MeeGo. Initial look at MeeGo Netbook, a minimalistic computer interface. This week in MeeGo Conference all attendees received Lenovo S10-3t IdeaPad convertible netbook/tablet computers from Intel and Nokia.
For many of us this was the first time we're actually using MeeGo on a device, and so I thought to post some notes on how it feels. IdeaPad hardware The IdeaPad looks and feels like a typical netbook: cheap plastic construction, big protruding battery, small trackpad and screen. However, it suddenly becomes quite interesting when you swivel the screen around, making it a tablet computer with a nicely sized touchscreen. The whole package is quite much heavier than my current MacBook Air, but that is a price you pay for almost eight hour battery life. Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t review. Who says you have to pick between a netbook and the coming onslaught of standalone tablet devices?
Okay maybe some (eh hem Apple), but Lenovo's trying to have it both ways with the IdeaPad U1 and the S10-3t. In clamshell mode the S10-3t looks like any old 10-inch netbook, but swivel around its capacitive mulitouch display and it turns into that slate device you've been dreaming of. That's not all: the S10-3t is one of the first netbooks (or netveritbles) that has the new Intel 1.83GHz Atom N470 processor. But can the S10-3t straddle both worlds and do it well? And perhaps more importantly, is it worth the premium $649 price tag?