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Lenovo IdeaPad S205 and S100 are the future of Netbooks in a nutshell

The 11.6-inch and 10.1-inch Lenovo IdeaPad S205 and S100 are, in effect, a story of where all ultraportables are headed.

Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Scott Stein
11.6-incher: Lenovo IdeaPad S205.
11.6-incher: Lenovo IdeaPad S205. Lenovo

They may not be shocking, but they're certainly sleek. Lenovo's new 10- and 11-inch IdeaPads feel like a side-by-side comparison of where ultraportable laptops are heading in 2011. 11.6 inch is the new 10, and we'd better get used to it.

Lenovo IdeaPad S100 and S205 (photos)

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Announced today, the IdeaPad S205 is yet another 11.6-inch laptop using AMD's Fusion CPU series. The design looks a bit like a ThinkPad, with a 98 percent full-size "Accu Type" keyboard that's new to Lenovo this year. An AMD dual-core E-350 CPU comes with integrated graphics and promises more of that upgraded performance we've been hearing about the AMD Fusion processors. Its specs are more laptop than Netbook: up to a 750GB hard drive and 8GB of DDR3 RAM, HDMI, and optional 3G.

The IdeaPad S100 is an update to last year's IdeaPad S10-3. It's a standard Netbook: Atom CPUs up to N570, up to 2GB of RAM/320GB hard drive, and an attractive design.

The S205 doesn't have a price yet, but the S100 will start at $329. Both will be available in March.