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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13" Notebook Review

Discussion in 'Articles and Reviews Comments' started by Julio Franco, Mar 15, 2010.

  1. thebluemeaner Newcomer, in training

    I hate how these computers ussually are weak in the graphics dpt, I hope in the future we can have truly portable gaming computers...
  2. I won´t try to convince anyone, less the dye-hard Thinkpad loyals, God help me not to try such a move ever. I will tell you my own personal experience and thoughts. I bought my first Thinkpad by 2005, a T42, what an extraordinary feeling when I unpacked this slim machine, compact and robust as if it were a solid metal brick, almost perfect for my needs except for the screen brightness... the worst I ever have had. Then it came the T60 and a R50, good overall performance however their footprint and weight were a pain in the *** when I had to travel with in my backpack . So since last year I was looking for a replacement, and the ultraslim, low powered, low priced machines appeared in the market. My thoughts now were to look for a light notebook, medium performance, long lasting battery and nice screen that I could change for e new model within a year of use. First I had the Acer Timeline 1410, then the HP-DM3 and now at last this jewel! The Thinkpad Edge... back to the old faithful Thinkpad home... and you know what guys? I missed the Lenovo´s applications and support, the trackpoint and the keyboard... none of the afore mentioned brands nor other like Toshiba, Asus, Sony or Dell had what I missed from Lenovo. And this Edge 13 offers them all... Yes it has some minor flaws to correct in next editions (To include DVD RW, better case borders design, a disk activity LED and some help and machine cofiguration utility) Nevertheless this is a real Thinkpad and I think will keep with me more than a year!!!
  3. Unfortunately they removed the BIOS option to disable the touchpad! I can't understand why, as you hardly can prevent touching the pad when using teh trackpoint...
  4. DennisK Newcomer, in training

    FAMILY[THINKPAD EDGE 13] TYPE[0196] MODEL[ 24U]
    OPERATING-SYSTEM[ WIN 7 ]

    I got an edge and got an error message that the battery was not a Lenovo battery.

    Then I was notified (I believe through the built in Lenovo SW) to upgrade my bios to correct thsi problem. I did.When I did, no password was requested and noen entered for bios upgrade.

    The machine ran well, except an external ASUS DVD Drive would no longer work. About 3 weeks later, I turned off the machine. Next time I turned it on I got a lock with a small computer next to it.

    Tech support told me first that I needed a BIOS password - then that I needed a Power-Up Password. And that to repair it wold cost $950 - more than a the machine.

    I have read that bios problems can be caused by static electricity - getting 2 answers from tech support makes me doubtful. Anyone know what the symbols actually represent? Have there been similar problems? I cannot find a manual for the Edge to read up on this.
  5. So I was on the computer store, to get a new laptop for myself, after a horrible experience with a high-end Dell laptop. Keeping in mind that I would depend on my laptop almost 24-7, for all kinds of use like heavy programming IDEs, heavy multi-tasking, multimedia, well pretty much anything except for heavy 3D rendering. For video games I have my playstation so.... don't expect that from a laptop.

    I have to say, I am an IT guy who reviews tech specs up and down before purchasing. And this machine was strange contradiction of light-processing and portability. Just going with a hunch, I decided for this Lenovo Edge. I got the AMD Neo X2 one.

    Only a year after that I realize what an excellent choice that was.
    Let me summarize:

    CONS:
    -They decided to take away the LED indicator for caps-lock. Instead, a driver-activated sign shows up on the screen. I would like my LED indicator back.. but I'm guess I'm just getting old.
    -It doesn't come with a LED for hard drive activity. I want that one back.
    -No optical drive was a bad thing at the beginning until I realized I just don't need a DVD drive! So that's actually a PRO for me.

    PROS:
    -The weight is so light that sometimes I forget I'm carrying a laptop on my backpack.
    -Excellent trade-off between processing power, portability, and usability.
    -The keyboard distribution might seem odd at first. After getting used to it I realize the designers were just *brilliant*. The page-up/page-down keys next to the arrows, cutting off some fat like sysReq and the likes, and the keyboard feel... I love what they've done.
    -The processor is not high end, but it is dual core and trust me: it is very good. I can run two or three virtual machines with VMware while I have my other programs running with no problem!!
    -I am an IT consultant so I don't play games on this laptop. However I tried a few games and they worked just fine for me (maybe because I don't care about 3D games).
    -It doesn't come with a DVD drive, but honestly I don't need one and I haven't seen many people intensively using optical drives on laptops for maybe 2 years now.
    -It comes with track-point as well, which comes very handy in many situations. At least for me, it relieves my wrist from the stress of using touch pad.
    -Most laptops are a pain in the *** when it's time to change/upgrade parts like hard drive, RAM, processor, or if you just want to do a clean up the dust. This laptop comes with one big lid on the bottom: remove a few screws and you'll have all critical parts right there. To me, it is an example to follow by other makers.


    No, of course you can not run games with extreme 3D graphics, if that's your expectation on this machine (particularly on a laptop) then you are missing the point, and better go for a 2000$ computer (and I should say, a desktop). I've had a Dell laptop able to do that, it came with optical drive, had a dozen ports, and I returned it because that laptop was a freaking monster, too big, too heavy, and too expensive. I decided to cut off some fat and this ThinkPad Edge was a happy choice for me.