Lenovo today announced its ThinkPad X130e laptop, built specifically to last in the K-12 education environment where laptops are often subjected to wear and tear.
Lenovo is positioning its ThinkPad X130e to replace the netbooks that have become ubiquitous in most classrooms. While the netbooks are portable, they often fall short on functionality and multimedia capabilities needed for the new wave of digital learning. More schools are therefore finding the need to revert back to the more powerful and flexible laptop to obtain the required multimedia features. The Lenovo ThinkPad X130e laptop, with its multimedia-rich capabilities, is designed exclusively for the education market: it is rugged enough to survive the punishing use of kids and, at under four pounds, it is also light and ultraportable.
Photographers will probably find the ThinkPad X130e also useful as a light, portable and tough laptop in the field.
PRESS RELEASE
New Lenovo ThinkPad Laptop Ruggedized For Students and Schools
Toronto, Ontario – December 6, 2011 – Lenovo today announced the ThinkPad X130e laptop, specifically ruggedized for education and with the features needed to help students in grades K-12 and their schools get the most out of their PC technology. Equipped with the advanced technology expected for an educational laptop, the ThinkPad X130e comes with choices of the latest Intel or AMD processors and fast, integrated graphics as well as wireless connectivity and multimedia tools for today’s digital learning. Designed to be handled by kids, the ThinkPad X130e has a reinforced and extra durable top cover, keyboard and hinges.
Schools will also like its performance, reliability and customizable options including asset tags, BIOS modifications and custom imaging [1].
“At Lenovo ThinkTank 2011 we brought hundreds of distinguished educators together, and the resounding attribute that decision makers told us ranks highest on their list of features important for PC purchases is ruggedness,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president, ThinkPad Business Unit, Lenovo. “While we’ve built tough products for years that pass many military-grade tests, we’ve made specific improvements required for a laptop to be successful in an education environment with the ThinkPad X130e.”
Laptops with Serious Substance
The ThinkPad X130e laptop helps students get more out of their day.
This 11.6-inch lightweight ultraportable has the processing performance students need for assignments requiring multitasking with choices of AMD Fusion E-300 and E-450 or Intel second generation Core i3-2367M ULV processors. For multimedia-intensive lessons, the laptop kicks in its AMD Radeon or Intel HD-powered graphics to give students a rich visual experience.
“Having a purpose-built device designed to improve learning for students is a critical foundation for education transformation,” said Paige Johnson, education strategist, Intel. “Lenovo’s ThinkPad X130e laptop powered by Intel Core i3 processors provides the capability and functions that students need for a 21st Century education.”
At under four pounds [2], students can easily carry the laptop between classes without the need to recharge since the battery lasts the whole school day, and even long enough to start homework after school – up to
8.5 hours [3]. Throughout the course of a t ypical school day, students’
laptops are often subject to extreme wear and tear. To help school-proof them, the X130e has several heavy-duty features including the
following:
- A top cover rubber bumper to absorb impacts to the side of the laptop
- 33 per cent stronger corner to reduce the chance of damage when dropped at an angle
- Stronger hinges to outlast even the most frequent PC user at up to 30,000 cycles
- Reinforced and recessed ports to decrease the effects of student “wear and tear”
- Stronger Bezel with 1.2mm thick plastic to protect the LED panel
The ThinkPad X130e laptop has the tools students need most for today’s digital learning environment. They can use the low-light webcam to communicate with other students across the world or just across town.
They can also easily connect via WiFi and keep their connection while moving from class to class using Lenovo’s Instant Resume function. With HDMI and VGA out, students can present their reports to the class with a projector or bigscreen TV.
Making Students & Schools More Efficient Learning can’t wait, so Lenovo developed fast-booting PCs, like the X130e laptop that starts in less than 20 seconds using Lenovo’s RapidBoot technology [4]. Built-in self-help tools like Rescue and Recovery and Access Connections help decrease calls to school IT support, allowing students to recover damaged files and to store and connect easily to different WiFi networks.
Additionally, Lenovo offers a broad range of optional services for the ThinkPad X130e laptop. Lenovo’s image services help keep IT teams focused on enhancing learning, not chasing device drivers and tediously loading images onto each PC manually. Asset tagging services help keep track of PCs left on the school bus or in the classroom, and Accidental Damage Protection services can help keep a check on repair budgets. And if the PC needs to be fixed, Lenovo’s Hard Drive Retention service protects students’ digital information.
Pricing and Availability [5]
The ThinkPad X130e laptop will be available starting December 20, 2011 from business partners and on www.lenovo.com. Pricing for models starts at CAD $469.
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About Lenovo
Lenovo [HKSE: 992] [ADR: LNVGY] is a $US21 billion personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries, and the world’s second-largest PC vendor. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centres in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
1. Minimum order quantities and lead times vary based on customer customization requirements.
2. 3.93 lbs [1.78kg] with 6-cell battery
3. With 6-cell battery
4. Available with 128GB SSD option only
5. Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and are tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
