Although there are many military-grade laptops out there to choose from, it is still a bit difficult to find a good rugged machine for all the young users in schools. Lenovo has churned out tough devices earlier, but this is the first time that they are introducing a classroom-ready rugged laptop under the ThinkPad brand name.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X130e, which will be sold to schools in December with a price tag starting at $469, is coming with specific improvements which will help it to withstand the occasional fall or the abuse a notebook is likely to suffer in the hands of the students.

As you might not have forgotten, the X130e was earlier assumed to be the successor to the X120e when leaked pictures of the device started appearing on the internet. Now, the device has become official.

The 11.6 inch X130e, which will be available with an Intel Core i3-2367M processor or AMD Fusion E-300 or E-450 APU, comes equipped with a rubber bumper on the top cover, a thicker bezel, strong corners and hinges, and reinforced and recessed ports.

You will get up to 8GB of RAM and 500GB in storage, Bluetooth 3.0, and it will be powered by a 6-cell battery which is coming with a battery life of 8.5 hours.

Other features include 3 USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, a combined headphone / mic port, and a 4-in-1 memory card reader. The laptop also comes with the company’s RapidBoot technology, which is expected to provide a sub-20-second start-up time.

The downside is that all durable features in the new ThinkPad has resulted in a machine weighing in at 3.9 pounds (1.78kg), fairly heavy for an 11-incher (although Lenovo says it is “lightweight”).

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It’s almost as if Gigabyte has devised a product for the most indecisive person on the planet. Maybe you want the portability of a notebook, the touchscreen of a tablet and the comfort of a desktop. If all of the above apply, maybe you want the Gigabyte Booktop T1125.

It’s not entirely new for Gigabyte to pull off such a move, but the Booktop T1125 is a little different than some of the other products it has released in the past. In the strictest sense, it is a convertible tablet. This means that you’ll likely be using the 11.6-inch display in a notebook like fashion most of the time. The display can then rotate and fold back down so you have a tablet PC experience.

Partly what separates the T1125 from its predecessors is that there is also a “sideways” dock. Planting the system into this dock in a portrait-like fashion, you effectively get a desktop experience. You can presumably connect a primary LCD to the dock and then use the T1125 as a touchscreen-enabled secondary display. You know, for Twitter updates and that sort of thing.

Running through the specs, you’ll find a choice of Core i5 or i3 ULV processors, USB 3.0 ports, Optimus battery-enhancing technology, THX and dual-channel speakers. All of this will start at $1,299 and it ships later this month. This convertible tablet thing has been done many times over in the past, what makes Gigabyte’s Booktop notable is they’ve made a docking bay for it, and that its a netbook. Woot?

SOURCE: Netbook News via Engadget

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To my knowledge, HP is still the largest computer maker in the world, but it is interesting to see the company undercutting its own product. The HP Envy 15 was marketed as a premium product with premium styling, but now you can get the same style at less than half the price with the HP G62t.

The newest laptop to join the HP G-series, the HP G62t bears a striking resemblance to its much more expensive cousin, featuring the same Apple-inspired design cues. The difference is that it’s priced starting at just $599.99, rather than the $1,300+ price tag attached to the Envy 15.

Naturally, the $600 price point gets you a pretty basic configuration. You get a Core i3-330M 2.13GHz CPU, DVD burner, WiFi, webcam, 15.6″ 1366×768 LED-backlit display, three USB 2.0 ports, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Still not a bad package for the price.

If you’re willing to shell out a little more coin, you can optionally get the HP G62t budget notebook with Bluetooth, Blu-ray drive, HDMI, and a card reader. Those last two cost an extra $25. For processors, you can bump that Core i3 to a Core i5-430M for $100 more or a Core i7-620M for $400 more.

The HP G62t is available now for your ordering pleasure.

HP G62t Image Gallery

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Remember when it was such a hot item to get your hands on a Pentium anything? And then we got enamored with Core 2 Duo? As you know it’s time for another revolution, introducing Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 from Intel and Sony is getting in on the action too.

Designed to be aesthetically pleasing and at a more affordable price is the new set of Sony VAIO E series. This new notebook features a 15.5-inch widescreen display, not to mention the availability of bright, neon colors if you prefer. Want “Caribbean Green” or “Hibiscus Pink”? You got it.

There is just one configuration available at launch. Priced at $800, the Sony VAIO E Series gets a 2.13GHz Core i3, integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, a DVD burner and 3.5 hours of battery life.

For a step up, you’ll want to wait for the upgrades available in the near future. These will include such options as a 2.4GHz Core i5 processor and Blu-ray drives. A cheaper $700 configuration will be sold too.

Look for the new Sony VAIO E Series to ship this March.

Sony VAIO E Series Image Gallery

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