DIRT CHEAP SCHOOL & MEDIA LAPTOP - Lenovo Ideapad 110S Review

The Lenovo Ideapad 110s is 2017’s answer to dirt cheap laptops from Lenovo.
It’s only about $150 to buy, runs a full copy of Windows 10, hardly weighs anything,
and has a nice keyboard – but it doesn’t exactly have the highest-end specs.
However, we could be looking at the last of its kind with Windows 10 S looming over the
horizon.
Let’s take a look.
I’m EposVox, here to make tech easier and more fun, and this is the Lenovo IdeaPad 110s,
the follow-up to last year’s 100s.
This time they’ve upgraded from an Intel Atom processor to a full Celeron, 2GB of RAM
and 32GB of onboard flash storage.
You still have the basic plastic shell body, 11.6” 1366x768 TN screen with poor viewing
angles, but decent quality straight on, and the full fold-out-to-flat hinges.
But this time you get lower battery life, which is kind of a bummer.
This is a laptop that’s perfect for a super budget school or travel writing laptop, but
nothing more.
The Intel Celeron processor, while likely to handle multitasking a little better, doesn’t
really bring any new performance over last year’s model.
In fact, the laptop scored lower on Google’s Octane benchmark than the 100s!
It is worth noting that Octane is being retired by Google.
I also ran it through BrowserBenchmark’s Speedometer, but I don’t have numbers from
last year’s model to compare it to.
Also last year’s model only came with N wifi, which is much slower than the current
generation AC wireless standard.
The new 110s has AC, though it’s only a 1x1 antenna.
The 110s has a responsive and comfortable keyboard for long typing sessions.
No numpad, but keys are appropriately arranged and spaced out for its size.
Very easy to use.
The screen is still nice and crisp for working in word, Google docs, or web browsing.
But you won’t get a ton more out of this machine.
No Photoshop design work, no video editing, nothing like that.
[Webcam] There’s not much for IO, either.
On the left you get the power jack, a full-size USB 3.0 port, full size HDMI out, and a microSD
slot.
It’s a bit of a pain to get the microSD card in there, but it doesn’t stick out
from the laptop side much, so this is great for expanding upon the mere 32GB of internal
storage on this thing.
On the right you just have 2 USB 2.0 ports and a headphone microphone combo jack.
The speakers are on the bottom.
They’re stereo this time, instead of last year’s mono, but they’re not great.
This time, the whole computer is just white.
This is, theoretically, a more aesthetically neutral position to be in, but the solid white
keyboard and hand rest are bound to start turning colors and looking pretty gross after
a few months.
I would not look forward to that.
As far as media consumption goes, this is actually a pretty good machine.
Via USB 3.0 external hard drive, I was able to smoothly play back 4k 60fps video files,
1080p 60fps video files, and a full raw BluRay rip MKV in the native Windows 10 Movies app
with no hiccups.
8k proved to be a bit much for it, though.
On YouTube, I was able to play back 1080p60, 1440p, and 4K with no dropped frames.
But there are still plenty of moments when the computer becomes unresponsive or just
downright sluggish to use.
It’s a little Celeron with a mere 2GB of RAM - and that can only do so much.
Now, you do have a full copy of Windows 10 on here, which adds a little flexibility over
something like a Chromebook or something, and I feel it may be one of the last of its
kind with Windows 10 S coming soon.
If you’re unaware, Windows 10 S is Microsoft’s new “Security-first” version of Windows
10.
If you remember the Windows RT version of Windows 8 from the original Microsoft Surface,
it’s basically that.
You can only run Windows Store apps, and the version of Windows itself is more slimmed
down.
This helps “increase security” and might even speed things up on lower-end computers
like this, but can limit what programs you can run on it.
That’s nothing you need to worry about for this model - just know that future models
may come this way.
In the U.S., ISPs can now sell your browsing history and data, as internet privacy rules
were just rolled back.
Don’t want that to happen?
Then it’s time to set up a VPN.
Tunnelbear is offering a FREE 3-day trial of their awesome VPN service for the next
month or so.
Hide your data, keep your browsing history safe, behind a bear.
Check the link in the description or head to eposvox.com/freebear to learn more.
If you’re looking for a sub-$200 laptop for basic office work, web browsing, and media
consumption - the Lenovo 110s might be for you.
It features a couple upgrades from last year’s 100s, and is still tiny and super lightweight.
I hope you enjoyed this review.
If you did, smash the like button, get subscribed for more awesome tech videos, and I’ll see
you in the next one.

DIRT CHEAP SCHOOL & MEDIA LAPTOP - Lenovo Ideapad 110S Review

Latest Posts