Tablet PCs never truly sprung to life the way most manufacturers desired, although a large number of companies were confident in the success of this concept. From time to time, a new model aimed at the average user would be presented, but they’ve never become massive enough to become a trend. The high cost and relatively low level of Windows optimization for tablet PCs were, among other things, the reasons of their insignificant acceptance in the mainstream. Lenovo decided to have a go with the tablet which was made on the basis of a small netbook, the new model carrying the name Ideapad S10-3t. Its bundle contains the charger and a high-quality backpack.

At first glance, this Ideapad is a standard netbook. The lid is made of glossy black plastic, textured with discreet squares of various sizes which contribute to the overall positive visual impression. Lid construction, as well as the construction of the entire casing, is of extreme firmness, and only a strong push on the lid will deform the image in a very small amount. Unfortunately, we believe that Lenovo went over the line with the lid gloss, since it retains all fingerprints, dust and scratches, which will force you into constant cleaning. Dimensions remain largely standard, but the netbook is very thin in fact, and its shape fully regular, as the battery fits in well within the line of the casing. The keyboard is a full-size one and of high quality, without significant bending in the middle. The only thing we can reproach in this department is that Fn and Ctrl keys exchanged places, which is a bore to those used to the Ctrl key being placed in the lower left corner. Still, once you get over this, you’ll find the keyboard very pleasant to type on. A direct consequence of a larger keyboard was a rather small touchpad. Besides the fact that it’s tiny, the left and right click buttons are contained within the touchpad surface itself. This practically eliminates the possibility of using it with both hands, but surprisingly, the handling is perfect for once.

We also fancied the mechanism that enables rotating the screen for 180 degrees both ways. It’s made of steel and seems very reliable. The glossy screen has a very strong backlight and good viewing angles. Its resolution is, typically for 10.1” netbooks, 1024x600. This touchscreen is based on capacitive technology, which is the very reason that there is no “pen” delivered with the S10-3t, although it could theoretically pose a problem should you ever have the need to operate the netbook with gloves. Display response is OK, but it’s clear that Windows is still not optimized for use with tablet PCs, even the 7 version. This is exactly why Lenovo developed the NaturalTouch software, which enables basic functions such as eBook reading, music listening, video viewing etc. to be done with multitouch and through an intuitive interface. NaturalTouch simplifies usage drastically, all the while providing the entire netbook, well, sense, since the benefit of a touchscreen without this software would be minimal. Other than that, the netbook also contains the BumpTop application, which is a 3D desktop, with the capability of camera control. Although interesting, BumpTop is far less usable than NaturalTouch. One of the positive characteristics is the power button, which can be locked, so that the netbook doesn’t accidentally get turned off during tablet mode use. We disliked the quality of the webcam, which is truly underachieving and provides a rather dark image.

As we’ve already went in-depth about the Pinetrail platform, we won’t have to delve into too much detail here. The performance of the installed CPU is already well-known, while the hard disk’s 67.3 MB/s transfer rate was more than satisfying. The integrated graphics chip, namely Intel’s GMA 3150 is only sufficient for the most basic of tasks. Battery autonomy is an arguable subject - although the specifications state that it lasts up to six hours, four hours is a much more realistic number with moderate use. The reason for such an average battery score is the 4-cell battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh. The netbook doesn’t heat up that much, but a slightly aggressive fan is the main cause for that - it accelerates at the very sight of CPU load, so it’s not exactly a quiet solution. The irony is even greater since this platform doesn’t heat up much anyway. Speakers have a solid strength, which provides good, clear sound in an empty, quiet room.