In what can only be described as a major deviation from their regular “any colour as long as it’s black” design policy, Lenovo’s premium ThinkPad range will for the first time sport a new colour. The latest ThinkPad, simply called the Edge, appears not only in black, but also in what Lenovo calls “Heatwave Red”. While the ThinkPad range was always target at the corporate market, the Edge, with its stylish looks and better price point, is aimed at small to medium sized businesses.

The Edge comes in 13”, 14” and 15” LED backlight models and features decent battery life of almost eight hours, Wireless connectivity technologies including Wi-Fi (with optional Bluetooth,  3G and WiMAX) and a multi-touch pad that supports gestures like pinch and zoom.

Although different configurations are possible, the Edge can be purchased with either the AMD Turion Neo X2 Dual-Core L625 or the Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 Processor, with a minimum of 3 GB of DDR3 RAM and 320 GB of storage.

Also different is the keyboard with a more modern design approach replacing the standard (but much loved we might add) keyboard found on the ThinkPad range. What stays the same is the fact that it is spill resistant. Select models in the 14” and 15” range will be available with an illuminated keyboard.

The ThinkPad Edge comes with three USB ports, a 5-in-1 card reader and also sports a HDMI port for HD content. The Edge 13” model starts at R10 799.

The ThinkPad Edge was launched at a function held in Johannesburg yesterday, where international football legend Lucas Radebe was announced as Lenovo brand ambassador. Lenovo together with the Intel Corporation, has partnered with Active Education and Let’s Play, SuperSport’s Social Responsibility initiative, to establish The Legends Soccer Team from disadvantaged schools in the in the Southern Suburbs, Eldorado Park and Soweto areas. Laerskool Voorbrand was also announced as the winner of the “How technology and sport will benefit my future” canvas painting competition, with the top two schools receiving a coach to run physical education as well as soccer training for their school teams. Six teachers from each school will also receive Life Orientation training from Active Education.