The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 is a big improvement on the S10-2 and has a fantastic keyboard

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3, to give the netbook its full name, is the most recent of the S10 lineup and follows the disappointing S10-2. We roundup the reviews for the S10-3 pointing out its good and bad points before giving our own verdict.

Before we get into the Lenovo S10-3′s reviews, let us remind ourselves of the Lenovo’s specification:

Lenovo S10-3 Specification

Intel Atom 1.6Ghz N450 processor
1Gb RAM
250Gb hard drive
10.1 inch WSVGA screen
1024 x 600 pixel resolution
3 x USB ports
Wifi – 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
1.3 megapixel webcam
Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition
8 cell battery – 7 hours battery life
Weight – 1.5Kg

Go to the full specification for the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3.

A specification only tells you so much about a netbook so what do the reviewers think? Let’s start with the good points.

Lenovo S10-3 Good Points

Keyboard - of the 7 reviewers, 6 of them specifically mentioned in their appraisal of the Lenovo S10-3 that the keyboard was ‘top-notch’, ‘excellent’ or ‘doesn’t disappoint’. Only Notebookcheck didn’t specifically list the keyboard as a plus point but did say that the keyboard was well laid out with big keys.

So it is safe to say that the keyboard is one of the stand out features of the S10-3 and is very comfortable to type on, for a 10 inch netbook.

Bundled Software – the utilities that are bundled with the Lenovo S10-3 went down well with several reviewers, namely Laptopmag, PC Advisor and PC World. PC Advisor noticed that the software was aimed mostly at business users with facial recognition security utility called VeriFace plus some disaster recovery software called OneKey Recovery.

Design - if an attractive netbook is what you are looking for then the Lenovo is one, which is ratified by Notebookcheck, Computer Shopper and PC Mag.

Loud Speakers – for a netbook the Lenovo S10-3′s speakers are quite loud, a fact noticed by both Laptopmag and Computer Shopper.

Operation System – only Laptopmag seemed to really appreciate the instant-on operating system

Quiet and cool - Notebookcheck were the only reviewer to specifically mention that the Lenovo runs fairly quiet and cool.

Lightweight - PC Mag believed the S10-3 to have a very light chassis, even with the 6 cell battery. However, the weight of the Lenovo is 1.5Kg, which we here at Fantastic Netbooks consider to be pretty heavy for a 10 inch netbook. A lightweight netbook would be around 1.1Kg.

Other good points were that CNet believed the S10-3 to have a ‘Compact Body’ whilst Notebookcheck highlighted the ‘Stable Case’.

Lenovo S10-3 Divided Opinion

Battery Life – a big of disagreement on the battery life with Notebookcheck believing that the S10-3 had a long battery life whilst Computer Shopper said it was mediocre and Laptopmag stated it was shorter than the competition’s. We think the best measure of any netbook’s battery life is our Longest Battery Life rankings where the S10-3 comes in a creditable 17th out of 65 netbooks.

Inexpensive - some more disagreement, PC Mag thinking the S10-3 is inexpensive whilst PC World believed it to be pricey.

Performance - another point of consternation, Computer Shopper thought it was acceptable performance for the price although we’re not really sure what Computer Shopper thought of the price as they didn’t really decided whether it was expensive or not. Other than that PC Advisor, Notebookcheck and PC World all thought the performance was sluggish and I’m guessing didn’t think it was acceptable for the price. In other words, the S10-3 is possibly a bit slow considering you are paying more than most of the competition.

Lenovo S10-3 Bad Points

Touchpad - it was broadly agreed that the touchpad was a little cramped and awkward to use. This is possibly been compromised because of the larger and more comfortable keyboard and was highlighted by Laptopmag, CNet, Computer Shopper and PC Mag.

Hard Drive – unfortunately we don’t understand why smaller hard drives are a problem plus don’t really consider 250Gb to be a ‘small hard drive’. Perhaps we’re still living in the days when 40Gb was considered a lot but both Laptopmag and PC Mag mentioned that they thought the hard drive was small. It is possible that the US spec. machine reviewed only had a 160Gb hard drive.

