Lenovo adds multi-touch, facial recognition to its S10 netbook
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Jan 5th 2009 12:01AM
posted Jan 5th 2009 12:01AM
"Thin is In" for Consumer PC Design as Lenovo Debuts All-in-One Desktop and 16-inch Laptop
Marks One Year Anniversary with New Collection of Trend-Setting Entertainment-Focused PCs
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 5, 2009: Lenovo today announced the latest additions to its Idea brand of personal computers for consumers. The new PCs push the envelope in the pursuit of thinner and more stylish designs, and combine these attributes with unique features like facial recognition and high-definition entertainment technologies to give consumers a computing experience like no other. There are four new IdeaPad laptops – the IdeaPad Y650, the thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptop in its class1, the Y550 and Y430 laptops with a similar family design to the Y650, and the thinnest all-in-one desktop PC, the IdeaCentre A600. With the explosive growth of social networking, Lenovo also continues to enhance its IdeaPad S10 netbook with new instant on capability, facial recognition and easy access to Lenovo's social networking community.
"With the launch of our global consumer Idea brand a year ago, we've shown the world that PC technology can be powerful and beautiful," said Liu Jun, senior vice president and president, Consumer Business Group, Lenovo. "This year, we will keep pushing the limits of good design, balancing form and function, as you'll see exhibited in our super-thin, 16-inch laptop and all-in-one desktop. This unique blend of design and engineering sets us apart from competitors and gives consumers a new kind of entertainment and computing experience."
IdeaPad S10 Netbook
Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 netbook – an affordable secondary PC for the home or for the first-time PC user – is ideal for connecting to the Internet, messaging with friends, completing homework or even making Skype calls. Lenovo is updating the popular IdeaPad S10 netbook with new multimedia and networking tools for social networking enthusiasts ranging from newbie's to the most social of socialites.
While many early adopters are familiar with the world of social networking, some mainstream consumers are only taking the first steps. Through a new Lenovo tool called HYPERLINK "http://lenovosocial.com/" LenovoSocial, that comes preloaded on the netbook, users can easily connect to a resource portal that will help them navigate the vast options for participating in social networking.
Other new features on the IdeaPad S10 netbook include Lenovo Quick Start. With this functionality, users will have the ability to access a number of frequently used applications including a web browser, music player, photo viewer, instant messaging tools and Skype. New to the netbook is Lenovo's VeriFace™ facial recognition technology, a convenient tool for easy log-in. Similar to the IdeaPad Y Series laptops, the netbook features multi-touch functionality on the trackpad and Lenovo's OneKey™ Rescue System.
The new IdeaPad S10 netbook's 10.2-inch LED backlight display, 0.9 inch thick frame and 2.4 pound weight make it an ideal companion to tote in a backpack or shoulder bag. Color choices include black, white, red, blue, or pink.
Pricing and Availability4
The new IdeaPad Y650, Y550, Y450 laptops and S10 netbook will be available beginning in March. Manufacturer suggested retail pricing (MSRP) for models starts at $1,199 for the IdeaPad Y650, $829 for the IdeaPad Y550 and Y450, and $349 for the IdeaPad S10 netbook. The IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one desktop will be available beginning in April with MSRP for models starting at $999.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
1Thinnest and lightest in the 16-inch laptop screen class, including offerings from Acer, Sony, HP and Lenovo.
2Compared with competitor existing all-in-ones from Apple, HP, Dell and Sony.
3VOIP functionality requires VOIP software which is freely available for download from a wide range of 3rd party vendors
4Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
TL; DR
poor early adopters
And we still can't officially get these beauties in Canada. All we get is grey market imports that sell the lowest model for $500
pop a 6 cell battery in and I'm sold.
the lenovo s10 already has a 10.2" display and a multitouchpad
it's just a software/color update
Completely correct, I have a White S10 which was preordered back on October and it came with MultiTouch and a 10.2in screen. WTF Engadget, you guys are seriously slipping lately.
duschendestroyer...Nice call as my current 10.2" S10 also has a multi-touch pad. Jon must be sour because he is not an early adopter that is enjoying this slick device. I did go ahead and toss a $20 2GB RAM stick in there esentially maxing out the the memory at 2.5 GB (2GB recognizeable). I'm considering droping another $25 for the bluetooth chip but might just go with the USB nub since I don't really need two USB ports anyways. Over the holidays I checked out the Lenovo VeriFace app on a friend's Y530 and found it kind of interesting. Other than the pink (totally kidding) color this is all I'd really be looking forward to with the new units. What do you think the chances are we can obtain and run the VeriFace app on our current units? Any other thoughts on other updates one might want to consider with their current S10?
Nice long post, Dave, but I am not sore I just don't like all the rush to get products out the door when Lenovo was already late to the game.
