Lenovo’s ThinkPad is a business tool that is often lugged around by bankers and transportation brokers alike. This laptop is both rugged and is a workhorse, but it’s not often a laptop that students think about. Most of the time, companies like Apple target students, and those who can’t afford an Apple laptop look to other, more affordable, brands like Sony and Dell. Yet, the newest Lenovo ThinkPad hasn’t been designed for business people. Instead, Lenovo has told press that the latest X120E was designed specifically for students.

Not only is this ThinkPad ready for students, it’s ready for young students. Lenovo ThinkPads have always been rugged, but the new X120E is especially rugged. This ThinkPad can be banged and reasonably dropped without much damage, and did I mention that it comes coated in a pretty red shell? Even if you aren’t a student you might want to take a look at Lenovo’s latest offering. I think you’ll find that this tried and trusted laptop manufacturer has hit the nail on the head with its latest offering.

Meant to Be Tough

There’s no doubt about it, the newest member of the ThinkPad family was built to be tough. Lenovo has placed a thick rubber bumper around the parameter of the new X120E, it comes with recessed ports, a hard drive protector, and an additional rubber bumper surrounding the lid of the laptop. In short, this ThinkPad is inches away from being indestructible, and when you’re a kid who tends to throw his laptop into a backpack with books, indestructible is an admirable quality.

All of this ruggedness does make the new ThinkPad a bit heavy (3.9 pounds), but it’s not so heavy that a kid can’t carry it around simply enough. In fact, I think you’ll have a hard time getting your child away from this laptop. You can choose up to 8GB of RAM, it has 8.5 hours of battery life, and comes with Bluetooth 3.0. In fact, it comes with a lot of things that are well worth the very meager price tag (wait until you get a load of this price!).

Pricing and Availability

ThinkPad’s tend to run on the expensive side, but not this time around. The new Lenovo ThinkPad for students will be priced at just $469. That’s a lot less than many other laptops on the market that aren’t childproof. This laptop won’t stand up to spilled water and can’t be dropped off of a ledge, but it’s one of the closest laptops you can get to military grade, and that should keep most kids from ruining this piece of kid-friendly heaven.

If this sounds like the laptop you’ve been waiting for (or the one that your kids will love), you can check out Lenovo’s website starting December 20th. This laptop won’t be ready in time for the holiday season, but you can order it as a sort of New Year’s gift or a start to a new year or something else. The point is that you can order this ThinkPad on December 20th for around $500. Really, this is one laptop that this reviewer thinks every kid should have – if you’re going to buy your kid a laptop, that is.