Lenovo announces new Thinkpad Edge and x120e notebooks

It was just a year ago that Lenovo debuted its more casual ThinkPad Edge brand at CES, so naturally it means that the stars have aligned for an annual refresh. However, Lenovo's not just updating the new 12.5-inch E220s and 14-inch E420s with those just announced second generation Intel Core CPUs, though it's doing that as well -- it has totally revamped the line with a fresh coat of soft-matte lids, edge-to-edge glass displays, and HD webcams. We can attest that the metal-accented exterior is certainly a big improvement over the previous plasticy models, but even better is that both systems aren't as chunky as the former Edge 13 and 14 -- the inch-thick E220s weighs less than 3.5 pounds and the E420s, which still makes room for a slot-loading optical drive, tips the scales at 4.1 pounds. Internally, the new Edges are just as ripe -- both will be available with Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 processors, choices of 5400RPM and 7200RPM hard drives, and the E420s will have AMD's newest Radeon HD 6630M switchable graphics option.





So, what do these suckers cost and when can you get 'em? Maintaining that they are still aimed at small businesses strapped for cash -- we're of the mind these are for anyone looking for a classy looking laptop with a great keyboard -- the E220s will start at $899 and the E420s at $749, and will be available in April. For those looking for slightly cheaper versions, Lenovo's also crafted the $599 E420 and E220, but as you'd expect, you'll have to give up the thinner cases and the "infinity displays." We're planning on catching some more intimate time with these when we touch down in the city of sin, though we did get to check out some very early, non-working versions of the E420s a few months ago. Until we can bring you those impressions, hit the gallery below for some of those hands-on pictures and then the press release after the break.


Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220 and E420 press pics

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s early hands-on



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Remember the ThinkPad X100e? Of course you do, the ultraportable or "notbook" only lasted 3.5 hours on a charge (with a six-cell battery!) and nearly burnt through our jeans. But that's all in the past now -- Lenovo's promising to have turned it all around with the ThinkPad X120e. The 11.6-inch laptop still has the same chassis as the previous version -- awesome curved keys, red pointing stick and all -- but instead of AMD's old Neo parts, it packs the long-awaited AMD Fusion APU technology. We're still waiting on AMD's official Fusion announcement, but the X120e will be available with both the Zacate E-240 and E-350 processors, which includes AMD's Radeon HD 6310 graphics on the same chip. It's said to deliver a pretty great graphics experience with over 6.5 hours of battery life, and better yet, AMD and Lenovo both ensure us that the heat issues have been taken care of. Naturally, we'll have to test that all out for ourselves, but at $399 there's no denying that it's all sounding extremely tempting. The X120e will be available in February, and if you cross your fingers hard enough, we'll whip up a review before you have to pull out the plastic. Full press release after the break.







Lenovo ThinkPad x120e Pictures

Lenovo ThinkPad x120e Video




Source: Engadget

 

was just about to post this.

April release kind of sucks

 

I've always thought the X100e had great potential if you could fix the heat issue. Most mobile users don't need a ton of power.

 

CES: Lenovo adds new ThinkPad Edge models, 11.6-inch x120e - CES 2011 CNET Blogs

That's really good news. I can't wait.

 

Nice, now need to see the X201 replacement!

Anyone know if the E220s uses standard or ulv processors? I am done with ulv's.

 

I noticed after posting my thread someone had already beaten me to it. Either way, I'm still very excited for the x120e.

 

They're gonna be next gen ulv's so you can't judge them yet.

Tacky chrome trim and glossy screens don't look so good; reminds me of my HP Pavilion.

Big promises from AMD again. Hope they have the proof this time.

 

Bit confused on the 6630 graphics. Never heard of them before and swear that when they were ATI they never did GPUs with same 2 numbers at start (i.e. no 3300's no 4400's no 5500's)

If they can deliver a good gddr5 card (inc cooling solution) and good quality screen on them I'm sold.

