Lenovo's IdeaPad S12 finally on sale with Windows 7, NVIDIA Ion

Lenovo made us a promise back in August that the Ion-powered version of its IdeaPad S12 would finally be loosed after the introduction of Windows 7, and lo and behold, that very machine is now available to order directly from the outfit itself. The lone Ion configuration starts at $599, and as predicted, it packs a 1.6GHz N270 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit), a 256MB Ion GPU, 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 12.1-inch display (1,280 x 800), a 250GB hard drive, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, WiFi and a six-cell battery. So, if you've held on this long, are you finally jumping in now that the opportunity has presented itself?

[Via Mark's Technology Blog]

[BobinSD Posted Oct 28th 2009 12:28PM]

I see it on sale in black and white for $549.99 at Newegg.com. The pic gallery shows it has an HDMI output.

[Panhandle Posted Oct 28th 2009 12:49PM]

Wow... $599 is just too much for what you get. Yes, I'm one of those guys who have been holding out for an ION netbook. was ready to buy in July/August but decided to wait till Win7 launched for the promise of ION netbooks. I have been sorely disappointed. Where are all the ION netbooks that they promised. and you couldn't even put an N280 in it? I know it's not much better than the N270, but at least it has a little better front bus.
I am holding out for the Asus EEE 1201N with the 330 in it. but now they are saying it won't launch til December. This is getting really old. I actually thought about buying one of the new Macbooks the other day... can you believe it? a Macbook...
I guess I'll just get in line with the rest and wait... and wait... and wait...

[ChristopherW Posted Oct 28th 2009 1:32PM]

To everyone that's carping about the lack of DDR3 memory support, have you totally lost any sense of perspective? For fuck's sake, what are you going to whine about next? The lack of SLI'd GTX 295's, Android or Chrome OS options??

This is a netbook with an Atom processor, not an Core i7, and this class of device is purpose built for things like browsing, email, VoIP, etc. How would DDR3 improve any of that? If you want a high performance machine so you can watch cat music videos on YouTube, go save up your paper route money, buy a proper laptop instead of a netbook, and STFU or GTFO.

[jkenny23 Posted Oct 28th 2009 1:41PM]

Obsolete already. ION 2 will be twice as powerful and coming out later this year (though I'm sure it won't actually find its way into netbooks till end of 2010 or something, but it may be coming out in CULV systems. I'm still waiting. An awesome GPU would be nice, but a much better processor would be far more useful.

[brothaa Posted Oct 28th 2009 2:34PM]

i wish they just stuck the same 1.89ghz dual core as in the Thinkpad x200 tablet

[KK Posted Oct 29th 2009 3:26PM]

12" screen and no touchpoint? wtf mate.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 28th 2009 7:26PM]

Asus 1201N (dual core 330, Ion, 3G DDR3) has been rumored at a few tech sites to be coming in at $499. If so, that lappie will be the one to beat.

[darok3k Posted Oct 28th 2009 10:22PM]

lower it to $400 and people will buy it cuz the spec on this is weak.

[daskino Posted Oct 29th 2009 7:44AM]

still pretty sweet HD video player companion. wait for price drops.

[etcetra Posted Oct 29th 2009 12:47PM]

I read that the gpu performance of ION2 will be equivalant to 9600m.

Id someone can make a 13' laptop with descent dual core CPU+ION2 for under $1000, I would consider buying it. Right now the only 13' laptop that can deliver that kind of performance is LG P310, and it costs about $2000 after shipping :(

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 31st 2009 9:49AM]

I don't get it. I wanted this netbook, but Lenovo is now offering a U350 for just about the same money (with coupon code) as the best S12 NVidia. They both have 320 GB HD, but the U350 has an Intel Core 2 duo (not to mention 4 GB RAM and 8 cell battery, and 13.3 inch screen). So why go with the S12 - it weighs a bit less, yes, but it seems like you get a "real" laptop for that small increase in weight.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 11th 2009 10:54AM]

Which Lenovo is better? The S12 ION or the U150/U350?

How much better is the CULV processor vs. Atom?