Miscellaneous items about S10 to be aware

Here's a variety of miscellaneous items about the S10 that users should be aware. Some of them are culled from the Lenovo's forums.

1. If there's pressure on the cover (the LCD screen) when it is closed, it may leave imprints of the keyboard on the screen over time. Ensure heavy items are not placed on the cover or carried in a very cramped bag and you can put a piece of cloth or plastic between screen and keyboard to prevent this.

2. The Lenovo logo comes out quite easily, especially the letter 'e' when caught in a cleaning cloth, maybe because of the sharp edges. So be careful when cleaning around the Lenovo logo or you may want to use a stronger glue for the logo if you are handy for this.

3. If the mouse pad jams, i.e. the cursor no longer moves with your finger movement, plug in a normal USB mouse and move around; it will usually release the jam without having to restart Windows.

4. The front ends of the cover and the palm rests seem to be magnetic (to ease the closing and hold them together) so be gentle when you close the cover or there may be a loud thud. It may not break anything but it may break your heart or shock the Hard Disk a little!

5. It was reported by user TarveN that his Nokia E71 cellphone has caused his S10 to reboot when he placed in on the keyboard. So be aware that this could also happen with other cellphones but why would anyone want to leave his cellphone on the keyboard?

6. This has been reported by some users so it may or may not work if you encounter the same problem. If the S10 cannot turn on, disconnect the battery and AC, press and hold down power on button for 10 seconds. Reconnect with AC or battery, press power on button again and it'll be OK. Hopefully!

7. There has been plenty of new Bios upgrade on the Lenovo site in attempts to solve the noisy fan problem, the latest one being version 59. If you do not have the noisy fan, do not upgrade your Bios as the feedbacks have been mixed and some are negative. It is better to wait for a final version before you do the upgrade since testing is still going on.

8. Many users have reported that upgrading the webcam using the latest Bison firmware has killed the webcam so do not use this firmware. As long as you are not having any issues with your components, there is no need to upgrade to the latest drivers since some have caused more harm then good. So it is a case of "don't fix it till it's broke".

That's all folks. I am distracted by the aroma of the Easter feast that my wife is cooking up in the kitchen. And a Happy Easter to all.

Ronald Kwok
http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok

Complaints about the Lenovo S10

My affair with the Lenovo S10 is now into the third week and I have nothing to complain so far. Meanwhile, I've been following the posts in the independent Lenovo Ideapad S series Forum which focus on the S10. This is a good Forum if you want to learn more about the S10. There is another Forum, Lenovo Forum for the Ideapad , that is run by Lenovo where the S10 belongs but since this covers all the Ideapad models and not just the S10, it is less focused but you can also find some additional information about the S10 if you do some searching.

There are some complaints raised in the former Forum so you may want to check out these areas and test your unit if you intend to buy the S10 to see if any of these is a problem for you. Here's the summary.

1. The fan noise. Some find the fan noisy and disturbing but to me it is OK so this is very much a personal thing. The fan in my desktop is definitely more noisy! However, I tend to notice the fan noise more on the Lenovo S10 than on my Dell Inspiron laptop so it is not the quietest one out there.

2. Keyboard. The arrangement is not the best and one must bear in mind the limited space that is available to fit in the keyboard. You have to sacrifice something if you want portability. The size of your hands (and fingers) will determine if you're comfortable typing for long periods. Once you're used to the arrangement, you can touch type quite normally. Do test out each key individually to see if any is defective. Also test the Function key combinations to see if they work as intended.

3. Touch pad. Again small because of the space limitations and need some time to get used to it. The click buttons are rather stiff and need some force before they are activated. Do test out both the left and right buttons since there were some reported cases of defective buttons.

4. Battery. There are many posts on the 6 cell battery not charging properly and low capacity compared to what is advertised but these generally refer to the 3rd party replacement battery. If you buy the S10 currently (in Malaysia, at least) you should definitely get the one that comes with the original 6 cell battery so you should not have any problem. Some of the problem arose because the user insert or remove the battery while the set is still plugged into AC power. Not sure if the original will suffer the same fate so never, never inset or remove your battery while you S10 is till plugged into AC power. This is really common sense since we were always taught to power off before we meddle with any electrical items.

5. The Lenovo logo on the cover. Some found the letters dropping out, especially the letter "e". Not a major issue but may be of concern to ladies who must have the perfect look!

So it seems Lenovo need to tighten their quality control but there may be similar complains about the other netbooks and certainly, the Lenovo S10 is not the worst. It is one of the easiest netbook to upgrade the RAM or the HDD, if not the easiest. It serves its purpose well as an ultra portable laptop for Internet usage and minor office task.

If you did not get a S10 as a Christmas gift, there's still hope yet; you may still get one as a 2009 New Year's gift. Just drop some hints to your girlfriend or boyfriend or simply refer them to this post!

Happy New Year!

Ronald Kwok
http://ronaldkwok.atomicblog.hop.clickbank.net/