Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s

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Since its 2010 debut, Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge series has provided small businesses with an affordable option that combines legendary ThinkPad quality with updated looks. With the introduction of the 12.5-inch ThinkPad Edge E220s ($869 as configured), Lenovo has turned the style volume up to 11 with a sexy, soft-plastic body and chrome accents. But does this luscious laptop perform as well as it looks?

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s with batteries like IBM ThinkPad X61 battery, IBM ThinkPad T61 battery, IBM ThinkPad X41 battery, IBM ThinkPad X40 battery, IBM ThinkPad X20 battery, IBM ThinkPad R60 Battery, IBM ThinkPad T60 Battery, IBM 40Y6797 Battery, IBM 40Y6799 Battery, IBM FRU 92P1139 Battery, IBM FRU 92P1121 Battery is the new-look Jaguar of small business notebooks, offering a sporty reinterpretation of a classic aesthetic. While the Edge E220s's dark color, ThinkPad logo, and red trackpoint all whisper "ThinkPad," its rubberized chassis and chrome bumpers scream "jet set." We particularly like the Edge E220's color, which appears black in dark light, but is actually a very dark pool-table green when viewed in bright light. A red light sits above the letter "I" in "ThinkPad" and blinks when the system is in sleep mode, while the clean, smooth bottom makes the Edge E220s look almost as attractive when it's upside-down. The edge-to-edge "infinity glass" that covers the screen adds another high-end design element to the mix. The Edge E220's only design downside is that its surfaces pick up fingerprints far too easily.

At a mere 12.3 x 8.4 x 0.85 inches and 3.2 pounds, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s is one of the thinnest and lightest business laptops on the market, even thinner than the ThinkPad X220 (1.25 inches thick) and just a little thicker than the Toshiba Portege R835 and the Lenovo IdeaPad U260 (both 0.7 inches thick).

With its 1.4-GHz Core i5-2537M CPU, 4GB of RAM, and Intel HD graphics, the ThinkPad Edge E220s offers solid performance that's good enough for any business application or for playing full HD movies. On PCMark Vantage, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall system speed, the ThinkPad E220s scored a strong 5,886, well above the ultraportable category average of 4,185 and the 1.3-GHz Core i5-powered Dell Vostro V130 (4,246). However, the 2.3-GHz Core i5-powered Toshiba Portege R835 (6,115) and the Core i7-powered ThinkPad X220 (7,719) fared better.

The E220s' 320GB 7,200-rpm hard drive booted into Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) in a reasonable 62 seconds, on a par with the 61-second category average. The drive took a reasonable 2 minutes and 49 seconds to complete the LAPTOP File Transfer Test, which involves transferring 4.97 GB of files. That's a rate of 30.1 MBps, roughly equivalent to the 32.6 MBps category average.

The ThinkPad Edge E220s is more than powerful enough to transcode video quickly. It took just 1 minute and 1 second to convert a 114MB MP4 file to AVI, using Oxelon Media Encoder; that's 49 seconds faster than the category average and much faster than the Dell Vostro V130's 1:26 time, but still a shade slower than the Portege R835. When we used Cyberlink Media Espresso to transcode an HD video, the Edge E220s took just 41 seconds, more than 2 minutes quicker than the 2:47 category average, but a little slower than the 28 seconds offered by the Portege R835.

With its built-in, sealed battery, the ThinkPad Edge E220s lasted a mediocre 4 hours and 55 minutes on the LAPTOP battery test, an hour less than the 6:01 ultraportable category average. That time was still better than the Dell Vostro V130's lame 2:45 of endurance, but it pales in comparison to the Toshiba Portege R835's 6:22 and the ThinkPad X220's epic battery life, which ranges from 7:51 with a six-cell battery to more than 20 hours with a nine-cell battery and optional slice. For some users, nearly 5 hours of endurance may be enough, but there are better options.

The ThinkPad Edge E220's Intel WiFi Link 1000 802.11n radio provided modest transfer rates of 24.4 and 16.6 Mbps at distances of 15 and 50 feet from our router. That's a bit below the category averages of 33.5 / 19.8 Mbps, but faster than the 20.6 / 8.6 Mbps offered by the Toshiba Portege R835 and about on par with the Dell Vostro V130's 25.6 / 15.7 Mbps rates.

The ThinkPad Edge E220s is the best-looking and most comfortable small business notebook on the market. Its gorgeous soft-plastic and chrome design makes a bold statement in the boardroom or the coffee shop and its keyboard provides the best typing experience in the business. Plus, its slight frame fits comfortably in even the smallest bag. Our only issue is the E220's below-average battery life, though the approximate 5 hours of runtime will be long enough for many users. If you need more endurance, consider the $855 Toshiba Portege R835, which lasts an hour and a half longer on a charge. However, if you want the ultimate in small business style and comfort, the ThinkPad Edge E220s should be at the top of your list.