Reviews - Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 11 notebook review

[HEXUS]

Ultra-portable ThinkPad armed with a dual-core AMD processor tops our list of favourite 11.6in notebooks.

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[chis]

Simply copy-paste all the comments from the "ASUS readying 13in U31 ultraportable" thread.

Honestly, a Core ix laptop with that resolution and *cries* without an expresscard slot is frustratingly limited. At 11.6" if it sported ec34 and a 1280x800 resolution, you'd find a LOT of musicians sitting up and taking notice.

[naturbo2000]

We'd give anything to swap the Fn and left Ctrl keys around

You sure the software side of this isn't in the bios, as per the x100e? I understand the physical key switch is a simple job with a wide screwdriver (not tried it myself).

Looks very much like an updated x100e. Nice to see HDMI has made an appearance, but they should have kept the matt screen.

Most important thing on arrival is to disable the trackpad buttons - lordy me they're annoyingly easy to press (why would I use anything but the trackpoint?).

[miniyazz]

I'm not convinced that 1280x800 would be a better fit - at that screen size I reckon 1366x768 is a better fit. 1440x900 would probably be best before the display becomes too small for most people to read at native res and dpi, but I've not used that sized screen yet so I'm not 100% on that.

The Ctrl & Fn key nightmare really needs sorting though. Seriously, does anyone want a Fn key there? It's just silly.

[chis]

I perhaps should have said specifically a 16:10 resolution such as 1280x800 or above. Personally I would also prefer at least 1440x900. But I suppose these are supposed to be more "average inexpensive mainstream" laptops and not "portable workstations".

[miniyazz]

I did notice the differing aspect ratios there

But in this case, without having tried out those two resolutions, my impression is that the 16:9 ratio trumps the 16:10 by dint of having more pixels on a screen which isn't overburdened with them. In exchange for a 4% drop in vertical real estate, you gain a 6.3% increase in horizontal real estate.

Certainly I'd agree that in most situations, 16:10 beats 16:9, but I'm not convinced ultra-portable form factors is one of them - not with those two resolutions being compared, anyway. Like I say though, I haven't tried out those two resolutions for a long time now so you may well be right that the vertical pixels remain more important than horizontal pixels at that resolution.

[chis]

What immediately springs to mind is that these little notebooks are likely to be used often for browsing the 'net. Vertical space is crucial for this, and every time I've tried a *x768 monitor, it does feel a touch cramped.

[kingpotnoodle]

What immediately springs to mind is that these little notebooks are likely to be used often for browsing the 'net. Vertical space is crucial for this, and every time I've tried a *x768 monitor, it does feel a touch cramped.

I find it's *OK* if I put the task bar at the side, use Chrome and remove all unnecessary tool bars etc. You can reclaim much more than 32 pixels like that compared to using FF or IE with a bottom task bar on a 1280x800.

[miniyazz]

What immediately springs to mind is that these little notebooks are likely to be used often for browsing the 'net. Vertical space is crucial for this, and every time I've tried a *x768 monitor, it does feel a touch cramped.

Well I just switched to 1280x800 and 1360x768 on my laptop and both definitely feel cramped vertically, whereas horizontal there was no difference in functionality on the couple of sites I tried. I guess web pages are mostly all designed to fit into either 1024 or 1280 res horizontally and then just to scroll down, so having the extra width doesn't really help except with having lots of tabs open and a few productivity things (windows side-by-side, etc). Looks like 1280x800 might be a slightly better fit after all.

[PrimozR]

I'm not convinced that 1280x800 would be a better fit - at that screen size I reckon 1366x768 is a better fit. 1440x900 would probably be best before the display becomes too small for most people to read at native res and dpi, but I've not used that sized screen yet so I'm not 100% on that.

The Ctrl & Fn key nightmare really needs sorting though. Seriously, does anyone want a Fn key there? It's just silly.

Anyone that has evered used a Thinkpad, be it a laptop or just a keyboard. Speaking from personal experience.

[bobharvey]

It's such a shame that you only test it with windows. I need to know if all the hardware works in linux, and what the comparative performance is.

[ssstratton]

You sure the software side of this isn't in the bios, as per the x100e? I understand the physical key switch is a simple job with a wide screwdriver (not tried it myself).

I'm typing this on an Edge 11 - the FN and Ctrl key swap is in the BIOS - as is the option to disable the automatic function key press for volume, etc. Both seem to work fine.

I did have to swap the physical keys round - which I managed with my fingernails.

So - don't be put off by the FN/Ctrl key placement - it's easy to change it and never know the difference.

Cheers
Andy

[usxhe190]

I'm typing this on an Edge 11 - the FN and Ctrl key swap is in the BIOS - as is the option to disable the automatic function key press for volume, etc. Both seem to work fine.

I did have to swap the physical keys round - which I managed with my fingernails.

So - don't be put off by the FN/Ctrl key placement - it's easy to change it and never know the difference.

Cheers
Andy

Do you feel the fonts are too small for 1366x768 resolution on just a 11.6 inch?

[naturbo2000]

Do you feel the fonts are too small for 1366x768 resolution on just a 11.6 inch?

Not at all - though that opinion is clearly user dependent. I'm very disappointed by the industry move to 1366x768 for screens up to 15". Just had a check at dot pitch comparison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_pitch) and it's only a little smaller than my 1680x1050 15" daily driver (and I'd happily swap that for a 1080p 15")

[ssstratton]

Do you feel the fonts are too small for 1366x768 resolution on just a 11.6 inch?

It depends - the 768 high is good for web page viewing, but I am currently using 120% zoom on Chrome. I do use a bigger font for the desktop. But my eye sight isn't what it used to be

As standard, it's a slight strain...

Cheers
Andy