Lenovo ThinkPad Edge14 hits the market.Lenovo ThinkPad Edge14 is with Core i7 and many more….
Lenovo’s ThinkPad range has been a stalwart of the business landscape. It is a product line that seldom features cutting-edge design, but it’s always robust and ready for the demands of on the go business users.
We’ll be straight with you, we’re typing away on a Core i3-equipped Edge 14 right now and we rarely feel the need for more power, but then it’s not like Lenovo can afford to keep one of its prettier models sated with just i3s and i5s now, is it? Of course not, so here we are, gazing at a fresh new Core i7-620M upgrade option on the ThinkPad Edge 14, which will set eager buyers back an extra $350 over the more budget-friendly i3-330M default.
Almost three months after its release, the ThinkPad Edge 14 laptop has gotten a little update in the form of a new processor option, that of the 2.66 GHz Core i7-620M – a CPU which can put the other chips available (i3-330M, i5-520M and i5-540M) to shame, performance wise of course.
Opting to splash that hard earned cash will net you Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz and a not too shabby 2.66GHz regular clock, plus 4MB of cache.
The screen is topped with an inbuilt microphone and webcam for videoconferencing needs, while the speakers are neatly embedded into the lid between the hinges, under the screen.
This hardware may not be jawdropping but it is perfectly adequate for the intended use. 2D performance pips that of our current A-List business laptop, but the life of the six cell battery is disappointingly average.
One of the most impressive aspects of the ThinkPad is the design. Rather than the whizz-bang glossy approach taken by nearly every other laptop manufacturer, Lenovo has gone for an incredibly functional design.
The screen has some give to it, but still feels solid. We were also enamoured with the isolated key keyboard – a departure for Lenovo – that feels as though it has been designed to cope with the kind of beating that a business laptop will take.
The distinctive dual Trackpoint and Touchpad design means that those familiar with either technology can use the laptop easily and as a side effect it pushes the keyboard towards the back of the chassis and provides a very comfortable palm rest.
It does lack some of the more future-proof technology that we are beginning to see on some manufacturers’ laptops. While there is a single eSATA port, and an Expresscard slot, the three USB ports are USB 2.0.
There is the standard combination of D-Sub and HDMI outputs for the integrated graphics, giving options for attaching to external displays.
Overall the ThinkPad Edge 14in is a solid, all-round business laptop. It doesn’t pretend to be a sleek consumer design; it is tailored to the rough and tumble environment in which a business laptop resides.
The Edge 15, which has so far been just a slightly larger twin to the 14, hasn’t yet felt the warm embrace of upgrade mania, but we suspect it too will soon start offering options from Intel’s top tier.
Resources :engadget.com,pcauthority.com.au
