I received my weekly email from Lenovo's IBM Sharholder program this morning and it contains the best offers I have seen in several weeks. They are promoting the new S12 Netbook with the ION chipset for just $449.
They are also providing a solid offer on the T400s which they promote as the thinnest (0.83"), lightest (starting at 3.9 lbs) T Series ever.
The email states there are only 400 available for each of the S12 and T400s.
Here are the S12 details:
Lenovo.com List Price $649 Shareholder Price: $449 after coupon
Go to www.Lenovo.com/spp (You have to cut and paste the url in your browser) You will need to create an account...so click on the "Create Account" link and follow the instructions......a password is mailed to you within a minute or two (in my experience); Login and go to the S12 Series page and then click the IdeaPad S12 line; Add 29595FU to your cart Apply coupon USXSPPS125FU to arrive at the $449 price.
Specs: - Intel ATOM Processor N270 ( 1.60GHz) - Windows 7 Home Premium - NVIDIA ION with Full HD video and HDMI - 12.1 " Display - 2 GB RAM - 250GB HDD - 6 Cell Battery - 2.87 lbs.
Here are the T400s details:
Lenovo.com List Price $1745 Shareholder Price: $1099 after coupon
Website access instructions same as above Go to T Series Page and select T400s Select the first model shown (list price of $1745) Once in the shopping cart apply coupon USXSPPT400S This seems to drive a further discount of $260 above and beyond the normal Shareholder price.
Specs: - Intel Core 2 Duo SP9400 (2.4GHz) - Windows 7 Pro - 14.1 " LED Display - 2 GB RAM - DVD Burner
Good Deal. I've been doing waiting for a sale at the HP store on the Mini 311 Series, HP's similar ION netbook.
The HP 311's base price $399, and I'm hoping for a 40% off Black Friday deal like they had last year.
The spec differences between the two models are: Diplays: The Lenovo's is a 12.1" 1280x800 vs. the HP's 11.6" 1366x768 Weight: The Lenovo claims 2.87 lbs, the HP 3.22 lbs
Other than that, both models can be customized on their manufacturer's sites to be identical. Personally, I don't have strong feelings about either brand's quality (though I understand that Lenovo has a better reputation), so I'll probably wait for a killer deal on the HP.
lenord said: Good Deal. I've been doing waiting for a sale at the HP store on the Mini 311 Series, HP's similar ION netbook. ditto. And i'll have to agree with you to continue waiting for a sale at HP. besides physical specs, the Lenovo S12 cannot be customized as much as the HP Mini 311 can be.
Allow me to elaborate by customizing them as closely as possible. (before discounts) Lenovo IdeaPad S12 $649.00 ATOM N270, Win7, 3GB 667 DDR2, 320GB HD, Wireless B/G, Bluetooth HP Mini 311 $589.99 ATOM N270, Win7, 3GB ??? DDR2, 320GB HD, Wireless B/G, Bluetooth
Based on that alone, assuming the HP Mini 311 uses 667Mhz memory, that's alot cheaper. Even if HP uses 533Mhz, it wouldn't account for the $60 difference. BTW, the HP comes with a mini webcam included in the price.
The Lenovo's specs are pretty much standard as above. Except for a 250GB option w/2GB RAM for $50 less. HP allows you to use WindowsXP, 1-3GB RAM, 160GB or 250GB RAM, Wireless N, w/ or w/o Bluetooth. If you're worried about warranty, Lenovo's price includes 1 year, while HP's warranty is optional.
Because of the larger freedom to choose my components, I'm already siding with HP. The price break against Lenovo is just extra good news. my personal configuration? base price ($399.99) ATOM N280 (+$25) Win7 (+$50) 3GB (+$55) 160GB (standard) Wireless N w/o bluetooth(+$25)
total before shipping: $554.99
if HP eventually has as good discounts as Lenovo, that's $355. jackpot. even $400 would be win.
edit: keep in mind my opinions are based on specs and price alone. i have not tried either netbooks so i suggest reading performance reviews on them. i intend to do the same.
Zan86
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 4, 2009 @ 4:05p
I have also been holding out for an HP. Do the 311 with Windows 7 include the FULl NVIDIA ion. I know there is an ION-LE which is not direct 10 compatible and would be a problem for Windows 7. When you guys think there will be a sale on the HP 311??
Would this be a good lappie for a college student studying interior design? I need to pick one up for a relative. Are the Lenova's better than HP or Dell?
This seems like a good savings. Thank you OP!
prestidigitator
Member
posted: Nov. 4, 2009 @ 6:25p
Just a couple of corrections to what you said about the HP Mini. I was one of the people who tried to get the HP Mini with Windows XP and 3GB RAM.
