BloGadgeTech

The IdeaPad S12 does, however, have a 12-inch screen and full keyboard, giving this Netbook more of a laptop feel. (Of course, it comes with a premium Netbook price tag: $499.) Just don’t expect more than a larger version of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 Netbook. The S12 is an excellent compromise for a notebook, but thin-and-light ultralow-voltage-processor laptops, such as the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T and MSI X-340give a lot more bang, albeit for more bucks. The IdeaPad S12 comes in two processor flavors: one with a Via Nano ULV (a newer processor than the Atom, but less powerful than Core 2 Duo and Solo CULV processors) and one with an Intel Atom N270. Our configuration was an Atom, but it should be noted that the Nano is even cheaper (and in our own tests with Nano processors, they can perform quite well). The S12 also comes in black or white; ours was black. From a design standpoint, the S12 looks like a larger brother of the recently-revamped Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 Netbook. Compact and well-proportioned, the outer matte-black plastic case is topped with a glossy plastic lid patterned in a subtle series of varying polka dots. It’s a smudge collector, but attractive. Inside, smooth matte-black plastic surrounds the keyboard, while the 12-inch glossy screen is surrounded in likewise glossy plastic. It looks professional and stylishly austere, not unlike a ThinkPad. The full keyboard feels great, and the touchpad is an improvement on the S10-2 in terms of size. It feels like …