Note: The Skinny blog is written by Rick Smith, editor and co-founder of Local Tech Wire and business editor of WRAL.com.

MORRISVILLE, N.C. – Reviewers and technology writers around the globe are all atwitter about the new machines is introducing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Generating the most headlines is the new Edge.

Lenovo’s latest entry in the fast-growing netbook space, the so-called ultraportable is thin, light, and power packed.

“Lenovo has always had a certain knack for producing some of the most reliable, ergonomic and slender ultraportables on the market (see ThinkPad X301 and ThinkPad X200),” says Engadget reviewer Joanna Stern. “But they’ve always had one issue: prices that ring up at well over a grand. Where’s the killer ThinkPad ultraportable for the rest of us been? Well hello, ThinkPad Edge 13 – a thin, light Intel ULV powered laptop with an entirely new design that starts at $549. Yes, $549.”

According to Stern, the Edge is worth the price.

“Sure, the ThinkPad Edge 13 may not carry some of the premium features of the X301 or other higher-end ThinkPads, but for a budget ultraportable we’ve got very little to complain about,” she wrote.

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