Lenovo's Surprisingly Useful $200 Ideapad 100S Laptop, Hands On

[IInuyasha74]

We have a look at what can be done with Lenovo's Ideapad 100S.

Lenovo's Surprisingly Useful $200 Ideapad 100S Laptop, Hands On : Read more

 

[thundervore]

I don't know the specifics but if the RAM is able to be upgraded by the user and not soldered to the board and the CPU is able to recognize more than 4 GB of ram I can see investing in a 8GB stick and tossing it in there for a boost.

Great value indeed

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

The display has limited viewing angles when you view the screen from above or below, and I noticed some discoloration, but images remain undistorted at extreme angles to the left and right. As such, it isn't clear what type of panel is used.

TN. Most modern TN panels allow reasonable horizontal viewing angles, so as long as your LOS is perfectly perpendicular to the display, you'll see the image more or less clearly. Tilt the screen, though, and you're in for a world of pain...

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

I don't know the specifics but if the RAM is able to be upgraded by the user and not soldered to the board and the CPU is able to recognize more than 4 GB of ram I can see investing in a 8GB stick and tossing it in there for a boost.

Everything is soldered, according to Notebookcheck's review (picture). And in any case, the article here says:

The Z3735F is limited to 2 GB of DDR3 support, and Lenovo used 2 GB of DDR3L in the Ideapad 100S.

 

[jedik1]

These laptops are good for nothing. I would rather buy a HP Stream 7 or 8 instead.

 

[jedik1]

TN. Most modern TN panels allow reasonable horizontal viewing angles, .....world of pain...

Exactly...however beneficial a display / monitor maybe .....if it is TN, its just not worth it. Simple junk.

 

[canadianvice]

TN. Most modern TN panels allow reasonable horizontal viewing angles, .....world of pain...

Exactly...however beneficial a display / monitor maybe .....if it is TN, its just not worth it. Simple junk.

It's a screen, not a television. Get over it. TN is moot because you're only really going to be looking at it from one POV.

I'd like IPS, don't get me wrong, but TN has its niche.

 

[jedik1]

TN.

It's a screen, not a television. Get over it. TN is moot because you're only really going to be looking at it from one POV.

I'd like IPS, don't get me wrong, but TN has its niche.

Well the point of these small laptops is being portable and being extremely flexible with low heating. So that mean I can take it to the couch or bed, but if with a slight tilt half of the screen turns like grey-ish......I dont see the point.

Its like having a faulty car...it is a car...it also runs sometimes.....but you are not sure when it will run.

Not worth the effort. I had one with TN panel....never EVER. Any day Toshiba Chromebook 2 or HP Stream 8. (Have both)

 

[sylentz199]

I'd just get a Venue 8 Pro for $80 on Dell and add whatever keyboard you like best.
Otherwise enjoy your rootkits and malicious bloatware...

 

[IInuyasha74]

I don't know the specifics but if the RAM is able to be upgraded by the user and not soldered to the board and the CPU is able to recognize more than 4 GB of ram I can see investing in a 8GB stick and tossing it in there for a boost.

Great value indeed

The SoC only supports 2 GB of memory in a single channel configuration.

 

[IInuyasha74]

TN. Most modern TN panels allow reasonable horizontal viewing angles, .....world of pain...

Exactly...however beneficial a display / monitor maybe .....if it is TN, its just not worth it. Simple junk.

Your arguments against devices are poorly made. First, you do realize the vast majority of laptops and displays which have been created use TN panels right? IPS and other panels have become extremely popular in recent years, but in the history of LCD displays TN has always been the most common. As for taking it to the bed or the couch, how exactly have you been using your devices??? Do you lay down with your arms straight out in front of you holding the HP Stream 8? Surely you don't do that long, and that is the only way to have it actually view able from that location. I guess you could prop it up against a pillow or something, but it is going to fall constantly. Or you could just sit the Ideapad 100S on the bed, table, floor, w/e and point the display at you. Is it really that big of a deal? Your problem with TN panels is completely ridiculous.

