Lenovo sneaks out another IdeaPad S10 SKU with 160GB HDD / 1GB RAM

Not sure if you've noticed, but the battle between the netbooks has suddenly turned to price. Just 24 hours (give or take a few) after hearing that HP was lowering the MSRP of its Mini 1000 by $40, in flies news that Lenovo has pushed out a new IdeaPad S10 that seems like a pretty good bargain. For just a few bucks over the standard model ($449 to $459 depending on hue), to-be buyers can get one with 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a capacious 160GB (5,400 RPM) hard drive. Before you get all excited and pull the trigger, we should remind you that CES 2009 is under a month away -- can you say "upgrades?"

[Thanks, CargoJack]

[Fusion Fuzo 05 - Mr Professional @ Dec 7th 2008 8:23AM]

NICE

[Mmmm... Dohnuts. @ Dec 7th 2008 9:56AM]

NAUGHTY

[Stin @ Dec 8th 2008 11:38AM]

I don't get the netbook fad. You can get a refurbished 12.1" ultraportable D410 from Dell for ~$200 that has a better processor than any of these netbooks and is cheaper.

[H%uFFFDseyin Erkmen @ Dec 7th 2008 8:35AM]

%u0130t is really a good deal but lenove has some problem on harddisks.

[Mobius_1 @ Dec 7th 2008 8:48AM]

I don't mind price wars, consumers win in the end (unless we end up with a monopoly, that is)

And pink is the most expensive colour? I don't want it anyways :P

www.ihateyougoddamnspammers.com

[Kris120890 @ Dec 7th 2008 8:55AM]

I was trying to find something good to say to spammers but I failed with it being a Sunday. You can haz some of my internetz today. Well done.

[staycool @ Dec 7th 2008 8:55AM]

These new models have been out at least for one week already! I have been monitoring this because I am really looking forward a model with 6 Cell battery and build in Bluetooth.

[Buis @ Dec 7th 2008 9:37AM]

Yes you do so want pink and you know it!

[SamB @ Dec 7th 2008 10:20AM]

YES...because only girls are gullible enough to pay $10 more for something that should be at the same cost. It must have taken Lenovo some balls to make that statement :D

[Mobius_1 @ Dec 7th 2008 7:23PM]

@ Buis

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh don't let Lenovo hear that, how would they lower the pink one's prices otherwise! ;)

[gylman @ Dec 7th 2008 8:53AM]

No track stick?

Adios.

[Kris120890 @ Dec 7th 2008 9:10AM]

Why were are you going?

[gylman @ Dec 7th 2008 10:57AM]

The track point has been been one of the main things that set Lenovo laptops from the rest. As things drift away further and further from these being an "IBM" product, and as they evolve into basically a generic Asian product, the value of the name "Lenovo" drop. I've never owned a Laptop other than a Thinkpad, but I think the 61s I have now will be my last.
Though not all agree, I find the trackpoint a far easier pointing tool to use than a pad.

WWithout the track point there's nothing really differentiating Lenovo netbooks from those by Dell, HP, Acer, or ASUS.Currently I favour the Dell

[ageedoy @ Dec 7th 2008 4:24PM]

This is a 10" netbook released under the IdeaPad line which targets a different audience than the ThinkPad line. None of the other IdeaPad models have the track stick either. Just because Lenovo chooses to go that route with one product line is not necessarily indicative of the direction they plan to go with their ThinkPad line.

[Fanfoot @ Dec 9th 2008 1:16PM]

Agree entirely. With a large part of the attraction for a netbook being its size, which means that the trackpad tends to get shrunk to an almost unusable size, why somebody doesn't put a trackpoint on one of these things, especially Lenovo, is beyond me.

[superaktieboy @ Dec 7th 2008 9:05AM]

when is CES2009?

[Kris120890 @ Dec 7th 2008 9:12AM]

Next month

[Geoffrey Sneddon @ Dec 7th 2008 9:11AM]

Yet Lenovo still won't offer more SKUs in the UK, I bet, yet alone custom configurations. Surely it isn't that hard when they already have all the infrastructure to build-to-order!?

[xcrunk @ Dec 7th 2008 9:18AM]

C'mon Apple, where is your bootcamp-able touchscreen netbook???

