Lenovo Goes Back To School With Chromebook

  • Tough piece of hardware
  • Priced at AU$406
  • Chrome OS model

Lenovo is jumping onto the Chromebook market, launching the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook, a Chrome OS laptop built specifically for K-12 schools.

  • Tough piece of hardware
  • Priced at AU$406
  • Chrome OS model

Lenovo is jumping onto the Chromebook market, launching the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook, a Chrome OS laptop built specifically for K-12 schools.

To survive in that kind of educational environment, the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook is a tough piece of hardware, with a rubber bumper built into the top cover and reinforced corners to help it survive the occasional – or frequent – accidental fall. The hinge has also been strengthened and Lenovo claims it can safely withstand being opened and shut more than 50,000 times.

In actuality, the laptop is a Chrome OS model for Lenovo's existing Windows-based ThinkPad X131e line, so the rugged design should be familiar to educators and students who have been using them since last year.

The ThinkPad X131e Chromebook's key benefit is from the Chrome OS itself, giving the laptop fast boot times and battery life that can last the entire school day. It will use Google Apps for Education and the Chrome Web Store for applications, which will provide all of the necessary tools for students like creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

The actual hardware features an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 anti-glare display and Intel processor along with three USB ports, HDMI and VGA ports for class presentations, and a webcam to allow collaborative programs between different schools.

Since the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook is meant for K-12 education, Lenovo is only selling the laptops directly to schools and institutions priced at AU$406. Interested educators can place bulk orders for their school starting Feb. 26.