As for competing devices, haven't tried the HP Stream 8 yet itself, but I did try the HP Stream 13 a while ago, and found it significantly slower because it constantly ran out of memory. I discussed this issue in the article, as it is a Windows 8/8.1 issue, but the HP Stream 8 only has 1 GB of RAM. Even with Windows 10, that is going to be a significant problem and limit your overall performance. And while the HP Stream 8 and the Ideapad 100S contain the same Intel processor, the Ideapad 100S will likely outperform the Stream 8 in several tasks because it is a larger device, and will be better able to cool the CPU, thus allowing it to maintain the turbo frequency longer.

Both of these devices cost essentially the same amount (Stream 8 costs $189.99 on Amazon), so I have serious doubts that anyone will purchase a slower tablet with less RAM, an older OS, no keyboard, no touchpad, and a lower resolution just to gain a IPS display.

 

[thundervore]

I don't know the specifics but if the RAM is able to be upgraded by the user and not soldered to the board and the CPU is able to recognize more than 4 GB of ram I can see investing in a 8GB stick and tossing it in there for a boost.

Oh that really sucks. I can see this as a budget laptop for middle school or grandma just surfing the net.
Everything is soldered, according to Notebookcheck's review (picture). And in any case, the article here says:

The Z3735F is limited to 2 GB of DDR3 support, and Lenovo used 2 GB of DDR3L in the Ideapad 100S.

 

[abbeytim]

its only 149.99 at bestbuy on sale http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-ideapad-100s-11-6-laptop-intel-atom-2gb-memory-32gb-emmc-flash-storage-red/4475000.p?id=1219751168924&skuId=4475000

 

[Mordernormal]

I picked this up at Best Buy for about $160 after tax as a college laptop to take with me around town (online classes). I don't particularly care about the panel type or what can be modified. I just need it to log into my class, type out word docs and powerpoint slides, and for that, this is an awesome little machine. It never slows down while I'm working in the flash heavy math site I need to be in practically every day. The keyboard actually feels very nice during long typing sessions. There's very little travel on the keys which I've already gotten to and prefer to my normal membrane keys on my Logitech keyboard.

I don't see a reason to try and complain about a PC that costs such a small price. Its perfect for what it is.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

It's a screen, not a television. Get over it. TN is moot because you're only really going to be looking at it from one POV.

What you don't understand is just how angle-sensitive most TN panels are. Sometimes you need to tilt them *just* a bit so the reflection from the nearby light source isn't so strong (happens even to matte screens). I work in IT support and consulting and work with several laptops every day. TN-equipped ones are just eye rape. IPS allows you to actually *use* your laptop and not squint at it.

 

[ivyanev]

Ok its cheap and light. And it might be useful if it is third or forth laptop in the house ( for children ) . But with such limited storage and RAM i don't think there would be tremendous increase in usefulness.

 

[nigelivey]

Would have been a slightly better review if you had mentioned what ports this thing has, being ultra portable and with good battery life it might be useful out in the field. does it have a RJ45? What wlan capabilities?

 

[IInuyasha74]

Would have been a slightly better review if you had mentioned what ports this thing has, being ultra portable and with good battery life it might be useful out in the field. does it have a RJ45? What wlan capabilities?

We will update the article with that information in a moment, but it does not have an RJ45 connector, but it does have 802.11b/g/n support. It also has an HDMI video out, two USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, and a 3.5mm combo mic and speaker connection. It would be kind of nice to have a USB 3.0 port, but with only 32 GB of internal storage space, it doesn't take long to fill what little space you have free over USB 2.0 anyways.

 

[nigelivey]

Would have been a slightly better review if you had mentioned what ports this thing has, being ultra portable and with good battery life it might be useful out in the field. does it have a RJ45? What wlan capabilities?

We will update the article with that information in a moment, but it does not have an RJ45 connector, but it does have 802.11b/g/n support. It also has an HDMI video out, two USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, and a 3.5mm combo mic and speaker connection. It would be kind of nice to have a USB 3.0 port, but with only 32 GB of internal storage space, it doesn't take long to fill what little space you have free over USB 2.0 anyways.

I guess I could always use a USB to RJ45 converter. Thanks for the reply.