Lenovo is back this time round with a netbook of their own, the IdeaPad S10-2 which will see some incremental updates to the IdeaPad S10 platform, although it won’t be as revolutionary as you might think. With so many computer manufacturers jumping aboard the netbook bandwagon, it is surprising to see such a small step taken by Lenovo to refresh its lineup, but then again the rest of its rivals aren’t exactly doing their best to equip netbooks with the latest and greatest hardware, either. In fact, we’re pretty surprised to see the IdeaPad S10-2 being announced since the original IdeaPad S10 was first introduced to the world sometime last autumn – guess a minor update would do fine while we’re waiting for a true blue successor, right? No need to reinvent the wheel and all that mantra.

Those who follow the netbook scene closely, however, will notice at first glance the most noticeable change – the S10-2 comes with a new cover design with white, black, pink or grey colors to choose from. Unless you have a really keen eye though, we doubt you will be able to tell that this is 4mm slimmer than its predecessor, and shaves 200 grams off its total weight. As for the keyboard itself, it will be a wee bit larger than the original, being 89% that of a full-size keyboard. For touch typists, this is good news since the entire range of keys have been enlarged to make it much more comfortable when your fingers are flying all over the surface, with a right Shift key that has been enlarged for easier accessibility. Heck, even the touchpad has gone under the knife for an enlargement process, although we suspect most people will settle for a mouse in the long run.

Too bad the exterior is hampered by an underpowered Atom 1.6GHz processor. Other hardware specifications like 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, integrated graphics, Wi-Fi, a 1.3-megapixel camera and a 6-cell battery will be retained, going for $349.99. Later this summer, a variant with a built-in Ericcson 3G chipset will ship for $399.99.

Source: HotHardware