 

Looks really interesting, nice to see they made Edge slim series as well
Tho will see how well they will sell compared to regular Edge.
X120e looks tempting!

Edit: It looks like E220s lid cant be opened 180 degrees? Or what model it is? First gallery, 3rd image, looks like E220s to me, the same hinge design appears to be used on E220s in first picture.

What about Edge 11?

BTW is it only pictures or does X120e looks slimmer than X100e?

 

Yeah it does...the X120e!!! It would be a good throw-around machine if the heat issues are fixed as promised. It will have an option for a matte screen, I hope!

 

Hope that chrome rim is scratch proof.

 

chassis dimensions remain the same.

 

Ok, thanks !
Still small!

Edit: whats that thing on the right side from webcam in Edge? ThinkLight?

Edit2:
Some more details on upcoming laptops:

Lenovo - New Product Showcase

Looks like even some Edge laptops will get Intel's mSATA 310 SSD's !

 

Just to gather more attention to this thread:

Lenovo - New Product Showcase

ThinkLight, fingerprint reader, mSATA SSD's as secondary "Rapid drive" and really faster boot times! And that all in Edge!

Classic ThinkPads definitely should be getting same treatment SSD wise, I hope in 12.5" form factor as well

 

What is exactly enhanced experience 2.0? Is that EE system with rapid drive?

 

An improvement on this.

 

Anyone want to buy my x100e? It's a classic....

 

Looks like Lenovo wants to complicate my choice for my next ultraportables.

Honestly, does anyone expect the price range to be in the low $400s? Wouldn't this "kill" the next gen of X20X with HDMI, 6.5hr and possibly lighter weight? I can't wait to see the spec of the next gen of X20X.

If the spec are indeed true, would anyone take this machine over say the X200 or X201 for $500?

Thank you Lenovo.

 

If something happens to my x200s the x120e will definitely be a consideration. It'll be smaller and match performance with about the same battery life on 6 cell batteries (if claims hold up).

 

The next X series will still be much more powerful cpu wise.

 

I am sure people would be happy to pay extra for:

• Sandy Bridge performance (read the AnandTech review -- it is insane),
• Sandy Bridge battery life (again, read AnandTech),
• Lighter weight (X201 weighs less than X100e, and I expect the trend to continue),
• Better build quality,
• Built-in eSATA (which I expect to appear on X220),
• Built-in DisplayPort (which I expect to appear on X220),
• Docking support,
• UEFI support (well, a man can hope), and
• RapidDrive (HDD + mSATA Intel SSD).

I would.

 

Exactly how good is that AMD 6630m?

Of course the 6000 mobile series hasn't come out yet but does anyone know the ballpark of its performance? Is it just a rebranded low-mid card or does it have respectable performance?

 

It should be around the same level as the Nvidia ION 2, so it should perform well enough for things like 1080 video playback, graphical design work, and some light gaming. So-far I'm sold on this one over a Macbook Air. I always like the design of the original ThinkPad X100e, but was disappointed by the performance, so hopefully this can handle what I throw at it.

 

Can someone tell me why Lenovo's Thinkpad X series don't come with an optical drive? I've noticed it with the X100e, X201...and can you connect a portable one?

 

There is no room for DVD drive in them.
Yes you can connect external USB drive to both of them or add one to X series docking station.

 

Re: x120e (from the images via the posted link)

Are my eyes playing tricks with me? I feel the left bezel is thinner than the right! Or, am I imagining this?

 

it's the exact same as an X100e... slightly off-center.

 

Hmmm...thanks. I did see a x100 recently in person, but must have missed the asymmetry. The x201 does not have this asymmetry...does it?

 

Actually it is the same with T410. You have to watch it very carefully to notice it. It is slightly off-centered to the right.

 

my first thinkpad was a 701c so i'm the last person to notice or complain about asymmetry.   given that the home-row keys, trackpoint, and trackpad (if you have one) are all off-center to the left, seeing a display shifted slightly to the left seems more logical than not.

most thinkpad displays are off-center and most of those are shifted to the left.   only a few are shifted toward the right.

