Lenovo ThinkPad X100e Brings AMD CULV To Enterprise

Lenovo's ThinkPad X100e has broken cover, and while the company describes the 11.6-inch machine as their entry-level ultraportable, we'd be more inclined to pit it against CULV notebooks.  Whichever segment you assign it to, though, the X100e makes for an interesting machine: based on AMD's Athlon Neo single- and dual-core CPUs, together with Turion dual-cores, the notebook manages to fit in a full-sized keyboard.

There's also standard WiFi 802.11n, together with optional Bluetooth and integrated 3G.  As well as the usual "midnight black" Lenovo finish, the company will also be offering the X100e in "heatwave red".  Ports are relatively basic, limited to three USB 2.0 (one of which is powered), a 4-in-1 memory card reader, gigabit ethernet, VGA and a combo audio in/out socket.

Still, for most business buyers the interest will be in the ThinkPad X100e's price, with Lenovo kicking off sales from $449.  The only downside, potentially, is battery life: Lenovo are quoting just 2hrs with the 3-cell battery, or 5hrs with the 6-cell battery.

Press Release:

Lenovo Pioneers New Category for Business Computing with Entry Ultraportable

ThinkPad Laptop Introduces VISION Pro Technology from AMD with ThinkPad X100e

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 4, 2010: Lenovo today announced the ThinkPad X100e, the company's first professional-grade ultraportable laptop starting below $500. The introduction pioneers a new category of PCs for today's business users that blends professional performance, usability and design with new color options at an extremely affordable price. The X100e also represents the first time Lenovo and AMD have collaborated to offer AMD processors on ThinkPad laptops and to leverage AMD's VisionPro branding.

"By listening to our customers and observing market trends, we identified an opportunity to create a new type of ultraportable laptop for business users," said Sam Dusi, vice president, ThinkPad Product Marketing. "Customers asked us for low cost and extreme portability without sacrificing usability or the manageability needed to run a business. By expanding the ultraportable ThinkPad X Series to reach prices under $500, the X100e delivers on all counts."

The ThinkPad X100e excels in the areas important to business users with professional-grade features, exceptional usability and outstanding mobility.

Professional-Grade Features – Equipped with choices of AMD Athlon Neo single and dual core processors and Turion dual core processors1, the X100e provides strong performance needed for multitasking and running typical office applications. It also has the performance needed to support corporate operating systems like Microsoft Windows 7 Professional. The X100e comes with Lenovo's ThinkVantage Technologies, hardware- software tools that help customers deploy, manage and maintain their PCs. The laptop features global availability and technical support along with a variety of warranty options. Exceptional Usability and Design – Lenovo designed the small and compact X100e to be incredibly comfortable to use. An 11.6 inch high definition display provides ample screen real estate, and an ISO full-size keyboard with a multitouch touchpad and Trackpoint make navigation easy. The new contemporary keyboard design features enlarged keys, removal of rarely used keys like System Request and the embedded number pad. The X100e also brings color to ThinkPad with a new choice of heatwave red in addition to midnight black models.

Outstanding Mobility – The X100e maximizes mobility with models starting under three pounds. For wireless connectivity on the go, the laptop comes with 802.11n WiFi and optional Bluetooth and 3G.

Based on VISION Pro Technology from AMD, the X100e delivers outstanding value and performance on visual productivity applications vital to today's business.

"The X100e delivers the full promise of VISION Pro Technology from AMD," said Leslie Sobon, vice president, Product Marketing, AMD. "It delivers the visual experience necessary to leverage most of today's collaboration tools, strong battery life and unbeatable value, all in a sleek, durable ultrathin laptop. With out-of-the-box support for dual monitors to enable greater productivity, the ThinkPad X100e defines what a commercial ultrathin laptop should be and sets the bar for future products based on VISION Pro Technology from AMD."

Business-Class Service and Support

Lenovo offers a full portfolio of service and support offerings to protect the ThinkPad X100e and the data on it and also to give IT departments the technical support they need. To keep business productivity high and to protect from unexpected repair costs, ThinkPad Protection cover repairs resulting from accidents, drops and spills. ThinkPlus Priority Support provides 24 x 7 business- class technical support for IT professionals responsible for maintaining these PCs. Lenovo Hard Disk Drive Retention lets customers keep their hard drive in case of damage or failure, ensuring that their data remains safely in their hands.

Pricing and Availability2

The ThinkPad X100e will be available immediately through Lenovo Business Partners and www.lenovo.com with models starting at $449.