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Here are shots of the 6-cell battery itself. This is the original Lenovo 6-cell battery that came with my S10. First is the overall view and next is the side view that shows it is like two cylinders joined on the side. Note the rail on the straight part of the battery.
The next two photos show the S10 without the battery, one a side view and the other the back view.
The next photo is a close-up on the back of the S10 that shows the "guide rail" for the battery. There is a similar one on the other side. Besides being a guide for inserting the battery in the correct angle, it also helps to relief the stress on the battery connection as part of the weight of the S10 will be resting on the battery itself once it is installed.
The next photo shows the S10 with the battery installed. Note that the battery comes with two rubber feet and this takes over the function of the two back rubber feet on the S10 itself (which is used if the 3-cell battery is installed) to provide support since the battery now lifts up the back of the unit.
This also gives the keyboard a certain slant (sloping towards the user which is good for the wrist if you type a lot) and it also increases the space between the bottom of the unit and the resting surface and improves the air circulation and aids heat dissipation. On actual usage, the unit doesn't wobble and feels very steady indeed. These are very good reasons to opt for the 6-cell battery, not to mention the extended battery life. The additional weight is minimal; my S10 weighs in at 1.3kg with the battery installed.
I noticed in some photos of 3rd party battery, there are no rubber feet and the weight will be on the front 2 rubber feet and the battery body itself and it also reduces the air circulation. Not sure if it has the rail that fits the guide rails mentioned earlier.
So much for the battery. Here are some other comments on the S10. I'm happy that it is very easy to upgrade the memory as well as the HDD if you wish to do so. Just remove 2 screws and lift out the back panel cover. See photo below. I heard it is pretty messy to do the same in some other netbooks.
There are a few cons as nothing is perfect. The click buttons on the touch-pad is very stiff and needs great effort to click. Thinking positively, it means you will never click in error.
The SD card sticks out and the slot is not spring loaded (like in most other devices but not sure about other similar netbooks) so you're not certain if you have fully inserted the card. On the positive side, you can see if you have removed your card or not. See photo below.
Finally, most other netbooks have 3 USB ports while the S10 has only 2. Granted the S10 comes with Bluetooth and an Express card slot which others may not have but such devices are expensive and nothing like the el cheapo USB stuff that is available. In fact there is a perfect space for adding another USB port just next to the LAN port. With this in place, the S10 will thump the competition, hands down.
Did somebody say S11?
Ronald Kwok
http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok
man.. finally!! thanks so much for your post and review on the s10 and also on the 6 cell battery!
ReplyDeletetomorrow i will go to win chance and get myself one of these babies.. after a looonggg time of googling, reading reviews and scouring the net for all the info on s10, its nice to finally get the very comforting info that is needed for finalizing my decision-making process. all thanks to u.
this is by far the most perfect netbook for ppl like us. (a little bit of office work, emails, surfing the net and listening to music).
wanna play games? then get a dell xps.. haha!
Hi baboon (am I rude?),
ReplyDeletethanks for viewing. A few more cons lest you say you've been conned by me. You would have read about these in other reviews. Keyboard, not the best layout but usable. Noisy fan? Depends on your tolerance level. Gets a bit warm on the left side but wouldn't fry an egg. Teeny. tiny speakers. Maybe other netbooks are similar so it's a personal choice. Anyway, OK for the money you pay. Good luck.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteIf you do not mind, I wanted to ask you a battery related question. I found your blog be means of the lenovo forums. i just got an Ideapad S10e with the 6 cell battery. After first full discharge and charge, it only went as high as 91,2%...after 4,5 hours. would you consider that normal? i know i have to do a bunch of charge discharge cicles to get full potential from battery.
Am I just being paranoid? :)
Hi Elena,
ReplyDeleteMine went up to 100% for the first few charges (if I remember correctly)but like you said, you need to run through a few charging cycles before it holds the full capacity. Try this. Remove the battery and let it drain off a bit, then replace and recharge again to see if it can go up to 100%. Hopefully it does.
what is the part numer of the battery? i am trying to find a retails troe here in Romania, but i don't know what to search for exactly; the thing is that i'm in doubt what to buy; The Asus 1000H cost the same but it seems to have some pluses like 3xUSB, mulisense touchpad and a more ergonimic keyboard, on the other side it has not the same good and slicker look like Lenovo; I find the 1000H quite choppy and the display rim is too thick for my taste; on the other hand it's battery life is better, or at least it has a standard 6 cell. Most of the S 10e here come with a 3 cell battery and it's hard to find one with a 6 cell. When i do it's more expensive than the Asus... Maybe if I buy a linux LENOVO with a 3 cell and with the difference left an extra 6 cell battery it would worth it. Maybe you can help me with that info :) Thanks for the blog.
ReplyDeleteHi PRiSON,
ReplyDeleteAs suggested, you can buy the S10e with 3 cell and buy a 6 cell battery as spare. You can go to the Lenovo USA site here, http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=45K1275¤t-category-id=4364BD0F20B94413B5AD6E684D2848E9
where there is a 6 cell for sale. Or you can go to the Lenovo Romania site and go to Products>Assesories and upgrade>batteries and power and search for Ideapad and the various batteries will hopefully come up. If you do a search on Google for "6 cell battery for S10" you will probably get more sites with cheaper offers. Or you may want to look at the latest Lenovo model, the S10-2 which comes with the 6 cell in some regions.
thank you so much :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, would buying one of those 9cells off ebay be somewhat equal to the OEM battery or is there a significant difference? Also, I know the S10 comes with bluetooth, but it also says (some) in the manual, apparently the ATT 3G intergrated WAN does NOT have bluetooth, i downloaded the drivers from lenovos website, but is there anyway to install the hardware (bluetooth antenna under the key pad)
ReplyDeleteStill cant beleive I was able to get this thing for $89 at Radio Shack!!!
Based on feedback from users, the quality of third party batteries varies so it would be better to get from a known brand or reputable seller though it may cost a bit more but it could be cheaper in the long run.
ReplyDeleteany idea for activating or even adding bluetooth to the 3g models that dont have it?
ReplyDeleteYou can get information on adding the BT module at the forum in s10lenovo.com in the Bluetooth Slot thread under General Hardware section. Hope it helps!
ReplyDelete