As a vocal proponent of improving laptop LCD quality—and LCD quality for desktops as well—the past few years have been painful. True, laptop LCDs have never been at the level of their desktop counterparts, but once upon a time there were at least a few laptops that didn't use TN panels. One of those is the vaunted IBM ThinkPad T42, launched way back in 2004. Besides coming before virtually everything migrated to widescreen displays, the T42 is one of the few laptops to use an IPS panel. As luck would have it, I recently had a chance to use a T42, and I took the opportunity to run it through our standard set of LCD tests. Mostly I was curious to see the results, but I figured some of our readers would enjoy getting our impressions of this archeological find as well. Find out just how little has improved after six years of LCD "updates".

The pricetag of Lenovo's ThinkPad X100e has come down a couple of hundred dollars from its lofty perch when it entered the market more than six months ago, but it still remains a pricy alternative to CULV and Atom-based ultraportables. The X100e is saddled with AMD's outdated Congo platform, but is there more to a notebook than just the hardware under the hood? We think so, and we took the ThinkPad X100e for a spin to prove that the platform isn't always what counts.

Corporations like talking about being "green" these days, and there's no question that environmentally friendly devices and technologies are a major push. We recently spoke with Lenovo about their upcoming L-Series ThinkPad models, which are set to be the "greenest ThinkPads ever"—and we're not talking green in the same sense as the "heat wave red" ThinkPad Edge.

The new L-Series laptops take over from the previous ThinkPad R-Series (though they look more like the new SL-Series), targeting the "entry mainstream" market. Pricing begins at just $649 for the L412, with availability set for mid-May, but don't let the low price fool you: these are still ThinkPads with high durability and plenty of connectivity options... perfect for students, educators, and business users.

Lenovo looks to shake things up in the ThinkPad world with the introduction of the Edge. Available with AMD or Intel CULV processors, the Edge also makes some significant changes to the classic ThinkPad design. If you love the original ThinkPad, you will likely be shocked and dismayed with the new Edge line, which has more in common with the IdeaPad family. If you don't particularly care about the name and are merely interested in what we think of the Edge, we'll cover that as well.

As a CULV platform, the Edge 13 we're reviewing has some stiff competition. The CULV models start at $700 ($800 MSRP) and with few noteworthy benefits, the Edge is going to be a tough sell. The AMD model drops the price to under $500, but unfortunately battery life also plummets, so unless you're dying for a "Heatwave Red" ThinkPad the AMD Edge may not be the compromise you're after. Is the Edge a great addition to the ThinkPad family, or does it water down the legacy? Read on to find out.

The Lenovo ThinkPad line is the quintessential business laptop seen in corporations throughout the world. If you're looking for a high quality laptop that won't break after a few short years, your next laptop purchase might be better served by skipping the consumer products and going after the corporate world.