If they would've had all these features in the first release it would have made them stand out rather than be one of the vanilla atom netbooks out there.
@ Dave -
You can already get Veriface for the current S10. If you go to Lenovo's web site and go to the Drivers section under Support, Veriface is listed as a download for the S10. I can personally verify that it DOES NOT work under XP though, so if you want to use it, you'll need to put Vista on the S10, which isn't too tough. Well, I guess I shouldn't say it doesn't work under XP, but the "log-in-using-your-face" feature doesn't work. I don't know if the other functionality of Veriface works under XP. I've run Vista on the S10 (I also have 2GB installed) and it actually isn't as bad as you might think. Vista was pretty responsive. You can use most of the XP drivers listed on the Lenovo web site in Vista, as well.
As for other "updates" for the current S10, I just ordered an 802.11n card to replace the internal 802.11g card. On some S10 sites, other people have done this upgrade so I'm pretty excited for it.
Oh, on a side note, if you do decide to install Vista and you find that you have one device that is listed as an Unknown Device in the Device Manager, chances are that is a Lenovo energy management device. If you download the energy management driver from the IdeaPad Y730 support site, that should fix your problem with that device.
Matt, I never thought about the whole XP vs Vista sign-in thing. Totally overlooked that so thanks for pointing that out. I was planning on loading Vista up on this thing since I have another copy of Vista Ultimate just lying around that's not being used. I read in a few other forums that others were having success with Vista running on the S10 too. I think I'll give it a try. So did you backup your S10 image before the upgrade?
@Dave -
No, I didn't bother backing up the disk image. I don't care about the whole onekey recovery junk. I can recover my own system and don't need to bother with additional software eating up hard drive space. Plus, with how often I try other operating systems, it's kind of pointless anyway.
Vista does run pretty well considering it's a low-powered laptop. I had trouble with Aero, but that was about it.
On a side note, I just finished upgrading my 802.11g adapter to 802.11n. The new adapter runs hotter than the old one, but other than that, we have a winner. Very easy upgrade. I love this little laptop...
Nothing new. They need to fix the damn fans on this thing. Loud as HELL
@duschendestroyer
Yea, I have the s10 and it has a 10.2" display and a multitouch touchpad. If this ships with a six cell battery instead of a three cell THEN I'd be pissed.
where are the 6 cell batteries
I have one with a 6-cell battery (the ones sold in germany)
but this battery is slightly bigger and the netbooks on this pictures do not have one
but I think the colors blue and pink are new and the veriface, onekey-rescue and quickstart features are not in the models sold so far
They need to scrap the 16:9 S10e model and make the 6-cell battery a proper option on this thing. Oh, and fix the Shift key.
I just wish they would change the keyboard so the right shift key is in the proper place.
Too bad the S10 is only 1024x600, or i'd buy one up. I'd love if they could bump the resolution even if it meant holding all other things equal and upping the screen to 11 or 12 inch
Now its comparable to the Samsung NC10
I don't have a problem with the fan noise, but I do hate the fact that the fans are constantly spinning up and turning off. Even with the laptop just sitting on my desk idling, the fans will kick in every 20-30 seconds, spin up and move air for 2-3 seconds, then turn off again. It's annoying. I'd prefer that they just stay on all the time at a low speed instead of constantly cycling like they do. Hell, I'd even prefer the fans to run at full speed all the time than have to constantly be distracted by the spin-up/slow-down cycle.
But that's one small gripe about an otherwise amazing laptop. I'm still extremely satisfied with my purchase.
Matt, Try running the SpeedFan app available at Download.com and see if that doesn't allow you to solve your fan issues. I believe their current build is 4.37. -Dave
Is is just me or is Lenovo starting to make some good looking products? Much better than the old crap IBM used to make when they owned the division..
Lenovo is moving more into the consumer market than the business market. I'm running a ThinkPad of the IBM type and I love the computer. You could throw the thing at a wall, and it would survive. I'll take sturdiness and good hardware over aesthetics any day.
Anyone know how the new models will affect the recently announced S10E? Will they discontinue the E version?
The features on the E version is interesting with the Splashtop feature, glossy screen, and all. Just not sure which version to get. Advice anyone?
Nice update. Looks like its thinner than before, at max 0.9" rather than 1.0" or so. A nice improvement.
To me the more obvious changes would have been to fix the right shift key and maybe add a trackpoint to distinguish themselves from all the other netbooks out there. But whatever. If the price is really $350 (not with Windows XP I bet) then it might really be a viable competitor.
I have an S10 and after upgrading my RAM module with a 2GIG module, my windows XP installation keeps blue screening. I think I have a bad memory module, but the support people are telling me that it will not support more then a 1GIG module. Why does the max memory supported say 1.5GIG, when clearly many people are able to get the 2GIG moudles working, do I need to doa bios update?