Hands On: Lenovo Thinkpad Edge S430

Laptop legend Lenovo had plenty of portable computers on show at its stand at The Gadget Show Live and one of the most interesting was the upcoming Thinkpad Edge S430.

This new Thinkpad looks much like any other at first glance, but it not only has a soft touch matte black construction but it also has a silver trim as well. The 14in screen will have a high resolution of 1,600x900 pixels and there's a high speed Thunderbolt too - a blazingly fast alternative to USB that's so far been found only on Apple Macbook laptops. Hopefully, its appearance on cheaper laptops like the Thinkpad Edge will encourage wider adoption of this impressive technology.

The keyboard didn't appear to light up despite the dimly lit conditions of Lenovo's stand at The Gadget Show Live, but there is a massive touchpad alongside the traditional Thinkpad touchstick. Most people won't like this pointing device and will stick to the touchpad, but longtime Thinkpad users will undoubtedly love it.

It was hard to gauge the weight of the Edge S430, but it feels light even though it has a built-in DVD writer. It did feel a bit hollow and unevenly weighted though, but this may well be corrected before it arrives on shop shelves later this year. Pricing and exact specifications have yet to be confirmed, no doubt to Intel's decision to delay its next generation of Ivy Bridge laptop processors by several weeks, but a Lenovo spokesperson estimated a price of around £700.