Lenovo’s ThinkPad range is known for offering arguably the best business laptops you can buy, but prices have traditionally been quite high. The Lenovo ThinkPad X100e (£394 inc. VAT) remedies this and brings effortlessly high-class corporate usability to the entry-level market.
The first thing you notice is how small the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is. Weighing just 1.5kg, it easily fits into even the smallest luggage for regular travel use. The 226-minute battery life we recorded during testing is unfortunately not as good as we would have hoped but provides basic mobility.
Despite the low price, none of Lenovo’s famed build quality has been lost. The matt plastics and rigid chassis of the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e provide ample resilience and will easily withstand the knocks of life on the move, while the plain black design is sleek and stylish.
ThinkPad keyboards are rarely bettered and the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is no exception. Unusually for Lenovo it uses the isolated-key style – with each key cut through a hole in the chassis. The board is also spill-resistant and is both spacious and responsive, making it by far one of the best we've seen on a laptop at this price.
Usability is enhanced by the inclusion of both a touchpad and pointing stick for controlling onscreen actions with each fitted with its own set of mouse buttons. While we aren't fans of the fiddly control of the latter, many users swear by it, so it is good to see the choice offered here on the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e.

Where the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e inevitably falls behind more expensive rivals in the ultraportable market is its limited power. The AMD processor provides performance akin to most netbooks on the market, so only the most basic of office use is possible. As a result, multitasking is certainly out of the question.
Graphics performance is far more capable, with the integrated ATi graphics card vastly outperforming many other machines we've seen at this size and price. As a result, you can run basic photo and video editing tasks, watch high-definition movies and even enjoy a little bit of gaming on the move with the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e.
The 11.6-inch screen uses a matt-TFT coating to eliminate reflections, making the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e ideal for use outdoors. This also reduces vibrancy somewhat, but the impressive brightness and contrast compensate to create sharp and striking images.
Due to the small size of the chassis, the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e has no integrated optical drive for CD/DVD access. The 250GB hard drive is suitably capacious, however, so you can easily carry your photos, music and videos with you as you travel. A 3-in-1 media card reader is also in place for sharing files.
While its mixed levels of power and small size make it more akin to a netbook than a laptop, there’s no denying the sheer quality of the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e. By offering the key strengths of more expensive machines at a cheaper price, this is a truly great ultraportable for the price.
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Review sample provided by Laptopsdirect
E-Code    NTT2FUK
Telephone    0844 412 4525
Processor    AMD 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40
Memory    2048MB DDR2 SDRAM
Hard drive    250GB (5400rpm)
Optical drive    No
Screen size & type    11.6-inch TFT
Display resolution    1366 x 768 (WXGA)
Graphics card    ATi Radeon HD 3200
Dimensions    282 x 190 x 31mm
Weight    1.5kg
Wireless LAN    802.11n
Ethernet    Gigabit
USB Ports    3
FireWire    No
Operating system    Windows 7 Professional
Standard warranty    1 yr C&R P&L