Lenovo ThinkPad X120e Review

Lenovo ThinkPad X120e Specifications:

• AMD E-350 with AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics (dual-core CPU at 1.6GHz and dual DX-11 SIMDs at 500MHz)
• 4GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM (1333MHz, 2 DIMM)
• Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
• 11.6" WXGA HD anti-glare LED Backlit display (1366x768)
• 320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
• 802.11b/g/n, Gigabit LAN
• 4-in-1 card reader and 0.3-megapixel webcam
• 6-Cell Li-ion battery
• Dimensions: (W x L x H) 11.1" x 8.2" x 0.6"/1.2"
• Weight: 3.3 pounds (with 6-cell battery)
• Price as configured: $579.00 (currently $689 on Lenovo website)
  

Build and Design
The "ThinkPad" brand name is one of the few names that is virtually synonymous with business notebooks. These laptops regularly combine solid build quality, excellent keyboards, precision TrackPoints (that red dot in the middle of the keyboard) and fantastic warranty support. Last year Lenovo responded to customer demands for a "ThinkPad netbook" and delivered the 11-inch X100e. That bargain-priced ultraportable delivered pretty good performance at a low cost, but didn't provide particularly impressive battery life and got pretty hot on your lap thanks to the old AMD processor technology.

Lenovo promises to make things right in 2011 with the new and improved ThinkPad X120e.

At first glance, the exterior of the 11-inch ThinkPad X120e is virtually identical to the old X100e. In fact, the only things that have changed on the outside are the location of a few ports on the sides of the notebook and the addition of an HDMI connection for modern external monitors, projectors and HDTVs. The simple plastic rectangular screen lid on our review unit features a "midnight black" color scheme that gives it a more low-cost appearance than the rubber-coated ThinkPads, but it's clear this laptop means business.

Those customers who are interested in upgrading the RAM or the hard drive by themselves will be happy to know there is a single massive access plate on the bottom of the notebook that gives you full access to the internal components. Yes, chances are that most business buyers will order all their upgrades at the time of purchase, but it's good to know Lenovo keeps it simple for the do-it-yourself crowd.

Ports and Features
As previously mentioned, the port selection on the X120e has changed slightly from last year's model. Lenovo listened to our complaints about the lack of an HDMI port on the X100e and added HDMI to the X120e while moving one of the USB ports to the other side of the notebook. We'd still like to see a combo eSATA/USB port or a USB 3.0 port for connecting high-speed external storage, but it's hard to complain when you're talking about a netbook alternative.

Front: Indicator lights

Rear: AC power jack, battery, and VGA out

Left: Security lock slot, heat vent, HDMI out, one USB 2.0 port, Ethernet, and combo audio jack

Right: 4-in-1 card slot, and two USB 2.0 ports