By now many people would be aware that the ThinkPad X130e will be coming out in the December of 2011. The ThinkPad X130e will keep the 11.6 inch LCD (1366 x 768) size that is available in the other ThinkPad X1x0e laptops. The ThinkPad X130e will have three CPU choices at its initial launch, the Intel i3 2367m and two AMD Fusion APU (E-450 & E-300). However, there is a good chance that Lenovo will limit the CPU choices in the different global market region depending on demands and amount of product overlap within existing models. For some countries the X130e may not be released at all (like the X121e wasn’t released in North America), however only time will tell which countries the X130e will land in.
According to the various reviews on the web about the X130e, this model will have up to 8 hours of battery and a slightly improved ‘island-style’ full sized keyboard (maybe something similar to the ThinkPad X1?). There is also mention of rubber bezel around the screen cover to increase shock absorption, other chassis parts on the ThinkPad X130e will also be upgraded to increase their strength, while all the ports (i.e. usb) will be strengthened to decrease the probability of breaking. From the various leaked pictures posted online (Pictures X130e from the top and from the underside), the X130e will have a glossy silver top cover, which may appeal to the education market (and ire the ThinkPad traditionalists whom only love the colour black on ThinkPads). According to the 51nb.com report this machine is designed for the Australian education market, all of these system improvements are probably aimed at improving the longevity of these laptops in the hands of secondary school students, whom are notoriously hard on their laptops.
The i3-2367m CPU used in the X130e will be clocked at 1.4 ghz and supports up to 16 gigs of RAM. (http://ark.intel.com/products/59798/Intel-Core-i3-2367M-Processor-(3M-Cache-1_40-GHz))
However, for many people they will be more interested in the AMD E-450 and E-300 APUs, which has a lot more capable graphics processor then the Intel HD 3000 that comes on the Intel equipped model.
While, Lenovo never announced pricing, but i would expect it to retail in the same ball park as the X120e and X121e machines.