AMEX is ready to be swiped!

[Buis @ Dec 7th 2008 9:33AM]

I'm waiting for the Atom N330 to make it into netbooks. Oh and screens that can display 720p.

[Cargojack @ Dec 7th 2008 9:37AM]

I am bummed out. I bought my red S-10 for $373 with discounts. And I bought 2 gig of RAM to put in the second free RAM slot. The additional RAM cost me about $40. Now, for a mere $40 more than what they are charging for the lessor model, you can get 160 Gigs of HD space. The less expensive S-10 has 67.5 Gig of HD space. I love my S-10 but I wish I had waited a little to buy it. Will the new configuration cut in to sales of the first version?

[Fanfoot @ Dec 9th 2008 1:22PM]

Dude, its a netbook. It doesn't really matter how much disk space its got beyond a certain point.

[Jash Sayani @ Dec 7th 2008 9:47AM]

Need some help here...

I am visiting Dubai next week and am going to buy a netbook. Which one should I get. Confused as all have same config and cost almost the same...
1. ASUS EeePC 1000H / 1002HD
2. HP MiniNote with 3G
3. Lenovo IdeaPad
4. Acer Aspire one

Thanks.

[toppgun @ Dec 8th 2008 12:33AM]

I have the samsung nc10 and I love it. the keyboard is good for touch typing. that is the main reason I bough it. I use it in school and am able to type as fast as I can with a regular keyboard.Although the trackpad is a little small, but I have gotten used to that.

[bot @ Dec 7th 2008 12:34PM]

I would recommend the Asus 1000H. It's the only model in your list that comes with a 6 cell battery. It has a large user base and there are many accessories and mods for it.

The HP has a slowwww drive even if you get the HD version.
The Acer is a good budget option but you'd have to worry about a third party 6 cell battery if you want more than 3 hours of battery life.
The same goes for the Lenovo.

The Asus is the only one that has built in bluetooth, a multitouch trackpad (works great for scrolling webpages), and a 1 button overclock/underclock option. In my opinion it has the best value. As you can probably tell I am a happy Eee use. I have the 901.

[Jash Sayani @ Dec 7th 2008 2:10PM]

@toppgun
I can't go with Samsung as there are several service problems in my country so the warranty would be useless and I need after-sales services.

@bot
You have a really convincing reply to my question. I guess I totally agree with you as EeePC seems the best to me too... However, HP has a brand-name so it can be a secondary option. But I will skip it as it has less battery life. So, I guess I will go for EeePC 1000H/1002HD.

Any more suggestions..?

[Fanfoot @ Dec 9th 2008 1:27PM]

Decide if you want a 10.2" or 8.9" netbook first. That's your choice.

If you want an 8.9" netbook, the HP Mini 1000 might be a good choice (best keyboard, slow disk, but nice and thin), and the Acer Aspire One will be the cheapest, but I'd go with the Dell Mini 9 for the active community and easy of hackability/upgrades.

If you want a 10.2" netbook, the HP Mini 1000 has a good keyboard, but the Samsung NC10 also has a good keyboard, much better battery life, and faster disk. But its thicker than the HP. The ASUS Eee 1000H has an active community of modders and lots of 3rd party support. Depends what is important to you.

[Jash Sayani @ Dec 9th 2008 2:30PM]

@Fanfoot

I dont mind if its a 8.9" or 10.2". I just need the following (Numbered by preference):
1. Best config available
2. Good Performance and Battery life
3. Style and Looks of the netbook

From your reply, I guess EeePC 1002HA and HP Mini 1000, both would be great. However, I am not sure of Dell or Samsung.....

[Kris120890 @ Dec 7th 2008 10:05AM]

Lenovo in my opinion.
If you plan to use 3g it could cost more than you think.The acer got big reviews. Samsung NC10 has been voted the best out of most of the netbooks by most reviews but that might cost more.
I'd recommend the Samsung but if its a budget thing then buy the lenovo.

[Kris120890 @ Dec 7th 2008 10:07AM]

I actually clicked the reply button to jash but I clicked a link and had to press the back button. For that I apologise.