However, you can ONLY get: Windows XP with 1GB RAM (not even 2 GB) Win 7 with 3 GB (which costs $55 more for RAM + $50 more for Win 7).
I also had a couple of other key differences as to why I wanted the HP Mini 311 vs Lenovo S12: N280 processor vs N270 processor - comaparison linky DDR3 RAM in HP Mini vs DDR2 RAM in S12
I tried using HP EPP, also called up & mailed their sales folks and pleaded with them to let me buy it with XP and 3GB RAM since I did not want to pay the "Windows 7" tax of $50.
However, they shot me down. I politely told the rep that I was choosing another brand, and walked away.
I am begining to hate HP for what they keep doing to us FWers.
fobsquad said: lenord said: Good Deal. I've been doing waiting for a sale at the HP store on the Mini 311 Series, HP's similar ION netbook. ditto. And i'll have to agree with you to continue waiting for a sale at HP. besides physical specs, the Lenovo S12 cannot be customized as much as the HP Mini 311 can be.
Allow me to elaborate by customizing them as closely as possible. (before discounts) Lenovo IdeaPad S12 $649.00 ATOM N270, Win7, 3GB 667 DDR2, 320GB HD, Wireless B/G, Bluetooth HP Mini 311 $589.99 ATOM N270, Win7, 3GB ??? DDR2, 320GB HD, Wireless B/G, Bluetooth
Based on that alone, assuming the HP Mini 311 uses 667Mhz memory, that's alot cheaper. Even if HP uses 533Mhz, it wouldn't account for the $60 difference. BTW, the HP comes with a mini webcam included in the price.
The Lenovo's specs are pretty much standard as above. Except for a 250GB option w/2GB RAM for $50 less. HP allows you to use WindowsXP, 1-3GB RAM, 160GB or 250GB RAM, Wireless N, w/ or w/o Bluetooth. If you're worried about warranty, Lenovo's price includes 1 year, while HP's warranty is optional.
Because of the larger freedom to choose my components, I'm already siding with HP. The price break against Lenovo is just extra good news. my personal configuration? base price ($399.99) ATOM N280 (+$25) Win7 (+$50) 3GB (+$55) 160GB (standard) Wireless N w/o bluetooth(+$25)
total before shipping: $554.99
if HP eventually has as good discounts as Lenovo, that's $355. jackpot. even $400 would be win.
edit: keep in mind my opinions are based on specs and price alone. i have not tried either netbooks so i suggest reading performance reviews on them. i intend to do the same.
That's not something they choose. MS won't let them sell an XP laptop with more then 1 GB. Period.
prestidigitator said: Just a couple of corrections to what you said about the HP Mini. I was one of the people who tried to get the HP Mini with Windows XP and 3GB RAM.
However, you can ONLY get: Windows XP with 1GB RAM (not even 2 GB) Win 7 with 3 GB (which costs $55 more for RAM + $50 more for Win 7).
I also had a couple of other key differences as to why I wanted the HP Mini 311 vs Lenovo S12: N280 processor vs N270 processor - comaparison linky DDR3 RAM in HP Mini vs DDR2 RAM in S12
I tried using HP EPP, also called up & mailed their sales folks and pleaded with them to let me buy it with XP and 3GB RAM since I did not want to pay the "Windows 7" tax of $50.
However, they shot me down. I politely told the rep that I was choosing another brand, and walked away.
I am begining to hate HP for what they keep doing to us FWers.
fobsquad said: lenord said: Good Deal. I've been doing waiting for a sale at the HP store on the Mini 311 Series, HP's similar ION netbook. ditto. And i'll have to agree with you to continue waiting for a sale at HP. besides physical specs, the Lenovo S12 cannot be customized as much as the HP Mini 311 can be.
Allow me to elaborate by customizing them as closely as possible. (before discounts) Lenovo IdeaPad S12 $649.00 ATOM N270, Win7, 3GB 667 DDR2, 320GB HD, Wireless B/G, Bluetooth HP Mini 311 $589.99 ATOM N270, Win7, 3GB ??? DDR2, 320GB HD, Wireless B/G, Bluetooth
Based on that alone, assuming the HP Mini 311 uses 667Mhz memory, that's alot cheaper. Even if HP uses 533Mhz, it wouldn't account for the $60 difference. BTW, the HP comes with a mini webcam included in the price.
The Lenovo's specs are pretty much standard as above. Except for a 250GB option w/2GB RAM for $50 less. HP allows you to use WindowsXP, 1-3GB RAM, 160GB or 250GB RAM, Wireless N, w/ or w/o Bluetooth. If you're worried about warranty, Lenovo's price includes 1 year, while HP's warranty is optional.
