I commute to work every day on the train with my seven pound Toshiba laptop.  This is a fantastic computer, which allows me to do almost anything from the middle of nowhere.  But that seven pounds is starting to feel heavier and heavier.  Not only do I have the laptop.  I also carry a lapdesk, external battery, and a gear bag filled with cables, adaptors, and accessories. BY the time you toss in my backpack itself, I am topping out at well over ten pounds. 

Right around the time that I decided to find a lighter solution, a new genre was born, which is now called “netbooks”.  Netbooks are small (usually a 10 inch screen or less), light (under three pounds) and inexpensive (under $500).  These three specs combine to give you a computer which is less that a laptop (though most netbooks do run Windows XP), but much more powerful than your HTC device or iPhone.

Until now, my wallet and I had been directed mainly at the MSI Wind.  The specs on the Wind were amazing, and it looked poised to knock the EeePC off of its perch as the king of the netbook.  Problem was that manufacturing problems and a shortage of batteries meant production delays for the Wind.  No matter how great the specs look, you do still have to build the computer and get it into the market.  These production delays, coupled with increasing prices, meant that the Wind was blowing further and further off course. 

Still, I had not been able to find anything that could compare with the Wind, and was prepared to pay the increased price for it.  Until yesterday.  Yesterday, Lenovo announced that in a few weeks, they will be entering the netbook market with a new offering, the Ideapad S10.  Now, most of you know that Lenovo makes the laptops which were formerly made by IBM, so when they build a computer, you can expect a high quality  But they have always been on the higher end of the price range.  So, the question remains whether Lenovo will be able to build a netbook with all of the necessary specs, without driving the price right out of the market.  Hit the jump to see the specs and more.

The Lenovo Ideapad S10 sports an impressive set of features, including:

• Integrated 1.3M Camera
• 2 stereo speakers
• Multi-touch Pad & near 85% full size Keyboard
• Integrated Wireless 802.11 b/g, 10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth
• ExpressCard slot for WWAN expansion
• Up to 2-GB Memory
• 4-in-1 Multi-card Reader
• Form factor optimized (250.2×183×22-27.5mm, lightest configuration of 1.1 kg)
• Large Panel 10.2” wide, LED backlight 1024×600 WSVGA
• Intel Integrated Graphics GMA 950
• Intel N270 CPU 1.6GHz (Diamondville) and Intel 945GSE Chipset
• Large HDD capacity 160G 9.5mm 2.5-inch SATA HDD (5400 rpm)
• Battery up to 3 hrs. w/ 3 cell Battery & Up to 6 hrs. w/ 6 cell
• Choice of red, black, or white

I was further impressed to find that Lenovo seems to have even found the perfect price point for these computers.  $399 will get you 512 MB of RAMM and an 80 GB Hard Drive.  Another $50 will double you up to 1GB of RAM and a whopping 160 GB hard drive.  Presumably, these prices include the three cell battery.  No word yet on how much extra the six cell battery will cost, but hopefully Lenovo will have them readily available.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is expected to run Windows XP, however, there is a 9 inch Linux version coming soon to certain countries (no word on which countries or pricing). 

I have to admit that I am simply stunned by the specs on this one.  I plan to be one of the first people in line to check out the Lenovo Ideapad S10 when it is released this September.  Keep your fingers crossed, and if I get one then I will try to do a review for you all.

Check out the full Lenovo Press Release, here.

[Via Geek.com]

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