Post Lotusphere netbook review
Right, so Lotusphere has come and gone, and my chosen one has been put through it's paces for the first time. Time to write a more thorough review as promised.Looks & Feel
Three times during Lotusphere, the tiny Ideapad was taken for a Thinkpad X-series. Not because it is as big as an X-series Thinkpad, but because it looks the part.
It's as well built as the Thinkpad series, no creaks, no twisting. It's solid and sturdy and has that quality feel in every aspect.
Performance
Perhaps my home PC is ancient. Maybe my work PC is sub-par. Maybe I'm just not used to the power of today, but I'm truly impressed.with the Atom processor. It's no slouch this thing, even if it might not be up for Vista.
With 2Gb of memory (don't accept claims that the Lenovo S10e only supports 1,5Gb - you CAN add a 2Gb block, it just won't address the last half gig), it had no problems running Domino 8.5 Server AND Domino 8.5 Designer client. Of course not for production purposes, but definately good enough to work on the road.
It also succesfully runs a virtual Windows 7 image without breaking a sweat. Of course, this was not on the lowest power-setting, but still.
Weight and Handling
At 1,2 kilos, the S10e is definately no heavyweight and that makes it easy to carry with you. You can easily manage holding it in the grip of your hand for a longer period of time. If you have the 6-cell battery, I expect it will be even more comfortable to carry. Those present at the Lotusphere closing session might recall Ben Zander throwing a copy of his book "The Art of Possibilities" out into the audience. I did not catch it, but had no problem making a grab for it (and just tipping it onto the next row) while handling the Lenovo - in the middle of a blogpost - in the other hand. Handy indeed.
Screen
The 10.1" screen is brilliant. The somewhat odd resolution of 1024x576 works fine, but of course puts some emphasis on how you manage your screen real-estate. As an example, I chose to stick with Google Chrome for browsing. It uses much less screen space than IE7 and Firefox3.
Screen quality is excellent. The picture is crisp and clear.
During Lotusphere, I was watching 2 episodes of LOST on the ABC netplayer. Had I had the bandwidth, I would have gone for the HiDef version. I also use it for "placeshifting" my TV when I'm at my girlfriends (I use Sony Locationfree technology, but am not religious about it. I'm sure Slingboxes rule), and the 10,1" wide-screen is an excellent TV-screen on the move.
Battery
I only have the 3-cell battery which of course puts running time between charges under a bit of pressure. The S10e has profile-controlled battery-management software included for easy handling different usage scenarios. The profiles are customizable, and after a bit of fiddling, I have managed a running time of just over 3 hours, while using the wireless network adapter and bluetooth connection, and while surfing the internet and blogging.
The S10e returns quickly from hibernation state, making it no big difference between "Stand-By" and "Hibernate", which should encourage you to make use of hibernation and save battery power.
Splashtop
The S10e comes with a quick-booting micro-linux implementation called Splashtop from DeviceVM, giving you sublimely quick access to browsing, music player, photo manager, instant messaging and Skype. It is however fiddly to get to work, if you're running a fairly secure wireless network and private IP-addresses. Open networks and DHCP works like a charm.
The Bad
Sure, there are compromises. They keyboard really is cramped, and some keys have been relocated in such a way, that it will screw up your typing for a while, until you get used to it, at which point it will screw up your typing on any other PC. Some keys have been completely omitted and put as functions on other keys. This is actually less of a problem than the relocation, since the omitted keys are the ones you hardly ever use, anyway.
The trackpad is absurdly fast in Splashtop mode, and yes, the trackpad buttons are ridiculously hard to push and the click is very loud.
Conclusion
Will it replace my T61? No! But it will be a very fine travel companion, and I won't be carrying that huge T61 around much anymore. I'm very satisfied and recommend the S10e highly.
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