Edge E220s

[dhpc_raptor]

Hi all, I just ordered the lenovo E220s today after much consideration for the best ultraportable for college. I would be surprised if anyone has their hands on one already as from what I know they were "just" released, but the price seemed reasonable so I sprung for one. I am very interested in hearing others thoughts or opposition on this product.

I was about to place an order on an x120e but then realized I would definitely benefit from having a slightly larger (and significantly more powerful) portable laptop.

Before you think I'm too crazy let me explain my overall plan, I'm going of to college next year and of course need a laptop. I've been using a T61 which I think is one of the best machines on the planet, but it belongs to my school so I can't take it with me. Because I'm used to working on high performance desktops, I believe I will purchase a W520 as my primary (but more stationary) machine and use the 12.5 inch edge to bring to class, the library, and wherever.

As for my plans with the Edge, I hope to get an SSD in there at some point and I already went for the 4GB ram option. (A little sad I can't upgrade further but for this machines primary use, I figured I wouldn't need it TOO much). The only other thing that makes me sad is there are no mouse buttons BELOW the touchpad, as those are the ones I primarily use now. With the "clickpad" design, can you left/right click depending on what side you press? Guess we'll have to find out. My only other big hope is the trackpad will be compatible with 2 finger scrolling and that sort of thing, synaptics...

Now for my questions
Does anyone know about the performance of the low-voltage i7 offered on these models? I went for the upgrade as it was ~$70 after the student discount, not bad for something just a bit bigger than a netbook... In either case, I noticed the clock speed was a lot lower than the i5 offered in the E420s, so I hope I didn't actually go for a slower CPU by going i7

I plan on using Ubuntu linux as the primary operating system on this laptop... I'm hoping when version 11 comes out there will be decent compatibility with the hardware. If anyone has any information on Linux/Ubuntu compatibility, I'd be happy to hear it.

Last but not least, Do you think it was a smart idea to spring for the smaller of the two? I could have saved money AND had the extra ram slot + DVD drive by going with the 14 inch, but I figured the W520 will be FAR more than powerful enough (and bulky enough) after I configure it with 16GB of ram and a nice big hard drive (1TB are rather inexpensive now )

If there is some reason I'm being dumb for an inch and a half smaller product, let me know and I might have to give them a call, but otherwise, Lets hear your ideas!

Thanks!

[ZaZ]

I doubt there's much practical difference between the CPUs.

I think if you're getting a W520, then getting something much smaller and more portable to take to class makes more sense.

If you're willing to spend $750 on a E220s, I'd personally get the X220i unless your budget is really tight. It's likely better built and you can get it with an IPS screen for not much more, my opinion of course.

[dhpc_raptor]

My E220s has shipped and will be arriving within 2-3 days. I'll try to post info and photos on here about compatibility with Ubuntu Linux, and the overall design. Not many reviews up so far, I wonder if this is one of the first shipments out?