Because of the larger freedom to choose my components, I'm already siding with HP. The price break against Lenovo is just extra good news. my personal configuration? base price ($399.99) ATOM N280 (+$25) Win7 (+$50) 3GB (+$55) 160GB (standard) Wireless N w/o bluetooth(+$25)
total before shipping: $554.99
if HP eventually has as good discounts as Lenovo, that's $355. jackpot. even $400 would be win.
edit: keep in mind my opinions are based on specs and price alone. i have not tried either netbooks so i suggest reading performance reviews on them. i intend to do the same.
I promise you no DX10 support would NOT be a problem for Win7. It MAY be a show stopper if you have to have a particular feature, but I can't see it impacting much other than some minor Aero effects. You don't have enough CPU to game seriously anyhow. I ran Win7 beta and RC on a SIS760 Mirage2 chip. Sure, it gets a 1.0 for video on WEI (can you get less than that? ), but it runs great.
That said, I'm getting the 311 with full Ion and N280, 1GB with XP. It's stupid you can't get 3GB with XP.
Zan86 said: I have also been holding out for an HP. Do the 311 with Windows 7 include the FULl NVIDIA ion. I know there is an ION-LE which is not direct 10 compatible and would be a problem for Windows 7. When you guys think there will be a sale on the HP 311??
kiamon24
New Member
posted: Nov. 5, 2009 @ 3:28a
I just ordered the T400s. excellent deal man. the SPP discount along with the coupon was dropped the $2k config to $1350. (after tax)
osuvinny
New Member
posted: Nov. 5, 2009 @ 6:52a
I'm seriously considering jumping on the S12 deal. I like the fact that it comes with a full keyboard as opposed to most other 90+% netbook keyboards out there and a decent-sized screen for a netbook. I'm sure once the rest of the ION netbooks trickle out I could get a slightly better deal, but I just don't think it's worth the hassle if it comes down to trying to hunt around for just the right deal. I wish there was a review of the netbook somewhere, but I can't seem to find it! Mostly wondering about the battery life...
DaMack
Broke Member
posted: Nov. 5, 2009 @ 7:45a
I thougght I read somewhere that the ION-LE can use hacked drivers to support DX-10? Something about it just being a software lock-out of features by NVIDIA. Or am I imagining that?
I have 2 rules when buying laptops/netbooks: 1. Minimise cost by choosing the least expensive software options. 2. Get as little RAM as possible - it's almost always cheaper to buy separately and upgrade yourself.
prestidigitator said:
I tried using HP EPP, also called up & mailed their sales folks and pleaded with them to let me buy it with XP and 3GB RAM since I did not want to pay the "Windows 7" tax of $50.
However, they shot me down. I politely told the rep that I was choosing another brand, and walked away.
MarkV
New Member
posted: Nov. 5, 2009 @ 9:09a
pwoldan,
Normally I would agree with you, but for the HP Mini 311, the RAM is built-in, soldered to the motherboard. There's an empty slot,so you can add 1 or 2gb if you want, but that adds to the weight. It may also have a slight effect on battery life, though it may also increase performance slightly if it runs in dual-channel mode.
Normally I would agree with you, but for the HP Mini 311, the RAM is built-in, soldered to the motherboard. There's an empty slot,so you can add 1 or 2gb if you want, but that adds to the weight. It may also have a slight effect on battery life, though it may also increase performance slightly if it runs in dual-channel mode.
WOW, I've never seen someone complain about the weight of RAM.
timdao
Member
posted: Nov. 5, 2009 @ 10:16a
MarkV said: pwoldan,
Normally I would agree with you, but for the HP Mini 311, the RAM is built-in, soldered to the motherboard. There's an empty slot,so you can add 1 or 2gb if you want, but that adds to the weight. It may also have a slight effect on battery life, though it may also increase performance slightly if it runs in dual-channel mode.
Maybe things have changed, but don't you have the match up the SODIMM's up pretty well to get it to run in dual-channel mode? I.e. they need to match exactly in speed and latency timings, etc so to be safe you should buy the same make and model?
Interesting. I'd certainly want to get enough in-built RAM such that I could max. out the total RAM (in-built + user installed) in the future if I wanted to.
MarkV said: pwoldan,
Normally I would agree with you, but for the HP Mini 311, the RAM is built-in, soldered to the motherboard. There's an empty slot,so you can add 1 or 2gb if you want, but that adds to the weight. It may also have a slight effect on battery life, though it may also increase performance slightly if it runs in dual-channel mode.
ultrakitty
New Member
posted: Nov. 5, 2009 @ 10:29a
The S10-2 Black netbook is also on sale for $275 using USXNETBOOK. Just heard about it on SD.
