Introduction
The 14”inch Lenovo laptop Thinkpad Edge e420s is designed to provide for users all functions and features they might want from a truly modern notebook. We will review the laptop ThinkPad Lenovo Edge e420s so you know what to expect from this notebook, which are its strengths and which are its less appreciated points.
But first let's take a look at the list of technical specifications:
14 inch screen, 1366 x 768 pixels, glossy anti-glare
Core i5-2410M at 2.3 GHz
Hybrid Graphics: Intel HD graphics and AMD Radeon HD 6630 2 GB dedicated VRAM
4 GB DDR3-1333 MHz RAM
320 GB 7200 rpm HDD
DVD-RW optical drive
Ericsson WWAN modem built F5521gw
2xUSB 2.0 + eSATA combo 1xUSB, HDMI, VGA, card reader, Web cam
Wireless N, Bluetooth, Gigabit LAN
Li-Ion battery 4
Windows 7 Professional
measuring 349 x 236 x 23.1/31.2 mm
weighs 1.88 kg
History
The housing model inherits the classical characteristic of older laptop ThinkPads, decorated with chrome margins like the Edge series. The whole body is covered with plastic, but a rubberized plastic, very gentle and probably long-lasting. The laptop thinkpad chassis, located under the plastic case is made of metal alloys to give it extra rigidity. E420s is not necessarily a portable laptop thinkpad. This label is given in general to models with 13.3 inch display or smaller. But this notebook weighs just 1.88 kg, with battery included, so it is one of the lightest in its class. On its cover we find the Lenovo ThinkPad logos. Lifting the lid, we see the same logos and the palm rest next to the the fingerprint reader. The palm rest is made of the same plastic used for the outside body, while around the keyboard we find a shiny black plastic. The keyboard is ergonomic and comfortable. The keys are slightly rounded at the bottom, well spaced and with a near perfect press rate that should satisfy even the most demanding users.
Features
It should be also added two keyboard issues. First of all, the keys are not illuminated, but acting “FN + Space” will start a small lamp placed above the screen and the keyboard will be lightened. But we consider it an unnecessary lamp, because when you use your laptop thinkpad on the desk, the light produced by the screen is sufficient to distinguish the keys smoothly, and when you want to use it in bed, if you want the screen folded back, the lamp will not light the keys, it will be pointed right in the eye. Therefore, a solution with illuminated keys inside is much more practical.
In addition, the keyboard is protected from liquids, in other words, if you spill something on your laptop thinkpad, the fluid will flow through the holes specially designed and will not affect the integrity of the notebook. The track pad is a large-sized touchpad with integrated click buttons and a Track Point with dedicated buttons above it.
Tips and comments
ThinkPad’s e420s 14-inch screen offers a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The brightness and the colors are above average, and the angles of vision do not disappoint either. A screen resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels at least would have been a plus. The screen is quite bright. Lenovo praise their anti-glare layer that covers the display, but in fact it never makes its presence felt. Of course, the screen is not as shiny as some other laptops but when used outdoors or in bright light it is not at all pleasant. E420S will successfully run all applications and tasks, from ordinary browsing to editing video, photos or other software that are hungry for resources. The notebook is running Windows 7 Professional and Lenovo offers a quick start, which should provide a boot-up of 20-30% faster compared to other laptops. In practice we cannot say if there really is a notable difference.
