£880 inc VAT * lenovo.com/uk * tinyurl.com/5upjrpe
Lenovo's Edge E420s is unlikely to ever be referred to as 'pretty',
but the ThinkPad range has come a long way since Lenovo acquired
it from IBM. They're still built like tanks, though, and the E420s is
built to shrug off some battering on its travels.
Lenovo provides a choice of input methods. There's a small red
trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard, a touchpad at the bottom,
and left- and right-click keys below the spacebar.
This 14in-screen laptop is crammed into a small chassis, but typing
is relatively comfortable - watch you don't knock the trackpoint if you
don't want the cursor scooting off at inconvenient moments.
At this size, and at just 2kg, the Lenovo seems primed for
portability. Yet its 48.8Wh non-removable battery lasted just
163 minutes in our tests, and had the shortest lifespan of the group.
Other benchmarks yielded better results. The Lenovo ThinkPad's
2.3GHz Intel Core İ5-2410M processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM
powered it to a 119-point tally in WorldBench 6. And its ATI Radeon
HD 6630 graphics card with 2GB of video RAM was capable of
60fps in Fear ('Maximum' detail settings).
The 320GB hard drive is frustratingly small, but in line with
Apple's MacBook Pro (paqe 56). It is at least a fast model, rated
at 7,200rpm. A USB 3.0 port enables you to attach a compatible
external hard drive for high-speed data transfers and backups. You
also get a single USB 2.0 port, eSATA, VGA and HDMI connections.
The 14in (1366x768-pixel) screen has a glossy finish, which isn't
ideal for a work-focused portable, with poor viewing angles and
distracting reflections. There is a fingerprint reader for easier
login security - useful for a business user on the move.
You also get wireless 802.11b/g/n, gigabit ethernet and Bluetooth
connectivity, a DVD drive, a webcam and a card reader.
VERDICT: The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s is a good performer in
Windows and games, and its robust construction should withstand
the odd knock. But a high price, poor battery life, glossy screen and
smaller amount of storage space count against this laptop.
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