Lenovo released a BIOS update (version 90) for Ideapad S9 and S10 netbooks earlier this month. But here’s a word of caution: Don’t upgrade to the latest BIOS unless you’re willing to risk leaving your computer in an unbootable state. Because that’s exactly what happened to a number of users in the Lenovo Forums. While some people were able to get their systems working again by unplugging the battery and holding down the power button for a while, some users report that the only solution was to contact Lenovo and make arrangements to send their netbooks in for repairs or replacement.

FYI, the BIOS is supposed to resolve a couple of issues affecting power, fan speed, and the battery indicator. It also adds a password-on-bot functionality to the BIOS CMOS settings. And some users report that they were able to upgrade to the latest BIOS with no problems. But unless you’re having major issues with the problems addressed by this BIOS, you might want to wait for Lenovo to release a newer version before updating.

thanks Jose!

IdeaPad S10

Lenovo is launching two new models in the Ideapad Sxx series. The IdeaPad S10-2 is a 10 inch netbook like the original S10, but with an integrated 3G modem. As rumored, Lenovo is also introducing a new 12 inch model called the IdeaPad S12, which will also have built in 3G support.

Both netbooks laptops will ship with the Splashtop quick start interface that will give users access to a web browser, instant messenger, and a handful of other apps without waiting for Windows to boot. According to a press release from Splashtop makers DeviceVM, the quick boot operating system should work with 3G connections just as well as with WiFi or Ethernet connections.

You can find the complete press release after the break.

Update: I just got word from the folks at DeviceVM that the official announcement has been delayed and that the model numbers of the Lenovo laptops mentioned have not been finalized yet.

TigerDirect is holding a contest for the next few days. Basically you enter your name and email address, and possibly agree to receive some promotional emails from the online retailer, and you get a chance to win a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook.

The Lenovo Ideapad S10 has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, a 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and runs WIndows XP. It comes in black, white, and pink, but it’s not quite clear which color(s) TigerDirect is giving away).

The contest has actually been going on for a few weeks, but it ends this weekend, so there’s just a little time left to get your entries in.

If you don’t win, stay tuned. Liliputing is turning 1 year old in April and I’ve got a few contests of my own lined up.

via Portable Monkey

Lenovo IdeaPad S10

Computer makers seem to be trying to find a middle ground between pint sized netbooks (1o inches or smaller) and full sized laptops (usually 14 inches or larger). Notebooks with 11 and 12 inch screens have existed for a while, but they typically carried high price tags. But today Dell and Samsung are offering 12 inch notebooks with low power, low cost processors that help keep the price down.

Now it looks like Lenovo is getting in on the action. DigiTimes reports that the company is planning an IdeaPad S20 notebook which will apparently bear a more than passing resemblance to the Lenovo Ideapad S10 netbook.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S20 will reportedly have a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU and GN40 chipset, and would ship with Windows XP… at least until Windows 7 is ready. DigiTimes suggests the computer could retail for $20,000 Taiwanese, or about $586 US. But it’s worth noting that these computers are usually cheaper in the US, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the price is closer to $400 or $500 in the US.

via NetbookTech

The Lenovo Ideapad S10e is designed for educational markets, but it also adds a few features that the original IdeaPad S10 lacked. For one thing, it comes with the Splashtop “quick start” software preloaded. This provides quick access to Firefox, Skype, and a few other apps. I got a chance to play with a few IdeaPad’s running Splashtop and rival quick start software HyperSpace at CES, and while it’s a neat idea, I find it really doesn’t take that much longer to boot Windows and launch any program you like.

Laptop Magazine has a detailed review of the IdeaPad S10e, and they were pretty happy with the quick start feature, which took 11 seconds to load, plus another 10 to launch Firefox. The lack of support for Firefox add-ons is a bit annoying, but like I said, you can always just ignore quick start and load Windows. The Splashtop interface doesn’t cost extra.

The S10e starts at $379, although you can pay more for configuration with better specs.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook may have a starting price of $349, but you can pick up an IdeaPad S10e from Buy.com for just under $300. The two computers are pretty much the same. They sport a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, a 10.1 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth.

