Lenovo ThinkPad E420s Review

Lenovo ThinkPad E420s

Review Summary:

The ThinkPad E420s represents a good value at its $799 price point. Just be aware it has limited screen options and a non-removable battery.

Pros

• Solid build quality
• Excellent keyboard
• Great battery life (6+ hours)
• Good design

Cons

• Non-removable battery
• Low-resolution display
• No status lights

Lenovo ThinkPad E420s Full Review

 

The ThinkPad E420s is a consumer-oriented ThinkPad with a 1-inch thin chassis, a weight of just 4 pounds, and more than 6 hours of battery life. If that isn't enough to spark your interest, it has a starting price around $700. Read our full review for all the details.

Our Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s review unit has the following specs:

• 14-inch "edge to edge" glossy display (1366x768 resolution)
• Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
• Intel Core i5-2410M dual-core processor (2.3~2.9GHz Turbo Boost, 3MB cache, 35W TDP)
• Intel HM65 chipset
• Integrated Intel HD graphics
• 4GB DDR3-1333 RAM (1x 4GB, supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)
• 320GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drive (ST320LT000, 7mm height)
• Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN wireless network adapter
• No internal Bluetooth
• Integrated 720p webcam
• Slot-load DVD burner (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GS30N)
• Integrated biometric fingerprint reader
• Internal non-removable Li-polymer 48.8Whr battery
• Weight: 4.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 13.7 x 9.3 x 0.9~1.2 inches
• 1-year limited warranty
• MSRP: $799

Starting at $699, our E420s has just two optional extras - the faster Core i5 processor (as opposed to the i3 processor in the base system) and the Professional edition of Windows 7. The E420s comes rather well-equipped for the price though coulduse a longer warranty period; business notebooks typically come with a two- or three-year standard. Of special note in the specifications list is the non-removable battery, 7mm thin Seagate hard drive (most drives are thicker at 9.5mm), light weight and slim dimensions.

Build and Design
The E420s departs from the essential ThinkPad design in a number of ways. For starters, the exterior is simpler and sleeker - there are fewer lines and less buttons. The palm rest and keyboard surround, lid, and bottom of the notebook have a rubber non-slip coating, which feels great and adds a measure of durability. The screen has a large glossy piece of plastic covering it, which Lenovo calls "infinity". It may look good on a display shelf, but in reality it smudges up easily and worse, has even more reflections than a regular glossy display. The edge of the display is surrounded with reflective plastic, which again looks good but is a chore to maintain.

The E420s has a metal alloy support structure inside the chassis, something it has in common with a ThinkPad. The chassis is extremely solid as a result and does not flex even under strong pressure. The lid however could be stronger; it flexes when twisted by the corners; additionally, the fact that minor ripples appear on the screen when pushed in from behind means it could have better support.

Overall the build quality is impressive; aside from some glossy plastic and a lid that could be stronger, there is little to complain about.

Ports and Features
The E420s has an ample array of ports including HDMI v1.4, a USB/eSATA combo port, and a slot-load DVD burner. The inclusion of a DVD burner is notable given the thinness of the chassis; many notebooks are coming without them these days. The E420s lacks USB 3.0, a docking station port, and an ExpressCard slot. Something strange about this notebook is the lack of status lights; at the very least, a hard drive status light should have been included. All picture descriptions are left to right.

Front: Nothing

Back: Cooling exhaust vent, Ethernet, USB/eSATA combo port, VGA

Left: AC power, slot-load DVD burner, 4-in-1 media card reader

Right: Powered USB 2.0, standard USB 2.0, HDMI v1.4, headphone/microphone combo jack, cooling exhaust vent

Keyboard and Touchpad
The E420s has a new "Chiclet" or island-style keyboard with extra spacing between the keys. ThinkPad traditionalists may cry foul; this keyboard however has a fantastic feel. Key travel, the distance between pressed and un-pressed positions, is just right. The keys have a direct feel and a clearly defined stopping point (as opposed to a rubbery/vague bottom). They have a slightly concave surface which enhances the accuracy. The keyboard is as quiet as a normal ThinkPad keyboard. Although the keyboard is not backlit, the E420s has a "Think light" which shines down on the keyboard from above the display. It arguably provides better visibility in the dark compared to a backlit keyboard since the lights are not pointed up towards the face.

