Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is a solid netbook but it has shortcomings such as the cramped keyboard and the standard three-cell battery. To our surprise, Lenovo fixed both of those main issues in its new IdeaPad S10-2. Let us have a look of their differences.

Design
The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 comes with the matte lid. In comparison, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 is available in the colors of black, white, pink and gray with the glossy cover. The design feels a bit lost between business and consumer. The s10-2 is lighter 0.2kg while thinner 4mm than the original IdeaPad s10.

screen
The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 features a 10.2-inch wide-screen display with the resolution of 1,024×600 pixels, the same to the original s10. Images appear bright and colorful on the glossy, but not too-glossy screen. Backlight brightness was perfect for viewing in bright office conditions, but might not have been strong enough to use outside. Viewing angles are very good.

Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard of the s10-2 has enlarged in size. The keyboard of the s10 is in 85 percent of full size, and right Shift key is shrunk down and placed directly to the right of the up-arrow key instead next to the question mark key where it belongs. The s10-2 is with an 89% full-size keyboard which is larger than the IdeaPad s10. The distance between the keys is wider. And the right Shift key comes back to the below of the Enter key, and its size is also enlarged. The Home and End keys are moved to the top row. The Delete key is also perfect placed.

The touchpad of the s10 is 5.6mm x 2.6mm, while the touchpad of s10-2 is also enlarged to to 5.6mm x 3.4mm, making it easier and more enjoyable to use. The trackpad has average buttons beneath it, but it is still a little hard for us to scroll it with our fingers.

Speakers
The speakers is located at the bottom of the s10-2, while it has the same issue of the original s10, the sound isn’t directly to your ears, there is no doubt it will reduce the feeling of sound.

Ports

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 has just 2 USB ports, while the Lenovo s10-2 adds one extra USB port, so the s10-2 now has a total of 3 USB ports. The s10-2 also comes with a 4-in-1 card reader, VGA and a head and mic jack. And Lenovo nixed the Expresscard/34 slot of the original S10.

left side of Lenovo IdeaPad S10:Heat vent, power jack, VGA out, 3-in-1 card reader, and USB

left side of Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2:LAN, VGA, 1 USB, Mic/Headphone

right side of Lenovo IdeaPad S10:ExpressCard slot, headphone/mic, USB, Ethernet, security lock slot

right side of Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2:Wireless On/Off, 2 USB, Kensington Lock slot, AC power

Battery life
Lenovo IdeaPad S10’s three-cell battery lasts only 2.5 hours before giving out. All versions of the S10-2 will come standard with a six-cell battery. If you browse web, type in text pad or install a few windows updates, the battery can still last 5 hours and 31 minutes.

Noise and heat
The s10-2 runs cooler than the s10. The fan of the s10 is a little bit noise, while compared to the IdeaPad S10-2, you are hare to hear the fan when it is running.

Quick Start Operating System
There’s Lenovo Quick Start and OneKey Rescue for the s10-2, two applications that you aren’t apt to use with any level of frequency, but nice inclusions nonetheless. The Quick Start is a Lenovo branded-version of the Splashtop instant-on operating system which allows you to access to Web browser, music player, photo viewer, IM client, Skype client, and flash games portal.

The OneKey Rescue button is placed above the Insert key on the keyboard. If you hit the QS button instead of the power button when the system is off, it will boot into Quick Start.

Features

One of the larger changes for the laptop is the addition of optional WWAN. The 3G data card is not the only option for people who need mobile broadband, they can select an S10-2 with built-in 3G.

The original Intel Atom N270 (1.6Ghz) CPU still remains, and the same GPU (Intel’s GMA950), along side a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM (1GB of DDR2), 802.11g WiFi, 1.3 megapixel webcam.