The netbook comes with a 3 cell battery and Windows XP Home Edition. While it may not have the largest hard drive, the fastest wireless connection, or the highest battery capacity, the price drop makes the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e one of the cheapest netbooks available with a 10 inch display.

Update: As Gordon points out in the comments, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e typically has a 0.1 inch, 1024 x 576 pixel display. But the Buy.com product listing says this model has a 1024 x 600 pixel screen. It’s possible that the product page is wrong, so if you really want those extra pixels, you may want to contact Buy.com before placing an order.

HyperSpace

Lenovo added a new quick start feature to its IdeaPad S10 netbook line this week. Basically users have the option of booting into a full Windows XP operating system or a stripped down Linux OS that provides you access to just a few frequently used applications like Firefox and Skype. The advantage of using quick start is that… you guessed it, the PC boots faster.

Lenovo is using technology from Splashtop to deliver this quick start feature. But I discovered yesterday that the company had also looked at using similar technology from Phoenix called HyperSpace. Apparently Phoenix didn’t have the product far enough along for Lenovo to load it on the company’s netbooks. 

In a nutshell, both  Splashtop and HyperSpace do the same thing. And here’s the interesting bit – they both work on the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 today. Phoenix is launching HyperSpace this week and anyone can download and install the software on supported hardware, and that includes the Lenovo IdeaPad S10. The primary difference between the two systems is that Lenovo is offering Splashtop for free while anyone can download a free 21 day trial of HyperSpace, but you’ll need to pay if you want to keep using the software after the trial expires. 

HyperSpace works in two ways. You can either toggle back and forth between Windows and a HyperSpace environment, or you can choose to boot into one OS or the other. On computers with slower processors like the Lenovo IdeaPad S10, only the latter version is available. The either/or version is available for $39.95 a year, while the verison that lets you switch back and forth costs $59.95 a year, both of which seem kind of steep to me. 

I asked a Lenovo rep if the company would be offering Splashtop as a free or paid download for customers who have already purchased an IdeaPad S10 (right now it’s only going to be available on new units), and he said it’s possible but that no announcement has been made yet.

I did learn  one interesting thing about both HyperSpace and Splashtop yesterday: Neither is truly “instant on” software. As you can see from the videos after the break, it actually takes 10+ seconds to boot into either environment. While that’s pretty good compared to most Windows and Linux boot sequences, my 5 year old PDA turns on and off a lot faster. Of course that’s because when you turn it off, it’s really going to sleep and not shutting all the way off. But I’d love to see this feature on more netbooks not running Windows CE.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lenovo is updating its IdeaPad S10 netbook line with three new features: Quick Start, facial recognition, and Lenovo Social, a social networking tool.

Quick Start is Lenovo’s answer to the ExpressGate software that Asus loads onto most of its motherboards (although not most Eee PC netbook models to date). The software gives a computer “instant on” capabilities by booting a stripped down Linux-based operating system with just a few programs allowing you to access a web browser, Skype, and photo and music applications without waiting for a full OS to boot. We’d already heard that Lenovo would be offering the software on its IdeaPad S10E netbook (which I believe is intended primarily for educational markets), but now it looks like the whole line of netbooks will get Quick Start.

The S10 line is also getting a facial recognition application that works as a security feature.

Finally, Lenovo is adding a tool called Lenovo Social, which seems to be a link to a web portal that offers access to Lenovo forums, blogs, and basic information about accessing social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr. Lenovo Social seems to be geared towards people who have never heard of Twitter, and may never have heard of Facebook or Wikipedia either, if any people like that actually still exist.

The new facial recognition and Quick Start features will be available in March. No word on whether you’ll be able to add the software to existing netbooks or if you’ll need to pick up a new Lenovo IdeaPad S10 in March to use the new features.

via jkOnTheRun and Laptop Magazine

… Rose Okeson. 

Rose contributed three articles to the Notebooks.com wiki, (the randomly selected prize-winning entry was on the Sylvania G netbook) and will be receiving a shiny new Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook.

