Lenovo has spent the day showing off upcoming consumer products, but for those still waiting for existing models to filter through to the European marketplace, we've good news.
Starting today, Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge 15 - the largest of the ThinkPad Edge line - has been made available to UK buyers with prices starting from as little as £474.
Stepping away from classic ThinkPad design, the Edge series - also available in 13in and 14in flavours - carries a contemporary look whilst retaining the build quality expected of any ThinkPad system.
The traditional all-black styling has been cast aside in order to allow for a silver trim, and the Edge is configurable with either a matte black, glossy black or glossy red lid. This, clearly, ain't the ThinkPad your dad used to use and it could be seen as a hip alternative to Apple's Macbook.
Inside, Lenovo will give you a choice of Intel Celeron, Core i3 or Core i5 processors, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and a choice of either integrated Intel HD graphics or an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5145 discrete option.
There's a DVD writer as standard, up to 500GB of hard-disk storage, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a seven-in-one card reader, four USB ports, eSATA, VGA and HDMI out, a low-light sensitive two megapixel webcam, and the 15.6in antiglare LED-backlit display provides a standard 1,366x768 resolution.
The most controversial feature, however, is likely to be the new "contemporary-style" ThinkPad keyboard, which features a chiclet-like design and six rows as opposed to the traditional ThinkPad's seven. It's still spill resistant, but whether or not it lives up to the expectations of the ThinkPad faithful remains a question mark.
Want to know what we think? Stay tuned as we're putting the ThinkPad Edge 15 through its paces and will be publishing an in-depth review in the very near future.
