Lenovo Ideapad S10-3T at PHP 29,900.00

Definition of terms
Netvertible [net-vur-tuh-buhl]
– noun
– a netbook that transforms into a tablet
– a class of netbook that has touch screen functions and swivels

In the absence of my MacBook’s screen (broken LED light), I had been left with no portable to use for the past several weeks. The good news (of great joy) came from Intel, lending me Lenovo’s latest Ideapad, a netvertible with 10 inches of real estate and a tablet interface which you can activate anytime you want. For naming conventions, the “S10-3T” simply means that this is a 10 inch netbook with a “T”ablet interface. If you’re looking for the same thing without the tablet interface, Lenovo also sells the “S10-3.” A 12.1 incher also exist, the “S12”

The 3T is by no means the ultimate in multimedia computing. It comes with a Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150, which is really a standard for affordable portables. You might be able to get some 3D gaming into it, but at very low settings. This new generation of Ideapad is good for getting quite a number of things done with your online life: office work, Facebook, Twitter, flash games — yeah that sort of stuff. And the price is not bad either. For a netbook with a swivel touch screen, a price shy of PHP 30,000.00 is absolutely tempting.

The portable comes with a 160GB hard drive and both higher end models come with a 250GB drive. It also comes with stock 1GB DDR2 SD RAM, which really is another reason why you’re limited to the basics of daily computing. I surmise that Lenovo really removed the bells and whistles, stuck with the bare minimum, yet put in a swivel touch screen to make it very attractive at a low price. More specs here.

The S10-3T comes with 2 USB ports on the left side, an RJ45 cable slot for LAN, WiFi, a 1MP webcam, mic and headphone slot, TV out and an SD card reader. By default it comes with WIndows 7 Starter.

I personally think that with the second coming of tablets, software developers should be making “netvertible friendly” applications to add more conviction to buying one. In the week that I used it, I barely touched the screen, using it as a “traditional” laptop. I’m definitely not saying that this is a failed product — it very much isn’t! In fact, it works as how it is supposed to work.