Lenovo ThinkPad Edge

For business and pleasure, apparently

Mon 1 Mar 2010 // 13:29 UTC

During office days with the Edge we regularly got over 5 hours from a full charge, with the Wi-Fi radio constantly in use, but the screen brightness dialled down to 50 per cent. When pushed hard, the Edge does get rather warm and though the fan does a fine job of expelling the hot air, it's not the quietest ventilator we have come across.

Coming to a coffee shop near you

In the UK, AMD-equipped models start at just under £500. If you want a machine with Intel ULV internals you will need to cough up closer to £700, which seems a pretty reasonable price for entry into the world of ThinkPad ownership. The same sort of money will get you a new Inspiron 13z or Vostro v13 from Dell or Toshiba's Satellite Pro T130 14U. However, none of these models has a keyboard to match that of the Edge or feels quite as solidly screwed together and, frankly, those are the two main reasons for buying an Edge over the competition.

Verdict

In AMD form, the ThinkPad Edge is a pretty satisfying combination of price, size, weight, quality and performance. It does everything that 95 per cent of laptop users will want their laptop to do. It is small and light enough for the seriously mobile and will look rather more at home in the Mac-infested coffee shops of the West End than ThinkPads of yore. Add to that a truly excellent keyboard, decent battery life and the sturdy build and Lenovo should have a winner on its hands. ®

Thanks to LaptopsDirect for the loan of our test machine.