I’ve just received my Thinkpad x100e, and it’s a tiny but handy little machine — extremely usable, practical, and at under $400 affordable.

I became a fan of the Thinkpad notebooks when I bought a Thinkpad 600x. Of course the legendary Thinkpad keyboard is a big draw, and I loved the solid titanium construction of the case on my Thinkpad 600.

The Lenovo Thinkpad X100e also has a great keyboard – nice sensitivity and the springiness seems just right. Of course the keyboard feels slightly smaller than a standard laptop keyboard, but it is really quite usable.

While the X100e looks and feels a bit like a toy compared to the heavy and solid Thinkpad 600, it’s also much lighter and smaller — and much less expensive. I purchased it as a sort of backup laptop, or one to take with me when I don’t need all the computing power, and don’t want to carry a much heavier computer.

So far, I love it for the most part, and the only shortfalls I see with it are the things that also make it attractive — the smaller keyboard is a bit harder to use; the screen resolution is quite high so the type is a lot smaller, and the build material seems less durable. But these things bring down the size and weight, so I understand why they’re necessary in this little powerhouse machine. So far, I love it!