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In our list of the Top 5 Netbooks for 2009, we rated the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 as the best among the netbooks available in the market today. In that article, we mentioned how the IdeaPad made us rethink what a netbook should be. Just when we thought that our minds have been properly conditioned by the format defined by the Asus Eee series, Lenovo gave us a netbook that has a larger screen size and a more comfortable keyboard at a price that is still at netbook levels.

 

We had also mentioned that the IdeaPad S12 is powered by an Atom N270 processor at 1.6 GHz. The S12 is also one of the first netbooks to feature VIA’s Nano mobile processor as an option. The Via Nano processor has been getting great reviews so far in its head-to-head comparison with its Atom counterpart and many see this as a boon to netbook technology. But, there is still greater news. It seems like the S12 will be featuring NVIDIA’s Ion technology soon. For now, we are happy to share with you our full review on the Atom-powered Lenovo IdeaPad S12.

 

Given its size, it is definitely bigger than the average netbook, but, still lighter than the typical notebook. It appears to be well-built and the plastic chassis’ design gives it a bit of a business look as is mostly the case with Lenovo laptops.

 

The 12-inch LCD display is a joy to behold if you compare it with what the other netbooks have to offer. The screen is bright and viewable at many angles. Watching videos and pictures in the S12 offers nearly the same level of satisfaction one can get from standard-sized laptops.

 

The full-sized keyboard is also a feature that many netbooks wished they had. Typing over long periods is much more comfortable in this netbook. The touchpad is also easy to use.

 

An interesting feature that the IdeaPad S12 has is the face-recognition application which allows users to log in by posing their faces in the laptop’s webcam. It does feel nifty but after awhile the novelty wears off.

 

Performance-wise the Atom-powered IdeaPad S12 can handle basic office applications, media playback and normal web browsing duties. Too much multitasking would be stretching its processing abilities.

 

SPECS	AVAILABLE OPTIONS (From Lenovo’s website)
CPU	VIA Nano ULV 2250 ( 1.30GHz 800MHz 1MB ) orIntel ATOM Processor N270 Single Core ( 1.60GHz 533MHz 512KB )
RAM	1 GB
Screen Size	12.1 ” WXGA TFT 1280×800
Operating System	Windows XP Home Edition
Battery Life	Up to 6 hours
Graphics	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

 

Pros

The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 stands out with an LCD screen that is better than most netbooks. Adding to its advantages are the larger screen and full-sized keyboard. It appears tough enough to take on the daily grind of mobile computing. Its long battery life is a plus too.

 

Cons

The finish picks up fingerprints easily. The single core Atom processor has limited capabilities when it comes to multi-tasking. The fan can be a tad noisy for some users.

 

Conclusion

At this price, you would have expected a smaller, more regular sized netbook. That’s where the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 will surprise you – for the price of a regular netbook you get a larger screen, a full-sized keyboard and standard processing abilities to handle regular computing duties. To us, it is no surprise why it is the number one netbook for 2009.

Related posts:

1. Lenovo Ideapad S10 – Review

Tags: Lenovo IdeaPad S12

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 5:07 am and is filed under Lenovo, and is tagged with Lenovo IdeaPad S12. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.