Something annoying about the keyboard is the fact that the F keyssuch as F4, F5, are not actually F keys; their primary function is to raise/lower the volume and so on. For those of us that use keyboard shortcuts like [Alt] + [F4] to close a window, it now means we have to press [Fn] + [Alt] + [F4]. Not cool.

The E420s has the Ultra Nav pointing stick in the center of the keyboard with three fantastic buttons below the spacebar. The touchpad is extra-large and has an excellent matte surface. This is actually a "clickpad" - that is, the surface is clickable so simply press down to click. To right-click, press the bottom right of the surface. Lenovo's implementation is well done and works well nearly all of the time. A minor complaint is that it can take varying levels of pressure to click, depending on the area.

Screen and Speakers
The E420s has a 14-inch display with a "glass" surface and a 720p (1366x768) resolution. The display is average all around; average brightness, contrast, and poor vertical viewing angles. The glass surface, which is a large piece of clear plastic stretched over the front of the display and bezel, is extremely reflective - even more so than a regular glossy display.

The 1366x768 resolution is too low for a 14-inch screen; it should have come with 1600x900. With just 768 pixels of vertical space, a lot of scrolling is necessary in web pages; using two windows side by side (especially Excelspreadsheets) is more or less impossible.
The E420s has a speaker bar below the screen that holds two speakers. They surprisingly sound good and have ample volume. There is a subtle hint of bass, which is more than can be said for most notebook speakers.

Audio out options include HDMI and a headphone jack. Note the headphone jack doubles as a microphone jack; therefore when buying a headset, make sure you get one that supports the combo port (i.e. also has a combo microphone/headphone jack as well).

Performance and Benchmarks
The E420s is well-equipped to handle everyday tasks including office productivity. The Core i5 processor is fast enough for even demanding applications such as Adobe Photoshop. 4GB of memory is plenty for multitasking and the Seagate hard drive is reasonably fast. The E420s is not gaming friendly since it only has integrated graphics.

Wprime processor comparison results (lower scores are better):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores are better):

PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (higher scores are better):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance (higher scores are better):

3DMark Vantage measures overall graphics performance (higher scores are better):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Heat and Noise
The E420s is more or less silent for normal productivity tasks. Its single fan exhausts air out the right side of the chassis; it stays off most of the time. At maximum speed the fan develops a slight whine but is bearable. The fan does a good job keeping the notebook cool; the area around the vent on the bottom of the notebook is the only area that gets warm. All exterior temperatures shown below are listed in degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery Life
I measured an excellent six hours, 27 minutes of battery life during our battery rundown test (Windows 7 Balanced power profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every 60 seconds). This is a very good time for a 14-inch notebook.
Note that the E420s' battery is non-removable similar to Apple MacBooks or the Alienware M11x. Lenovo most definitely opted for the internal battery to keep the E420s as thin as possible. Li-polymer batteries like the one in the E420s can be shaped to fit the interior of the notebook unlike the Li-ion batteries most notebooks have.

Battery life test results (higher scores mean better battery life):

Conclusion
The ThinkPad Edge E420s is an impressive 14-inch notebook. It makes a great travel companion thanks to its 6+ hour battery life, ~ 4 lb. weight, and one-inch thin chassis. The build quality is superb overall; the rubber-touch surfaces feel great. The keyboard is fantastic and the clickpad works well (admittedly it has a small learning curve). Even the speakers are decent. A higher resolution display would have been icing on the cake; alas, it is only available with 720p (1366x768).

The E420s is not as business-centric as a traditional ThinkPad but is close. It has a more stylish design, glossy display (which means too many reflections), and does not have a removable battery or docking station port. Otherwise it excels in the same areas regular ThinkPads do.

The ThinkPad Edge E420s is easily recommendable for all of the above-mentioned qualities. It represents a good value at its $799 price point. Step up to a traditional ThinkPad for a higher resolution screen.

Pros:

• Solid build quality
• Excellent keyboard
• Great battery life (6+ hours)
• Good design

Cons:

• Non-removable battery
• Low-resolution display
• No status lights

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support 
Upgrade Capabilities 
Usability 
Design 
Performance 
Features 
Price/Value Rating 

* Ratings averaged to produce final score