With a choice between black or red the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e looks like a business-class 13-inch notebook shrunk into an 11. six inch netbook. The hair styling is decidedly Lenovo, with straight lines and a solid chassis offering a netbook that does not look too chunky or too skinny. Just right, the netbook is solid and durable but lightweight enough at 3. 3 pounds. Opening the lid reveals the best keyboard on a netbook we've seen to date.

Featuring full-size computer keyboard the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e's keys are flat with a slightly curved concave surface. While these are chiclet style, they are also spaced flawlessly so that inspite of the small amount of space on the netbook computer, typing on this key pad never feels cramped. Rather the keyboard is the most comfortable we've tried and beats out some notebooks and laptops. The touch-pad is relatively small but offers multi-touch options and controls while a track-point control sits in the middle of the keys.

Taking a different step from other Intel Atom powered netbook computers, the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e uses an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor with ATI Mobility Radeon HIGH-DEFINITION 3200 integrated graphics. Matching these are 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 320GB hard disk drive and a Windows 7 sinarmulia.com Professional operating-system. The 11. 6-inch matte screen offers a resolution of 1366 times 768 pixels for smooth 720p Hd-video while the wireless-n wifi ensures great connectivity. Ports and cable connections include an Ethernet LAN port, a VGA interface, three USB 2. zero ports, an SD cards reader and a combination sound jack.

Performance for the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is much better than standard Intel Atom N450 netbooks allowing for more multitasking and faster responsiveness. The integrated graphics are also somewhat better, offering much smoother 720p HIGH-DEFINITION video and access to some light gaming. On the other hand, the cost to battery-life is quite high as the netbook only endures for about four hours or so on a single charge.

All in all, the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e offers almost everything a netbook user could want including the ultimate netbook keyboard, a larger matte screen, better components and smooth 720p HIGH-DEFINITION video which should make it more than worth the substandard battery life. In combination, this better performance and comfort makes the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e suitable for the business-class user on the go or as the perfect netbook for the upscale user buying as pleasing netbook.