Lenovo Lines Up with AMD for the First Time

The new ThinkPad Edge laptops will come in 13-, 14- and 15-inch models are aimed at small-to-medium (SMB) customers. In Lenovo's first nod to style beyond the classic black coloring of traditional ThinkPads, the new systems are available in both two shades of black and red with silver trim.

The ThinkPad Edge Series, which run Windows 7, represents a significant expansion of Lenovo’s mobile computing franchise in terms of both style and price point. Beginning at $549, the ThinkPad Edge series gives Lenovo the ability to compete more aggressively at the lower end of the mobile computing market using AMD technology in the 13-inch model.

The systems are available in configurations based on AMD dual core Turion and Athlon Neo processors and AMD’s Vision Pro graphics technology or with Intel’s Core Duo processors.

Meanwhile, the 11.6-in. ThinkPad X100e system can be configured with either Athlon Neo or Turion processors. Priced at $449, Lenovo officials said they are trying to drive ultraportable adoption by pricing this class of system below the $500 for the first time.

The ThinkPad Edge laptops, with the 13-inch model available today and the 14 and 15-inch models scheduled for the second quarter, are certified as being Energy Star 5.0 compliant.

The ThinkPad X100e is available now.

According to Lenovo officials, the new ThinkPad Edge series and the ThinkPad X100e are part of a broader push into the lower end of the mobile computing market that for the first time really leverages the ability of Lenovo to leverage its manufacturing muscle to compete aggressively on price.

Lenovo officials also said there is no correlation between the company’s decision to embrace AMD for this new line of systems and settling of recent litigation between AMD and Intel over volume discount pricing of processors.