[Rich Hill @ Dec 7th 2008 12:07PM]

I bought one of these little 160 GB beauties a couple of days ago at Circuit City, (I know soon to be ex-Circuit City, but the price of 449 was great. It is excellent.

One thing that was not clear was that the salesman said I could add 1 GB of RAM, so I bought a 1GB stick. Turns out there is 512 on the motherboard and 512 in the expansion slot, so all you gain is another 512 with the 1GB new strip. Confused? You have to pull out the fi2 to put in the 1 GB.

It does not have built in bluetooth, but can get a USB dongle for that. I use SKYPE on it with wifi and a USB headset, and it is studio quality audio. Awesome!

Love it. A couple of pounds compared to about 15 with my VAIO & accessories.

[m-p{3} @ Dec 7th 2008 1:22PM]

Still a bit better than the original s10, but if it doesn't allow a 6-cells battery, it will not be part of any consideration to me.

Also, I want to have some bluetooth embedded, to avoid using a USB port for my bluetooth mouse.

[CDG @ Dec 7th 2008 1:55PM]

Well you can buy a 6-cell battery in addition. They finally put it in the accessories section of their US store:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=45K1275¤t-category-id=4364BD0F20B94413B5AD6E684D2848E9

Yea it's expensive and should be standard. BUT you would get 2 batteries that you can use. (3 cell and 6 cell).

Been looking to buy one last 2 months but I'll heed Engadet's advice and wait for CES. I'll be there so maybe I can pick one up :)

At least they should be introducing their instant boot OS.

[Fanfoot @ Dec 9th 2008 1:29PM]

The S10 has bluetooth.

[GDebniak @ Dec 9th 2008 8:01PM]

The S10 has embedded bluetooth. Perhaps the first ones they sold didn't, but they sure do now.

[TQ @ Dec 7th 2008 1:44PM]

Working at Circuit City (please save your condolences) I see a fair amount of tech come in. One of these net books came in a little under a week ago, and to see all the specs I went to the website (the same one linked) which was up a while ago. Maybe Lenovo just snuck this model out?

Also, the "160GB Hard Drive" ended up being around 100 on the display model, with 30GB (Yes 30) allocated to the recovery partition. Despite the missing 30 gigs of space (maybe it was a freak model) It would still be a good buy and I personally plan to purchase one after having read several reviews (All of which seemed to think the S10 had bluetooth which was not the case with this one).

[Jonny @ Dec 8th 2008 1:57AM]

haha, fellow CC employee here.

Our store (3627 @ Hanover MD) has had these in for a month, with the same exact specs, for 449.99.

BTW, 160GB HD formats out to like 144GB or something.

[jfjb @ Dec 7th 2008 1:44PM]

Why three columns of identical specs?
Did I miss something?

[jfjb @ Dec 7th 2008 1:46PM]

of course... zee color is not the same... duh!

[dmak @ Dec 7th 2008 5:18PM]

I've had this thing for two weeks... newegg has had them in stock for a while, lenovo's site is not updated regularly, they didn't even show wifi for some models at one point.

[izudeen @ Dec 7th 2008 9:13PM]

This SKU has been here for a while in Malaysia...

now its with 6-cell but the website still showing 3-cell, 1gb ram, 160gb hdd

[noyon @ Dec 7th 2008 9:20PM]

Newegg sells them for $350!!! (though it's a 512MB, but you can get a 2GB memory module for less than $20, still much cheaper than Lenovo price!)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2034940772%2050010418&name=Lenovo

[Jodorowsky @ Dec 8th 2008 6:22AM]

Newegg sells the White Lenovo S10 the 1GB of ram and 160 hardrive for 349 as well.

[yuchiet @ Dec 12th 2008 2:55AM]

I have just got my S10 with 6 cell batteries and a free 2nd year warranty at PC Fair 2008 Malaysia an hour ago. After conversion rate of 3.58 it comes to about $455. Lower price can be expected during the last day of the fair which is on 14 Dec 2008.

[bon @ Dec 13th 2008 9:50PM]

The Lenovo S10 has always been sold with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive here in the Philippines. In one shop I visited, they already stopped selling the 3-cell version and replaced all inventory with the 6-cell battery. The larger battery raises the rear of the unit, resulting in a slightly angled keyboard position - more comfortable for typing IMHO.