Video Playback – of particular mention by both PC Advisor and Computer Shopper was the fact that trying to play video was problematic.

Palm Rest – CNet felt it was necessary to mention that the palm rest was particularly cramped.

Keyboard - we have been a little bit naughty in that we didn’t include Notebookcheck’s comment about a ‘yielding keyboard’ in the keyboard roundup above. So we’re mentioning it here, way down where nobody scrolls.

Screen - Notebookcheck also highlighted that the display is not AR coated, whatever that means. We believe that Notebookcheck are unhappy at the reflections created by the S10-3′s screen and wish it had some sort of coating to prevent them.

Not very configurable – PC Mag felt that the S10-3 is not very configurable. We’re not really sure that they mean but if you want a really configurable netbook then don’t buy this one.

Lenovo S10-3 Overall Score

Overall Score – 70.9% (compiled from 7 top industry reviews)

This currently places the Lenovo S10-3 at an overall position of 53rd in our netbook rankings from a total of 66 netbooks.

Lenovo S10-3 Reviewer Comments and Verdicts:

1. Laptopmag - Lenovo did a lot of things right with the S10-3. Its design and keyboard are much improved over the previous generation, the speakers are positively booming (for a netbook), and its instant-on environment is easily the most attractive among netbooks. However, like the Dell Inspiron Mini 10, we’re not enamored with the touchpad and integrated buttons. So far, the only company that has gotten this right is Apple, although they have a lot more real estate to work with. Also, for $369, we would expect the S10-3 to have a larger hard drive, not to mention longer battery life. If storage is not a concern to you, then the $299 ASUS Eee PC 1001P is a better bargain; otherwise, the Toshiba mini NB305-N410 offers a larger hard drive and greater endurance for just $30 more.

2. PCMag - The Lenovo ThinkPad S10-3 is one of the few 10-inch netbooks that can pull-off a full size keyboard, but it sacrificed the touchpad in the process.

3. CNet - The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 is a marked improvement from its predecessor, the S10-2, and is one of the most compact yet comfortable Netbooks we’ve seen. However, it costs more than Netbooks with similar features.

4. Notebookcheck - If you are looking for a well built netbook with a long battery life, you should consider the Ideapad S10-3 despite its higher price. It’s not the ultimately perfect netbook, as the N220 has already earned itself this title. Samsung’s mini doesn’t have any weakness in the keyboard and also comes with a bright, AR-coated TFT. The smallest “problem” is the high-gloss lid.

5. PC World – Superior input ergonomics will sell this comparatively overpriced netbook.

6. PC Advisor – The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 10in netbook is much more than the sum of its parts. Type and point with one before you grab something else.

7. Computer Shopper – Good looks, a standout keyboard, and a competitive price make this netbook worth a look, despite its troublesome touch pad.

Lenovo S10-3 Reviews Used to Compile This Report:

1. Laptopmag - posted their review on 19th February 2010 and gave the S10-3 3 stars out of 5.
2. PCMag - posted their review on 3rd March 2010 and gave the S10-3 3 stars out of 5.
3. CNet - posted their review on 18th March 2010 and gave the S10-3 7.2 out of 10.
4. Notebookcheck - posted their review on 26th March and gave the S10-3 88%.
5. PC World – posted their review on 29th March and gave the S10-3 3 stars out of 5.
6. PC Advisor – posted their review on 30th March and gave the S10-3 4 stars out of 5.
7. Computer Shopper – posted their review in March 2010 and gave the S10-3 8.1 out of 10.

Related posts:

1. Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 Specification
2. Lenovo IdeaPad S10e vs S10-2 vs S10-3 vs S10-3t
3. Lenovo IdeaPad S12 Specification

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 is a big improvement on the S10-2 and has a fantastic keyboard

The Lenovo S10-3 is the successor and a big improvement to the disappointing Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2, which was not well received and currently languishes at the bottom of our netbook rankings table.

