Lenovo ThinkPad e220s hands-on and quick look

Got the chance to play with an amazing 12 incher today, the Lenovo Thinkpad Edge e220s as it was officially unveiled in my country. You’re going to find some of my impressions below and there’s also a hands-on clip included.

First, this is a device Lenovo points towards SMBs (small and medium businesses) owners, thus it’s meant to combine style, quality and power with a decent price (but still a hefty one nonetheless).

The e220s is very much similar to the popularLenovo U260, as it boosts s similar 12.5 inch display, a thin and light body (not as sleek as on the U260 though) and a very solid case. In fact, Lenovo replaced the glossy finish used on the previous generation with a matte rubbery one, and it feels very nice, allowing good grip and getting rid of most fingerprints and scratches problems. Same finish is offered for the bottom as well and the palm rest, which is actually quite spacious for a device this small.

Opening the lid, you’ll also notice the standard trackpad, trackpoint and island keyboard Lenovo uses on their Edges lately, some of the best ever to be installed on a laptop. And there are some extra nice features that can make the difference, like a luminosity sensor for automatically adjusting screen brightness based on external conditions, night lamp just on top of the screen, fingerprint reader and a charge-while-sleeping USB port (colored in yellow).

Clip below should tell you more about the Lenovo e220s. Just don’t expect too many details, it’s not a review, it’s just a quick hands-on with the product at the conference.

Hardware wise, Lenovo included new Intel Sandy bridge hardware on the E220s and all of their other Edge+ laptops, with options for Core i5 and Core i7 second generation processors, proper graphics and enough memory and storage space for all of your apps. There’s also this technology called Enhanced Experience 2.0 which will allow these Lenovo’s to boot and shut down 30% faster than their competitors. And that might not seem much, but when on the run, every second counts.

Lenovo ThinkPad Ege e220s - so close to perfection, but...

There is however one major problem with the e220s, and that’s the battery: there’s only a thin 4 Cell 44 wH battery one installed, and while Lenovo claims it can go for up to 6.5 hours, i doubt you’ll manage to get more than 4 on daily use. And that’s just not enough for an ultra-portable of this caliber.

The Lenovo ThinkPad should hit the stores in the next couple of days and prices will start at $899. However, expect versions with Core i7 processors to easily pass the 1000 bucks mark. If that’s worth it or not that’s up to you to device. Personally, I was surprised by how solid and well looking the e220s feels, but the poor battery life is a killer; especially if I have to shove one grand for a portable computer, I expect to have it around me for at least 6 hours, if not more.

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