Once we first spotted leaked photos of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X130e , we just form of assumed it was the following-gen successor to the X120e , which we reviewed almost a year ago. Well, you realize what happens if you A-S-S-U-M-E, right? Seems, there’s indeed an X130e, but it’s intended specifically for classrooms. The corporate just made its official announcement, and explained that that rugged design we’ve been hearing about isn’t meant to give protection to it from careless baggage handlers on the airport quite a bit as freewheeling six year-olds. Though Lenovo’s already had a hand in Intel’s Classmate project, that’s the primary time it’s released a classroom-ready laptop under the ThinkPad brand, red pointing stick and all.
Of all of the kid-proof touches, the more obvious ones include a rubber bumper ringing the plastic chassis, together with a thicker bezel shielded by 1.2mm of plastic. It also has recessed, reinforced ports, an accelerometer to guard the harddisk and a hinge rated for 30,000 cycles. In fact, the results of all this ruggedizing is that the X130e within reason heavy for an 11-incher, at 3.9 pounds (1.78kg). Otherwise, though, its specs are quite often what you’d expect in an 11.6-inch laptop. For starters, it’s offered with an Intel Core i3-2367M processor, in addition to AMD Fusion E-300 and E-450 APUs. It comes with 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), as much as 500GB in storage, Bluetooth 3.0 and a 6-cell battery rated for 8.5 hours of battery life. Lenovo’s also added its RapidBoot technology, promising a sub-20-second startup time. It also has three USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, a combined headphone / mic port and a 4-in-1 memory card reader. And, because Lenovo is selling these to colleges and never individuals, it’ll customize the laptops by tweaking the BIOS and tricking out the lid in assorted colors. It’ll go on sale December 20th starting at $469, and meanwhile, we have some press photos below — in fact, simply because you personally can’t buy one, does not imply you cannot look, right?
New Lenovo ThinkPad Laptop Ruggedized For college kids and Schools
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – December 6, 2011: Lenovo announced today the ThinkPad X130e laptop, specially ruggedized for education and with the features had to help students in grades K-12 and their schools get probably the most out in their PC technology. Equipped with the advanced technology expected for an academic laptop, the ThinkPad X130e comes with choices of the most recent Intel or AMD processors and fast, integrated graphics in addition to wireless connectivity and multimedia tools for today’s digital learning. Designed to be handled by kids, the ThinkPad X130e has a reinforced and further durable top cover, keyboard and hinges. Schools will even like its performance, reliability and customizable options including asset tags, BIOS modifications, custom imaging and a broad number of custom colors.“At Lenovo ThinkTank 2011 we brought hundreds of distinguished educators together, and the resounding feature CIOs told us that ranks highest on their list of features important for PC purchases is ‘ruggedness’,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice chairman, ThinkPad Business Unit, Lenovo. “While we’ve built tough products for years that pass many military-grade tests, we’ve made specific improvements required for a laptop to achieve success in an education environment with the ThinkPad X130e.”
Laptops with Serious Substance
The ThinkPad X130e laptop helps students get more out in their day. This 11.6-inch lightweight ultraportable has the processing performance students need for assignments requiring multitasking with choices of AMD Fusion E-300 and E-450 or Intel second generation Core i3-2367M ULV processors. For multimedia-intensive lessons, the laptop kicks in its AMD Radeon or Intel HD-powered graphics to offer students a rich visual experience.“Having a purpose-built device designed to enhance learning for college kids is a critical foundation for education transformation,” said Paige Johnson, education strategist, Intel. “Lenovo’s ThinkPad X130e laptop powered by Intel Core i3 processors provides the potential and functions that scholars need for a 21st Century education.”
At under four pounds, students can easily carry the laptop between classes without the necessity to recharge because the battery lasts the entire school day, or even long enough to begin homework after school – as much as 8.5 hours. In the course of the process a customary school day, studentsâ laptops are usually subject to extreme wear and tear. To assist school-proof them, the X130e has several heavy-duty features including:
- A top cover rubber bumper to take in impacts to the side of the laptop
- 33 percent stronger corner to lessen the likelihood of wear when brought to an angle
- Stronger hinges to outlast even probably the most frequent PC user at as much as 30,000 cycles
- Reinforced and recessed ports to diminish the consequences of student “wear and tear”
- Stronger Bezel with 1.2mm thick plastic to give protection to the LED panelThe ThinkPad X130e laptop has the tools students need most for today’s digital learning environment. They are able to use the low-light webcam to speak with students in other schools internationally or simply across town. They may be able to also easily connect via WiFi or even keep their connection while moving from class to class using Lenovo’s Instant Resume function. With HDMI and VGA out, students can present their reports to the category with a projector or bigscreen TV.
Making Students & Schools More Efficient
Learning can’t wait, so Lenovo developed fast-booting PCs, just like the X130e laptop that starts in below 20 seconds using Lenovo’s RapidBoot technology. Built-in self-help tools like Rescue and Recovery and Access Connections help decrease calls to university IT support, allowing students to recover damaged files and to store and fasten easily to different WiFi networks.Additionally, Lenovo offers a broad range of optional services for the ThinkPad X130e laptop, starting with custom colors. Lenovo’s image services help keep IT teams considering enhancing learning, not chasing device drivers and tediously loading images onto each PC manually. Asset tagging services help keep track of PCs left at the school bus or classroom, and Accidental Damage Protection services may help keep a check on repair budgets. And if the computer ought to be fixed, Lenovo’s Hard disk Retention service protects studentsâ digital information.
Pricing and Availability
The ThinkPad X130e laptop should be available starting Dec. 20 from business partners and on www.lenovo.com. Pricing for models starts at $469.
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