 

I like the asymmetry!

 

Hands on Video
Hands-On With Lenovo’s New ThinkPad Edge E Series, X120e Ultrapotable

These new Edge laptops are actually some of the slickest things I've seen running Windows in a while, and on top of that they're not blatantly ripping Apple design (still has lots of similarities, very large clickpad, edge to edge glass display). They definitely look like 100% consumer devices, nothing really 'business' about them but maybe that's the goal since business implies boring and drab design. Glass LCD and non replacable battery really brings its Thinkpad toughness into question though.

 

wow that e420s looks really, really nice.

may pick one up if the new T line is disappointing.

 

What is the battery life of the e420s and e220s?

 

Do these have USB 3.0? Most articles don't seem to mention anything but you can see a differently-colored USB port on them.

Also, I wonder how much a fully configured e420s (w/ discrete GPU and >5400rpm HDD) will cost.

 

If I understood Lenovo's color-coding, yellow is for the powered USB port, and blue for the 3.0 ones, and that's yellow

I really like these design and the addition of a switchable ATI 6630 in the 420s is a big win. I hope they don't kill it with graphics driver issues or short battery life.

 

The more I spend looking at these laptops, the more sad I become and remorseful.

 

You're not the only one...

I'm still trying to dig up the battery life for the e220s.... Most likely won't see any numbers about that since they won't be out until April.

 

nice design I like the 12 inch premium variant seen in the first video. I could live with a secondary machine to my Y460 with something like this.

Im not sure where your getting your info. The AMD 6630 is similar to the ati 5650 which is 1 gig dx11 ddr3 dedicated video card capable of 10 thousand 3dmark06 score and can play all new games fluently on high detail with the exception of games crisis and other demanding games like metro 2033. Its very powerfull video card, more then the nvidia Geforce GT 335,420,425,435 series cards.

They are a part of the mobo tho so you cant upgrade them.

 

I am waiting for a review on the e240s, specifically waiting to see how the screen compare to a mac and how well the multi-trackpad works. I will sell my macbook once I know that the screen is on par with a macbook.

 

How does the x120e compare to the base 11.6 MacBook Air in terms of specs?

 

The Air beats it in pretty much every way.

You can compare the HP DM1 (same guts) with the Air here: HP Pavilion dm1 Reviewed Review - A Review of the HP Pavilion dm1 Reviewed

But remember the x120e will be cheaper (like half the price) and have better battery life

 

HP DM1 looks ugly, it looks like Acer One is many respects.

 

If Lenovo put the HD 6630 in the E220, that might be worth selling my Acer 3820TG for.

 

What are you talking about? The dm1 is 450 and get's 3 hours more battery life?


edit: guess I didn't read the whole thing, I thought you meant the dm1 vs x120e not vs air

 

Would they perform similarly for basic functions? All I pretty much do is watch Hulu, Netflix, browse the web, email, take notes for school, and learning how to program.

 

DM1/120e can do all that with no issues.

 

+1 for the link.

I don't like the consumer looks though. I absolutely love the all-matte rough style on Thinkpads. As for DM1, I'll repeat what I said in the other thread - I think it's junk. Especially for the price that's roughly in line with business Thinkpads (and e.g. Dell Latitudes).

But hey people "need" Sandy Bridge to watch videos and write e-mails.

P.S. Interesting placement of PrintScreen key. I don't know why is Lenovo trying to re-invent the wheel? I never understood the keyboard designers. Scroll lock, right click key, .... IMO the keyboard concept has to be changed - we're way past year 1980.

 

Mybad, I guess I didn't fully read the question and thought he meant the HD 6310 in the X120e. The HD 6630 should be a way more capable GPU and pretty much a performance/mid-range level option.

 

Why do you say the dm1 is junk? Just not a fan of HP or what? I am trying to decide between waiting for the x120e or jumping on the dm1. The extra 3 hours of battery seems nice...