Lenovo's Thinkpad T series notebooks have long been the gold standard for mainstream business systems because of their strong performance, superior build quality, and best-in-class keyboards. With the 14-inch ThinkPad T420, Lenovo has made a couple of changes, switching the screen to the now-standard 16:9 aspect ratio and giving it the latest Intel 2nd Generation Core series CPU.

The ThinkPad T420 follows the classic ThinkPad aesthetic business users have come to know and love over the years. The matte black, rubberized lid with its simple silver logo and raven black sides, bottom, and interior are all long-time ThinkPad staples, as is the tiny red TrackPoint pointing stick that sits between the G and H keys. Like previous ThinkPad T Series notebooks, the T420 is designed for durability. The rubberized ABS plastic lid, carbon-reinforced bottom, and internal roll cage help protect against shocks and drops.