List of Intel Ivy Bridge Laptops to be Released April 23rd

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Serious?

Besides the placement of the keyboard....not much difference

Perhaps if you don't pay attention to detail. Here, I'll bold them out:

Perhaps you didn't close in on the photos. Some really bad design decisions on the model, and it just makes it look plain uglier.

For example, look at the wasted space on the E430 just above the keyboard--all that for a simple power button.

Look at the bad positioning of the fingerprint reader: it's in a place where your hands are very likely to be when you're using the laptop. I don't know why they didn't keep it in the same place as its predecessor:

The TouchPad: for some reason, on the new one there's no buttons, and it's much smaller.

Then there's the display area: not only are the new display hinges smaller and weaker, but they don't allow you to open the display as much as you could before.

IMO, the new one looks less professional and uglier at the same time because of the things mentioned.

Perhaps you should be buying a T series then. E is budget system even if it is a ThinkPad.

Why would I do that when I own an E420 and like it a lot? I'm whining about Lenovo ruining the E-series. Perhaps to attract more people into buying the T-series?

Really, with the E-x20 series "all" you lost in comparison to the T-x20 series was one hour of battery life (5 hours vs. 6 hours), the internal rollcage (which admittedly is very important in construction-type environments but other than that not very important), the rarely-used system keys, the slice battery option, and the option for a 1600x900 display. You also lost the hot-swappable HDD. For a lot of business consumers, though, that's not that big of a deal so it would've made sense for some to pay $300-400 less for a system with the same specs. Maybe this is Lenovo's way of gimping the E-series ThinkPad so as to push people more into the T-series.

 

[Broheim]

Why would I do that when I own an E420 and like it a lot? I'm whining about Lenovo ruining the E-series. Perhaps to attract more people into buying the T-series?

nope, they're ruining that too.

they're switching completely to a 6-row chiclet keyboard on all their models... it's an effing disgrace.

 

[rabbitz]

Really, with the E-x20 series "all" you lost in comparison to the T-x20 series was one hour of battery life (5 hours vs. 6 hours), the internal rollcage (which admittedly is very important in construction-type environments but other than that not very important), the rarely-used system keys, the slice battery option, and the option for a 1600x900 display. You also lost the hot-swappable HDD. For a lot of business consumers, though, that's not that big of a deal so it would've made sense for some to pay $300-400 less for a system with the same specs. Maybe this is Lenovo's way of gimping the E-series ThinkPad so as to push people more into the T-series.

Does the e-series have a lid that is 'locked' shut (can't think of a better word). I remember that even my acer from 6 years ago had little tabs that held the lid together until opened by the sliding mechanism... why don't laptops have that any more? Now they flop around when you carry them and feel really flimsy... I switched from my xps 15 to a t520 just purely for this 'feature'.... with my xps it always felt like the smallest mishandling would scratch it up and the lid would always be slightly open.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

nope, they're ruining that too.

they're switching completely to a 6-row chiclet keyboard on all their models... it's an effing disgrace.

That's the one my E420 uses. It's a very, very good keyboard and looks a lot more modern, so I can't see that alone being a very big drawback except for the loss of the rarely-used system keys. From my review:

[FONT=&quot]Earlier I mentioned the E420 having an island-style keyboard, and for some that may have already spelled doom. This is very different from typical island-style keyboards, however, in that the keys have excellent travel, are well spaced, and are slightly curved, making touch typing a breeze. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Compared to traditional ThinkPads it has a very similar feel and it’s one of the best reasons to get this laptop. When you’re typing normally the keyboard tray has no noticeable flex, but if you press it hard enough there is a small amount of it. My only gripe with it would be that the arrow keys are small.

[/FONT]A noteworthy change is that the Function keys are now set by default for making system changes like lowering/raising screen brightness and volume, turning Wi-Fi on or off, and playing/pausing your music. You can still use them as function keys by pressing “Fn”.

Does the e-series have a lid that is 'locked' shut (can't think of a better word). I remember that even my acer from 6 years ago had little tabs that held the lid together until opened by the sliding mechanism... why don't laptops have that any more? Now they flop around when you carry them and feel really flimsy... I switched from my xps 15 to a t520 just purely for this 'feature'.... with my xps it always felt like the smallest mishandling would scratch it up and the lid would always be slightly open.

All current ThinkPads use stainless steel/metal hinges, including the E-series. How stiff they are depends on the model, but the ones on the E420 and E520 are quite stiff (which I like). It takes a fair amount of effort to move the screen, and because of that there's no wobble. I've had my E420 for three months and the hinges and their stiffness is exactly the same as when it arrived.

Now, here's the problem: the new E-series use smaller and weaker hinges, not to mention they have a different positioning. The only thing that's immediately noticeable is that they don't allow you to open the display as much as you could before (180 degrees), they look uglier, and they waste more space. We'll have to wait for when the reviews come out to see how much the new, weaker hinges affect the new models.

The new X130e seems like a slam dunk except for the weight and the fact it looks somewhat childish, though.