Lenovo has decided that it is just about the right time to join the Chromebook race with the likes of Samsung and Acer and it did do by announcing its own version, based on the familiar Thinkpad X131 design.
The Thinkpad X131e Chromebook, as Lenovo decided to call it, features pretty much all the same specs as the X131 so you are looking at 11.6-inch 1366x768 anti-glare screen, a yet to be specified Intel CPU, three USB ports, probably 2GB of RAM and a minimum amount of storage, most likely enough for the Chrome OS while the rest will be cloud-based. It also comes with WiFi connectivity as well as VGA and HDMI outputs.
The new Thinkpad X131e Chromebook also comes with a recognizable Thinkpad keyboard and touchpad as well as the Thinkpad "rugged features" since it is mainly aimed at schools. It simplifies software and security management for school administrators and provides students and teachers with quick access to thousands of apps, education resources and storage, according to Lenovo.
The battery life is rated at "an entire school day" and at less than four pounds it is surely portable.
The new ThinkPad X131e Chromebook will be available as of February 26th via special bid since it is aimed solely at schools and school programs so we guess that we will not see in retail/e-tail anytime soon.