The original ThinkPad Edge has been a hallmark of business laptops with a portable and lightweight design and affordable price. The new ThinkPad Edge E220s continues this tradition with the same affordability and portability, but an even more modern design that catches the eye and feels great to use.

The Edge comes with a 12.5 inch screen, keeping the overall size of the laptop small and portable, and the 1366×768 resolution still provides a solid amount of screen real estate for business applications and even multimedia viewing. The screen is not as bright and vibrant as some competing models, but this is probably somewhat of a tradeoff for longer battery life. The glossy coating of the screen makes it difficult to see in bright daylight.

Speaking of battery life, the Edge E220s provides around 5 hours of battery time. This is around an hour shorter than some competing models in its class, but none of these models will provide an entire workday worth of battery life, so buying an extra battery may be a good idea.

Despite its small size and low price, Lenovo still managed to put quite a bit of processing muscle inside the machine. It sports a 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 4 GB of RAM in its standard configuration, and has integrated Intel HD graphics that provide a solid experience even for multimedia and light gaming. A 320 GB hard drive is included, with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Professional pre-installed.

The design of the ThinkPad Edge E220s is quite impressive. Lenovo has used design elements from the original but updated it for a more modern look. The result is a throwback to the past and a very sleek design for the future.

Business users and travelers will find a lot to like in the combination of affordability and portability of the Edge E220s, and its power and solid screen make it a good value.