As with most netbooks released in 2010, the Lenovo S10-3 includes the Intel Atom N450 processor, Windows 7 Starter Edition and a larger 250Gb hard drive. The 10.1 inch screen offers the standard netbook resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, wireless comes in the form of 802.11b/g/n and there is bluetooth 2.1 (missing from many netbooks).

Battery life for the S10-3 is also fairly good at around 7 hours for everyday use and we have seen reviews where they got nearly 8.5 hours out of the battery so practically all day computing.

What you also get that the specifications don’t tell you is a fantastic keyboard and brilliant multitouch combination touchpad and rocker mouse buttons. Both Laptopmag and PC Advisor mention the great keyboard in their reviews of the S10-3 with Laptopmag going as far to say that it is the best of any netbook.

This raises the Lenovo S10-3 up to 50th position (out of 61) in our netbook rankings with 70.9% from 7 reviews. This ranking is still low but much improved on the S10-2, which could only garner 56.7% when it was released and so still props up our overall rankings table.

Battery life is better for the S10-3, 7 hours typical use puts the netbook 16th out of 60 netbooks, just ahead of the Samsung N220 and Samsung N140.

Here is the full Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 specification.

Related posts:

1. Lenovo IdeaPad S12 Specification
2. Lenovo IdeaPad S10e vs S10-2 vs S10-3 vs S10-3t
3. Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 Quick Review Roundup

The Acer Aspire One 532H is a solid update to the popular 531H netbook model and is now ranked in our updated netbook rankings

A recent update to our netbook rankings section has seen the number of netbooks rated jump over 50 to a total of 56 individual netbook models including brand new netbooks such as the Acer Aspire One 532H and Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3.

Divided into overall rankings, lightest netbook rankings and netbooks with the longest battery life – having over 50 netbooks rated and ranked means it has now become a lot easier to see which are considered to be the best netbooks.

Our netbook rankings are the clearest way to see which netbook is best. We take into account the leading industry reviews from top magazines and review sites around the world including Laptopmag, PC Advisor, PC Pro, Computer Shopper and CNet, amongst others. We add up the scores gained and divide by the number of reviewers to gain our overall rating for each netbook.

This time around we have added a succession of 2010 netbooks and one in particular has had an immediate impact, gaining the highest score seen for some time. The full list of netbooks added include the following:

Continue reading: Over 50 netbooks now in our netbooks rankings

Related posts:

1. Netbook Rankings Updated – Contains Over 75 Models
2. 40 Netbooks Ranked
3. Netbook Rankings updated with new models

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3T multitouch tablet has an N450 pine-trail Atom processor

The Lenovo IdeaPad 10 inch comparison – we’re comparing Lenovo’s IdeaPad range of 10 inch netbooks including the previous S10e model, the current S10-2 netbook and the about to be released S10-3 netbook and its sibling, the S10-3T tablet, which is very similar in specification but with a multitouch screen turning it into a tablet.

The S10e was a popular netbook and, whilst the S10-2 has not fared so well with reviewers, currently propping up our overall netbook rankings table, we are expecting bigger and brighter things from the new models – the S10-3 and S10-3T netbook multitouch tablet.

These brand new netbooks have similar specs and are suitably equipped with Intel’s pine-trail Atom processor and Windows 7. The big difference is in the screen, the S10-3T has a multitouch screen turning the netbook into a tablet. The S10-3 also seems a solid netbook with a decent review from Laptopmag so far.

The Lenovo S10e and S10-2 netbooks can be found in our netbook rankings and the other models will join in shortly once enough reviews are released for the new models.

Let’s get on with the comparison, how do these great Lenovo netbooks compare?

Related posts:

1. Lenovo S10e Specification
2. Lenovo S9e vs Lenovo S10e comparison
3. Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 Specification