Size does matter..In this case, the smaller the better. Lenovo S10e

Product: Lenovo S10E

RATING: 4 stars

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
What can I say, I was pleasantly surprised. When the package came in via UPS one Wednesday day, I immediately opened the cardboard box filled with inflated plastic bags supporting my new toy while on transport. At the opening, the Lenovo S10 came in a sleek and small black box with the Lenovo logo in multiple colors.

Of course, I did not damage the box just in case i need to ship it back for some reason. As I open the nice Lenovo black box, the Lenovo S10e is exposed with the 6-cell battery pack separated. I immediately attach the 6-cell battery to the base unit and fortunately it doesn’t add much to the size when attached.

I then opened the lid to expose the clean design of Lenovo. It looked like a mini thinkpad to me. I like this look as it provides that professional image to the netbook. This is important when I use the netbook to display images to exiting and potential clients on location.

Now lets have a good look at what this netbook has to offer. The keyboard seems to be a little smaller than normal but again that is expected due to the small form factor. The touchpad is even smaller. It is a good thing the sensitivity is high for easy mouse control across the screen. Now looking to the bottom left of the keyboard, you will see a microphone hole for your speaking pleasure. It’s not actually not that bad of a microphone. Moving to the top center of the keyboard, you will find the power on and power off button in chrome and indicator lights to the right. Moving a little more to the center right, a quick launch button and radio signal buttons are exposed.

The left side of the netbook houses a VGA port for another monitor or a projector. Look out for a future photo shoot video where i will use my projector with the netbook for a presentation.  To the right of the VGA port you will find an 4-1 card reader and a USB 2.0 port.

The right side of the netbook houses an express card slot for a wireless radio card. To the right of the express card you will find a headphone jack in green and a microphone jack in red if you don’t want to use the built in microphone and webcam. Next to the ports you will find one more USB port and an ethernet port. Yes, there are only two USB ports. Finally, you will see a lock hole which i don’t think will be put to use.

Now that you are familiar with the externals of the Lenovo, lets turn this puppy on. You will all be pleasantly surprised on how fast Windows XP boots and even how much faster quickstart boots. If all you need to do is check your pictures, go on the internet or go on skype to communicate just boot up quick start. When you boot to Windows XP for the security junkies, the Lenovo S10e comes with face recognition software. I know it is pretty high tech. I don’t have to worry about getting my hands dirty just to log on the computer.

We all know a computer is nothing but circuits and plastic without software. So, I will go over the software installed to maximize my new netbook on location photography to its fullest potential.

SOFTWARE INSTALLED FOR ON LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHY (Good news for everyone is the software mentioned below are all FREE)

360 Desktop – The netbook screen at 10.1 right now limits the amount of windows we have open and viewable and on location where you need a browser open for some on the fly research and maybe a window open to tether then this program is a must download. It extends the desktop to allow for multiple almost full size windows open at once.

AVG Free 8.5 – During the content research process in the conceptual stage you might be browsing websites that can seem a little questionable. Therefore, you need protection and AVG Free does a good job and best of all it is FREE!!

Digsby – Dig what? Well from the name alone you would have never thought this is a messaging app. I have my AIM and Yahoo setup with this and twitter.. Yes, twitter. Another cool feature of this app is two windows launch when you are chatting. So what is so cool about this? Well if you have a netbook and using a screen resolution not specific to your device you will be able to see the message if you’ve scrolled to the bottom of the window or if you are at the top of the window.

Google Chrome – Yes, I know internet explorer is pre-installed thanks to windows but it is a resource hog. We surely don’t want a resource hog for a netbook with an atom processor. So, the google chrome is definitely my default browser.

Google Desktop – I haven’t really had much use for this app but, anything google is great so I know it will be invaluable one day.

Open Office.org 3.1 – If you have a Macbook Pro like me and using NeoOffice, then open office for your windows XP notebook is a must have. You are able to seemlessly edit documents between two of the softwares without conversions at least with my experience with the programs.

VLC media player – When you are on the road entertainment is important as a time off from photography and while on a netbook again a resource hungry app is not your friend. Which is why the VLC media player is a popular app amongst netbook users.

FileZilla FTP Client – When you need to transfer files from one server to another or update a website or a blog, then an FTP is a must and FileZilla is a great free program.

Itunes – How can you not install Itunes. I’ve set itunes as my default media player. It must be a resource hog but who cares.

Picasa 3 – Since, I can’t install lightroom or bridge. Picassa is the next best thing and it isn’t as heavy as those two softwares.

Google Earth – Now I can location scout at the comfort of my home. This is a must use program for every location photographer.

Flash Media Live Encoder– If you plan on streaming using Ustream then this is a must download to ensure for a smoother video stream. I will be testing this out on my next photoshoot.

AFTER A WEEK OF NORMAL USE:

I must say, I have no regrets spending the $350 price tag for the Lenovo S10e. A computing device is always with me now allowing me to write for my blog or check the internet and other tasks. The device could also handle a foot fall. Yes, I dropped it. Fortunately, the device is still operational. Thank goodness.

The 5 hour battery life satisfies my normal work day use. I did have to tweak the power setting to lowest battery consumption setting to last the full 5 hours. Again, my main workday use is simple word processing and web browsing tasks.

AFTER FIRST USE IN A PHOTO SHOOT
Come back in a few months for my on the photo shoot review section.

PROS:
Small form factor
Better battery life than current Macbook Pro
Fast enough processor for basic word processing, web browsing and image viewing.
Lightweight and durable
Includes face recognition software allowing for fast logon.
Includes quickstart software which immediately loads photo viewing sofware, Skype, and a web browser in seconds.
Bluetooth

CONS:
Native resolution of 1024×576 causing me to change the resolution in order to run certain.
1.5GB ram max capacity even though i’ve read in a few forums that it can hold 2GB.
5 hour max battery life at the lowest power consumption setting.
Webcam quality can be improved. it requires great light for a good image.
Only 2 usb ports

CONCLUSION:
If you are looking for a portable computing device to keep with you at all times for basic word processing, web browsing and image viewing then a netbook is for you.