Whether it is notebook or netbook, who can I forget the Lenovo? Well, I did not throw it away to oblivion and this miniature notebook has undoubtedly captured some of my interest in the category of 10” netbooks. The S10e is a special edition netbook from Lenovo and the “e” stands for “education”. The netbook was made to fullfil the needs of students and pupils. Powered by a 6-cell battery, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e runs on an OS that instantly boots up and is known as ‘Splashtop’.

Before I take a leap to check out the details, I advocate for a quick look at the specifications and then I can build up on them.

• 10.1” LED screen having a resolution of 1024 x 576 pixels.
• Intel Atom N270 Processor (1.6GHz)
• 1 GB of RAM
• 160 GB SATA HDD
• ExpressCard Slot
• 4-in-1 Multi-card Reader
• Bluetooth
• 6-Cell Battery
• 1.3 MP Webcam
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi

Splashtop

Since I mentioned that Lenovo IdeaPad S10e is powered by an instant boot OS, it is worth mentioning the same ahead of everything. Built on Linux, it boots in 10 seconds and gives you the following options:

Lenovo Ideapad S10e

• Go on to load Windows XP
• Browse photos
• Browse the web
• Chat or Skype
• Play music
• Shut down

With a simple interface, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e provides simple options like auto hiding the task bar or shifting it to the left or right or even top of the screen. Within another 8 seconds, it will load up a webpage in your browser and voila…you are ready to surf and check your mail. It is helpful when you are short of time.

Design and build

It has a semi glossy lid and bottom however, the inner parts where the battery is placed has a more matte finish which gives the feeling of a cheap plastic and the palm rest area gives a hollow feeling when tapped. The screen flex is a little more than what I normally prefer and it can be felt by touching the base of the screen. Keeping aside these drawbacks, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e has a solid look and feel!

Keyboard and the touchpad

The keyboard has a good feel and is comfortable. The keys are a little bit larger than that of many of the standard netbooks. The CTRL and TAB keys are small and are marked with silver and means that you need to have a look at them while using them. But the worst thing is that a better keyboard could have been placed there.

The touchpad is small but the best part is that it has mouse buttons placed below the touchpad which mimics the true style of a standard laptop. The two mouse buttons are a little stiff and noisy but not as stiff as the Asus Eee PC 1000H.

Display

The screen is 10.1” having a resolution of 1024×576 pixels. The resolution is a little low as compared to the general netbook standard! The Lenovo IdeaPad S10e loses out 24 pixels because the screen is smaller compared to the standard 10.2” screens normally found in netbooks. It has a glossy display and therefore gives a good view with standard viewing angles. I really do not feel like complaining about this. The screen tilt is very low because of the hindrance in the form of a 6-celled battery.

Size and the weight of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10e is one of the smallest in the 10-inch netbooks category and thin bezel around the screen has successfully taken away a share of love I held for my beloved (awww…I mean it because this is the only netbook to give such a thin bezel). However, the engineers had to pay a bit but cutting down on the keyboard and touchpad space!

Appearances can be deceiving as it is exactly the case with the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e. The compact size can give a feeling that it has a light weight but in reality, it is one of the heaviest in the 10-inch category. He overall weight along with the adapter is 3.3 pounds.

Sound and webcam

It is tinny and muffled! A headphone aid is better and suggested. The webcam works really well with a bright and clear picture even in the low light conditions. There is however no light to indicate if the webcam is on or not.

Battery life

It was not really up to the expectations. I expected 5.5 hours of runtime but it returned something between 4-5 hours. It has power saving modes which are low power mode and super energy saver mode.

Performance

There are again two modes ‘Balance and Performance’. The former maintains a moderate CPU speed and the later takes it up to the maximum. The HDD is slightly sluggish!

Conclusion

Despite the small shortcomings, it is worth spending money because of the ExpressCard slot and the Splashtop OS! I like it personally!