Video: Lenovo's Atom-based IdeaPad S12 starts shipping with handling
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jul 7th 2009 4:00AM
posted Jul 7th 2009 4:00AM
posted Jul 7th 2009 4:00AM
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Needs more N280
more N270 = N280.
All I want to know is: is RAM upgradeable, or just stuck at 1 GB as with most netbooks? 1 GB of RAM is just useless these days, especially if you want to edit some video from a digicam while on vacations...
Yes, I've spoken with a Lenovo Customer Rep, and they said both RAM and HDD are user upgradable without voiding the warranty.
edit...lol...this thing won't even play most videos.
I thought that the S12 was going to be Ion based?
Yawn these netbooks are beginning to become stale, they all use the same few versions of the atom chip, all have GMA950, all the same amount of ram, screen size, design.
Flooding the market with loads of the same thing is never a good thing.
Beginning to become stale? No, they've been stale forever, and are finally starting to become interesting. This is a 12" machine with Ion, certainly not your standard netbook.
ION? WHERE?!
"Inside you'll find a very netbook-y 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor with GMA 950 graphics"
"GMA 950 graphics"
not Ion
most netbook support 2GB ram, but the OEM windows xp version is caped at 1GB ram. Other OS's support more ram. The current intel chipset used in this IdeaPad S12 supports 2GB ram. Just install another OS like another windows xp or 7.
Uhm, no, Microsoft is limiting XP Home on netbooks to 1GB in retail, but the OS itself supports up to 4GB. The 945GSE chipset on the other hand is limited to 2GB by Intel.
This is not a solution. I want XP (Ubuntu does not have _any_ decent video editor, I've tried them all, plus it has other problems that I already stumble upon with my Acer Ubuntu netbook). And, I don't want to re-buy XP just so I can use 2 GBs of RAM. And, we are not sure at all that this laptop has a RAM slot, some netbooks now have the RAM soldiered on board. So yeah, either this laptop does 2 GBs at the factory, or it doesn't. I am not interested in hacks and half-solutions. I had enough of hacks in the last 10 years as a geek. Now, in my mid-30s, I want things that work as they are supposed to work, or I don't touch them.
These things are very underwhelming. In the age of HD you'd expect fluid 720p playback on these but my MSI wind netbook can't handle them.
my aspireone plays 720p perfectly. the wind should too
If you have a N280 atom you can play 720p hd using coreAVC (as an external filter) and media player classic HC. The netbooks with newer GMA500 have hardware decoders, but the Z5XX atom is crap. Not sure why intel did that.
Invisiblemoose : This *isn't* the version with Ion, which is the one we're all waiting for. The GMA950 video is a giveaway - the Ion version has a Geforce 9400M, and is far more capable.
I don't suppose we could get a moratorium on publishing purely teaser info like this, Engadget ? No-one cares about yet another netbook clone - why don't you just report on the Ion version ? It's been Real Soon Now for several months and I'm getting very tired about the pre-pre-pre-pre-release info which does nothing but advertise for free. Are they or are they not going to actually ship the Ion version at some point ?
seriously?
12" is now also a NetBook ?
Mmhhh ... this is sooooo 2003 ...
Apple released a PowerBook G4 12" in 2003 .. so they where the pioneers of 12" netbooks ?
Or whats this now ?
This NetBook Saga is loosing Steam ..
First off, this s12 is supposed to have ION chipset....so its $499 without it... ouch... look for the $99 ION addon soon..
secondly, netbooks need to be 11" and under...... this is a laptop
S-12 - is a good idea, but boy, - I HATE that GLOSS FINISH!
Looks like someone pulled it out straight from can of oil...
Where is than LENOVO' reputation for ergonomics, i.e. user friendliest, easy of screen reading? Since when the STYLE goes first ? Nice - but wait when you sit down to do some work on it.
We still teach "Form-Follow-Function" in our design schools...
'will refurbish my venerable T41 for one more year and for netbook - I am going for a new & proven MSI WIND U-100 that is neering 300.00 $ these days- in nice mat finish. True scaled down IBM ThinkPad.
but hey, just received memo that S10-2 is going down to 349$US...? Make sens! OK.
Only S10e in Canada, is it the same machine?
Style usually comes first with their IdeaPad line. Now I'm sure if Lenovo made a Thinkpad netbook, it would be nothing but the business.
The one in the video is especially glossy. Wow! It's almost like it's wrapped in plastic or something. It looks like my grandmother's couch.
It is wrapped in plastic.
ITs stupid or what?
12inch still netbook?
Finally 13inch netbook
14inch netbook
15inch netbook... bla bla bla