Lenovo had announced the US launch of its new tough ThinkPad X10e, a laptop with rugged credentials that is built to survive the classroom. As Lenovo puts it: "specially ruggedized for education".

The ThinkPad X10e will launch 20 December 2011 and boasts a whole host of toughened areas that should help it survive the rigours of the school day. It sports a top cover rubber bumper to absorb impacts to the side of the laptop, 33 per cent stronger corners to reduce the chance of damage when dropped at an angle, stronger hinges that should last up to 30,000 openings and reinforced and recessed ports to decrease the effects of student abuse. This is all topped of with a stronger bezel with 1.2mm thick plastic to protect the LED panel.

Inside this protective shell there's an Intel Core i3-2367M processor, as well as AMD Fusion E-300 and E-450 APUs. Standard RAM is 2GB of RAM, upgradeable to 8GB, and it can also hold up to 500GB storage. Connectivity is decent with Bluetooth 3.0, three USB 2.0 sockets, Ethernet, HDMI and a 4-in-1 card reader.

Battery life should be 8.5 hours, so easily enough to last a school day, and there's also Lenovo's RapidBoot technology; the sub-20-second startup time should ensure the focus of students who possess even the most dismal of attention spans.

This type of laptop will certainly appeal to teachers on both sides of the Atlantic, so let's hope Lenovo gives it a run out in UK classrooms. As mentioned it is to get a 20 December US launch and will cost $469.