Two of Lenovo’s latest products nod to the popularity of netbooks, with a new version of a classic computer and a tablet laptop with a multitouch screen.
Lenovo, a Chinese company and one of the world’s largest PC manufacturers, has closely maintained the rugged design and solid performance of the ThinkPad series since purchasing IBM’s personal computer division in 2005.
But with the ThinkPad x100e, the company is taking its venerated line of business laptops in a new direction.
The company doesn’t call this new model a netbook, but it appears to be aiming at the same market. The x100e, which has retail price of NT$24,900 (street price roughly NT$19,000), is the smallest ThinkPad to date. It has an 11.6-inch matte screen and measures 282mm by 189mm by 30mm — roughly the same dimensions of four issues of National Geographic magazine stacked on top of each other. It weighs 1.5kg.
The ThinkPad is showing a bolder fashion sense with the x100e, which is available for the first time in “heatwave red” (which has a cool retro look) and “Arctic white” (hello, Macbook), in addition to the standard black.
But the x100e’s best features are the hallmarks of the ThinkPad series: ergonomics and design. The x100e has one of the best keyboards I’ve ever used on a laptop of this size. The chiclet-style keys are slightly curved for the fingertips and feel solid when you press down. It took a very short time to get used to the keyboard layout; I was touch-typing almost right away. Like all ThinkPads, the x100e keyboard is “spill-resistant,” although I didn’t test this feature out.
Loyal ThinkPad users will appreciate that Lenovo kept the TrackPoint, a small red knob in the middle of the keyboard used to navigate the pointer. This joystick control may seem awkward to casual users, and the company was wise to also include the more conventional trackpad, which is a little small but well-designed. The left and right click buttons are quiet and have a soft, cushion-like feel when pressing down.
Unlike its ThinkPad predecessors, though, the x100e is not the fastest computer around. Powered by AMD’s 1.6 Ghz Neo MV-40 processor, it performs just slightly faster than the average netbook. This model comes with Windows Home Premium installed on a 320GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM (it should be noted that Lenovo’s demo model on loan to the Taipei Times had 4GB of RAM).
But the x100e gets the job done. It performed reasonably well with programs like Microsoft Word, Mozilla Firefox and Picasa, all of which worked with very few lags. This model also handled video well: both 720p and 1,080p resolution trailers for Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland played without a hitch. For startup times, the x100e takes around one minute on a cold boot and around 10 seconds to wake up from sleep mode.
Those who spend a lot of time away from power outlets may have to think twice about the x100e. With Wi-Fi on and the screen at maximum brightness, I managed only three-and-a-half hours using this model unplugged, with my time split evenly between using Microsoft Word and Web surfing. Lenovo does include an easy-to-use power management software program that lets you adjust how much power the x100e’s processor consumes with one switch. But bear in mind that longer battery power means slower performance.
All in all, a solid design and low price makes the x100e an attractive choice for a small laptop if battery life isn’t a top priority.
While the ThinkPad x100e appeals to practical needs, Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10-3t is a netbook full of bells and whistles. Designed as a touchscreen tablet PC, the S10-3t has a swiveling 10.1-inch screen that rotates 180 degrees and can be flipped over to cover the keyboard.
It comes with Lenovo’s Natural Touch software, a program suite with a slick carousel-style interface that allows quick access to movies, music and videos. The program is well-designed and responsive to the touch, and also includes a nifty all-in-one note-taking application that lets you write, draw and record audio and video, as well as an ebook reader.
But unfortunately the S10-3t doesn’t have enough power to take full advantage of the software with its current-standard netbook specs: 1.66 Ghz Intel Atom N450 and 1GB of RAM. It was nice and easy to flick through pages on the ebook reader, which can display PDF and text formats, but the computer seemed to choke on large files.
The S10-3t’s design is a mixed bag. It has a nice rounded edges but the shiny black case around the screen will inevitably attract fingerprints and smudges. The full-sized keyboard works decently for typing despite the flimsy plastic keys, but the trackpad is way too small — its dimensions are a third of the size of a business card.
The touchscreen capabilities make up for this shortcoming somewhat — it was surprisingly easy to navigate in Windows 7 Home Premium using the touchscreen on the demo model that Lenovo loaned to the Taipei Times (Potential buyers should note that the S10-3t comes bundled with the more basic Windows 7 Starter edition). But Windows 7’s interface still felt awkward when clicking on the menu items, which are too small for the fingertips.
The touch gestures work well when surfing the Internet on the S10-3t. You can scroll down or glide across a Web page with the flick of finger. The experience is similar to using the iPhone’s Web browser.
The S10-3t scores points for a long battery life. With the 8-cell battery, I used this model unplugged for six-and-a-half hours, mainly surfing the Internet, watching YouTube videos and listening to music on iTunes.
The flipside, though, is that the battery adds bulk and detracts from the computer’s clamshell design. With the battery, the S10-3t weighs 1.5kg — light enough to carry in a bag, but too heavy to hold with one hand if you’re using it in tablet mode.
It’s hard not to think of Apple’s highly anticipated iPad when considering what the S10-3t is capable of doing. This netbook has the potential to be an easy-to-use device for multimedia, but is constrained by its underpowered specs and Windows 7, which is a good operating system for a computer but not ideal for a tablet device.
This model will appeal most to enthusiasts willing to spend some time tinkering with the software and upgrading the RAM to get the best possible performance.
The IdeaPad S10-3t comes with a 250GB hard drive and sells at a retail price of NT$21,900 (Street price of around NT$19,000). A version with the smaller 6-cell battery has a retail price of NT$16,900.
Both the S10-3T and Thinkpad x100e are available at major electronics retailers across the country.
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