Lenovo ThinkPad X100e review

Eschewing fashion and fads for straightforward practicality, it’s little surprise to find legions of ThinkPads barracked in businesses across the world. After all, the Lenovo brand is almost a byword for durability, but one thing they’ve never been is cheap. The ThinkPad SL500 skirted around the £450 exc VAT mark, but as a chunky 15.4in laptop, it’s out of the question for those on the move. The X100e, on the other hand, may just be the Holy Grail: a ThinkPad ultraportable for just £344.

If you’re familiar with the ThinkPad styling – acres of black highlighted by a flash of red or a tease of yellow – then just imagine it shrunk in the wash and you’ll have the tiny X100e. Lenovo’s previous X-series ultraportables were approaching waiflike proportions, but the X100e takes the ThinkPad into new territory. At just 30mm thick, and weighing 1.47kg with a six-cell battery poking out of its rear, the X100e is by far the cutest ThinkPad to have graced the PC Pro Labs.

But while the design will be enough to send many weak at the knees, Lenovo hasn’t forgotten the more serious side of things. Build quality is impressive considering the price, if not quite up there with the robustness of the premium ThinkPads. The base feels solid and sturdy, and it wasn’t until we really started to press hard on the lid that there was any sign of the display casing fouling the TFT inside.

The 11.6in panel boasts a sensible 1,366 x 768 resolution – a good balance between desktop space and legibility – and while the matte finish keeps reflections to a minimum, the LED-backlighting makes for bright, punchy images. As you’d expect at the price, it doesn’t deliver the last word in image quality, but other than weak contrast and slightly greyish blacks, we were pleased with the vibrant colours and impressively neutral skintones.

Beneath the 11.6in display sits a Scrabble-tile keyboard, with only the glaring red of the trackpoint and a stripe along its accompanying buttons to break the mood. Unlike the 12.1in ThinkPad X200, though, there’s also a trackpad, which is remarkable given the limited space on offer. By positioning the trackpad’s buttons right along the laptop’s edge, Lenovo has made the most of every millimetre, and the ergonomics haven’t suffered: the keyboard feels spacious and comfortable, and the trackpoint and trackpad combination is excellent as ever.