shapiro @ Aug 19th 2008 7:32AM]

I thought that all of these nettops had the GMA 950 graphics set, not the x4500 set. am I wrong?

[Chris M @ Aug 19th 2008 7:52AM]

Good find! The x4500 is vastly superior to its 950 counterpart. Wonder why they chose such a beefy graphics set.

[Conceyted @ Aug 19th 2008 7:40AM]

Look at the specs on this versus the EEE PC 1000H, they just don't compare. The reason this tiny notebook is cheaper is because it doesn't feature all of the high end specs that the EEE PC does. 3 cell battery, 512MB ram, wireless G. There are just too many reasons that the EEE PC is better.

[crsh @ Aug 19th 2008 7:51AM]

Not sure how they're packing a 4:3 XGA resolution on a 16:10 display, I can set it as such on my Eee 1000H (from the default 1024x600) but the extra height means I have to slide the mouse up and down to see the extra pixels; the GMA X4500 is however a nice update to the crappy old GMA 950.

The price is fine, RAM is easy to upgrade in most cases, but this comes with a 3-cell battery and doesn't have internal Bluetooth. Let's hope Lenovo is just throwing this out early to make us drool and will have addressed these shortcomings by the time it's ready to ship the S10.

[gpdrummr @ Aug 19th 2008 3:12PM]

it does have internal bluetooth... -.-

[mercado79 @ Aug 19th 2008 7:55AM]

Has anyone tried the Paypal option? It seems to work though I didn't try completing the purchase... That coupon makes this a pretty nice deal.

[Tminus5 @ Aug 19th 2008 8:42AM]

Yep - tried a straight credit card and paypal - neither would go through at this point. Just says to try again... was trying to hop on the 15% off offer!

[Ryan @ Aug 20th 2008 3:51AM]

I just did a PayPal, it went through just fine and sent me a confirmation email.

[Pie @ Aug 19th 2008 8:41AM]

Something is very fishy here.

The S10 doesn't have those specs - they're incorrect.

It's not an XGA screen. It's 1024x600 - same panel as Wind, EeePC 1000 etc.

And it utilizes the same chipset as every other Atom based netbook. There is no X4500 in there, just the same 950 as every other current netbook.

Expect to see things changed by the time orders are actually taken.