Lenovo unveils new ThinkPad range at CES 2011

Laptops aimed squarely at business users

Lenovo has kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas with three portable, high-performance business-grade laptops targeting enterprise users.

Leading the way is the ThinkPad X120e, an upgrade to the popular and five-star rated ThinkPad X100e.

Key features include a 11.6in HD LED display with anti-glare technology, a full sized spill resistant keyboard, plus Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth and mobile broadband connectivity. Customers can expect a claimed 6.6 hours of portable use with the six-cell battery.

The ThinkPad X120e will be one of the first devices to feature an AMD Fusion E-Series Accelerated Processing Unit, according to Lenovo, providing 65 per cent faster graphics performance, and speeding up frequently used features such as web searches, page loads and business applications.

Lenovo will also include an HDMI port, allowing the device to be connected to a projector or large TV screen.

"Multimedia elements like audio and video have become important parts of our world, and businesses are embracing this trend in digital content," said Dilip Bhatia, vice president for ThinkPad marketing and product operations at Lenovo.

"We've optimised the ThinkPad X120e to give businesses an excellent experience creating and consuming multimedia content, and made key improvements to an area that has plagued laptops: battery life."

The ThinkPad X120e laptop will be available from February through Lenovo business partners and Lenovo.com starting at under $400 (£255).

Small to medium sized companies, meanwhile, can choose between the ThinkPad Edge E220s and E420s laptops.

The ThinkPad E220s has a 12.5in display and measures less than 1in thick, while the slightly larger ThinkPad E420s features a 14in screen and incorporates a slot-loading DVD player/burner.

Both models come with a choice of Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors and are equipped with the Lenovo Enhanced Experience 2.0 for Windows 7. This speeds up boot time by 30 per cent using Rapid Drive technology, the manufacturer said.

Additional features include high-definition webcams, noise-cancelling keyboard software, high-performance microphones and speakers and an HDMI port to show presentations or watch video on a PC monitor or flat-screen TV.

The devices will also offer Wi-Fi, optional mobile broadband and 4G/WiMAX connectivity.

The ThinkPad Edge E220s and E420s are expected to be available from April via Lenovo.com and selected outlets. Prices will start at $899 and $749 (£575 and £479) respectively.