Ahhh.. I didn't realize Asus was working on a Snapdragon netbook. Cool. Its supposedly a very nice chipset. I'm a little hesitant about Android though. The first Android powered netbook just came out from Acer (its actually a dual-boot and can boot to either XP or Android) and the reviews have just panned the Android implementation. Hopefully Asus is working on making it a much better user experience.
Though assuming it could run other Linux distros as well.
Got in on the S12, could not resist. Thanks for posting this deal soupdejoure saved me a bundle. I could not find a netbook with windows 7 that was not starters edition.
dp004i said: Just wondering, why would anybody buy a heavy, underpowered 12" netbook for close to $500 when refurbished Dell D420 can be had for under $300?
Maybe I'm missing something, but what other 12" netbook can you find that is significantly lighter than the S12? I'm failing to see how you consider that netbook heavy given its screen size. Even the Dell you mentioned is ~1/2 a pound heavier.
Also, the S12 is supposed to play 1080p through it's hdmi port so you can hook it up to a HDTV when you're in a bind.
Just my $0.02...
pikachen
New Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2009 @ 2:07a
How does it play games? Is greater graphics card better than faster processor (acer 1410)??
skinflinto said: Would this be a good lappie for a college student studying interior design?
IMHO, none of the netbooks should be used as a PRIMARY laptop for college or business.
For gaming, writing research papers, serious Web searching, etc... the keyboard and screen combo is just too limited. Plus you will still need external storage...be it a USB DVD drive, a big USB flash drive, or a USB hard disk for backup.
Netbooks can make excellent 2nd laptops...when portability is the issue ....like for carrying around all day and or taking quick notes in class. (Of course a good smart phone might be a better choice, but I digress.)
If I were buying just ONE laptop for a college student, I might well look at the "ultra light" laptops....similar to the Acer Timeline or something like that from ASUS or MSI.
All that said, a netbook can be a good ADDITION to a solid full-size notebook that a student already owns.
So, buy a student the T400 to go along with the S12, and that will be set for the long haul.
Agree with Cartfan, but it's a good addition for someone who already has a desktop. You could probably buy a decent desktop and netbook combo for the same or less than the good ultra-light laptops.
Johnrx86
Member
posted: Nov. 8, 2009 @ 8:00p
cartfan said: skinflinto said: For gaming, writing research papers, serious Web searching, etc... the keyboard and screen combo is just too limited. Plus you will still need external storage...be it a USB DVD drive, a big USB flash drive, or a USB hard disk for backup.
Netbooks can make excellent 2nd laptops...when portability is the issue ....like for carrying around all day and or taking quick notes in class. (Of course a good smart phone might be a better choice, but I digress.)
250gb stock...
449 seems decent with the HP311 at 400/359 (after 10% bing cb). S12 has a full keyboard, extra gig of ram, and an extra 90gb. Samsung N510 is pretty similar to the HP311, but offers a full keyboard (at a much larger price premium). I would like to see a comparison of the screen quality between the S12 and the 311/N510.
I'm also tempted to wait and see if any Atom 300 (dual core) ion netbooks will hit this/next quarter.
cartfan said: skinflinto said: Would this be a good lappie for a college student studying interior design?
IMHO, none of the netbooks should be used as a PRIMARY laptop for college or business.
For gaming, writing research papers, serious Web searching, etc... the keyboard and screen combo is just too limited. Plus you will still need external storage...be it a USB DVD drive, a big USB flash drive, or a USB hard disk for backup.
Netbooks can make excellent 2nd laptops...when portability is the issue ....like for carrying around all day and or taking quick notes in class. (Of course a good smart phone might be a better choice, but I digress.)
If I were buying just ONE laptop for a college student, I might well look at the "ultra light" laptops....similar to the Acer Timeline or something like that from ASUS or MSI.
All that said, a netbook can be a good ADDITION to a solid full-size notebook that a student already owns.
So, buy a student the T400 to go along with the S12, and that will be set for the long haul.
In that case, the netbook is better paired with a desktop replacement laptop (heavy/big) or an actual desktop. The weight and size of the t400 just doesn't justify getting a smaller netbook to go with it. (Its 5lbs, slightly on the heavy side but you can manage.) If interior design involves any design apps, the netbook won't suffice. But for writing papers, web browsing, IM, etc, a netbook will do fine especially if you look at the s12 with a full size keyboard.
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