We had some excellent submissions as part of this contest. You can find them all in the contest thread in the Liliputing Forums.

And if you haven’t won a Liliputing contest yet, don’t worry. We’ve got at least one more scheduled to start before the end of the year.

How would you like a shiny new lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook for Christmas? Or Chanukah? Or New Year’s or whatever? 

Liliputing and Notebooks.com are giving away an S10 as part of a joint contest, which closes on Wednesday. On Christmas Eve we’ll reach into our magic hat and choose a winner. 

In order to win, you need to write a brief article for the Notebooks.com wiki and post about it in the Liliputing Forums. To find out how to enter, make sure to read over the rules at the contest page.

Not sure what to write about? Check out the contest thread in the forums to see what contributions we’ve received so far.

The Liliputing HP Magic Giveaway may be over, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of cool stuff to give away. Liliputing is teaming up with Notebooks.com to give away a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook. Here’s how to enter:

1. Visit the Notebooks.com Wiki and create a new wiki entry. You can write about your favorite netbook or anything related to mobile computing.
2. Leave a link to the article in the official contest thread in the Liliputing Forums.

If you don’t have a Notebooks.com Wiki account or an account with the Liliputing Forums you will need to create them. And you will need to work a little bit to win. You can enter as many times as you like, but each wiki entry needs to be at least 300 words long and original. They can be inspired by manufacturer spec sheets, Wikipedia articles or information from any other reputable publication, but you need to cite your sources in the entries.

Entries that are just cut and paste jobs will be discarded.

Each eligible article will earn you one entry number, and we’ll use Random.org to draw a number out of the virtual hat on Christmas Eve. All entries must be received by December 23rd.

The contest is open to US residents with a US mailing address only, and entrants must abide by any state/local regulations that apply. Notebooks.com and Liliputing contributors and their family members are not eligible to win.

Lenovo is introducing a special edition IdePad S10 netbook in Hong Kong that’s all fancy and gold colored and stuff. This isn’t exactly the first gold colored netbook that we’ve seen. Asus introduced a gold colored version of the Eee PC 900A a few months back. And way back in April the Surcouf La Révolution hit France all dressed in gold.

No word on whether Lenovo plans to offer the gold edition of the S10 outside of Hong Kong anytime soon.

via Blogeee

Lenovo is offering an across the board price cut of $50 on IdeaPad S10 netbooks. Prices now range from $349 for the basic model to $409 for a netbook with extra memory, a larger hard drive, and a fancier paint job.

The new prices are listed as sale prices, so it’s possible that Lenovo could jack the price back up at some point. But competition is tough in the netbook market and if Lenovo can afford to sell these computers for a lower price, they’ll probably move more units at this price.

via Engadget

Looking for a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 with a high capacity battery? Then I certainly hope you live in Germany. Because the computer maker is shipping the IdeaPad S10 with a 6 cell battery in that country, while customers in the US and other locations have to settle for a 3 cell battery which provides 2-3 hours of battery life. Eee PC News reports that the netbook also has a starting price of 329 Euros, making it the cheapest netbook with a 10.2 inch screen and 6 cell battery in Germany.

The 6 cell battery has to be one of the ugliest I’ve seen so far, and it looks more like a weird growth on the back of the compute than an organic part of the machine when it’s plugged in. But hey, it should double your battery life, right?

In related news, Lenovo has begun selling “large capacity” versions of the IdeaPad S10 in the US. For an extra $50 over the price of the base model, these units come with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive, both of which are twice what you get on the “general computing” models.

As far as I know, Lenovo doesn’t yet offer a 6 cell battery for the IdeaPad S10 netbook. But apparently somebody is making one, because a Zol.com.cn forum member posted several pictures of a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 with a high capacity battery. 

Like most 6 cell netbook batteries, this one sticks out of the back of the computer a bit, making the S10 slightly more bulky. But that’s a small price to pay for an add-on which should double your battery life.

There’s no word on pricing or availability outside of China yet.

via Eee PC News