The S12 touts specs similar to other netbooks: three USB 2.0 ports, an ethernet port, a 4-in-1 card reader, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, an ExpressCard slot, and either a three- or six-cell battery. The six-cell battery on our unit ran 7 hours, 41 minutes in our lab tests--great but still short of the record-holding . That netbook's battery lasts for nearly 10 hours! As for performance, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it scores right in the range of other netbooks, earning a 38 in PC WorldBench 6 tests (slightly above average).

That's because the S12 runs Windows XP Home with a 1.6GHz Z270 Atom CPU and 1GB of memory. The hard drive comes in 160, 250, or 320GB capacities. (Our test unit came with 160GB).

The S12 has a few nifty novelty features, which are pretty exciting for about the first 5 minutes--or if you plan to back up your computer every 5 minutes. First is the "one-step back-up key," which is located above the keyboard and allows the user to back up important files. Also included is a "quick-start key," which lets the user get online and check e-mail, surf the Web, and look at photos without starting up the entire operating system. While such a key is tantalizing in theory, I didn't find it to be much quicker than just starting up the OS.

The S12 also has a "face-recognition" feature, which uses the Webcam to protect user logins--with the user's face. This feature worked a lot better than I expected it would; after a brief set-up, the camera was able to recognize my face about five seconds after I sat down to the computer, and logged me in. This feature can be used instead of a password for the regular XP login screen, which is pretty handy--if you don't have hands. Considering that the 5 seconds it took to scan my face could also have been used in typing my password, this feature is really only useful if you want to feel like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.

If you're looking for a netbook with decent battery life, a bigger screen, and the ability to recognize your face, then the Lenovo S12 is a solid choice. It packs a punch in a little netbook package. With its big hard drive, better-than-average battery life, and stylish exterior, it's great for your basic netbook user on the go. It's cheaper and lasts longer than HP's Pavilion dv2--another 12-incher. However, this S12 is a taste of things to come. If you wait a little longer, an Ion-powered model with an nVidia GPU on board will come out, selling for $50 more. That's where the smart money's at.