Lenovo X100e is a bundle of netbook joy

Word of a new Lenovo netbook has just flashed across the electronic Births, Deaths and Marriages page that is the Internet. We haven't yet had the chance to wipe it clean, cut its umbilical wire and count its toes and fingers, but judging by its early scans, this one is deserving of a fate other than the clinical-waste bin.

Its proud biological parent, Lenovo, has already chosen the name X100e, though we think that's a tad cruel -- it looks more like a Darren to us. It's a big baby by netbook standards. It's been weighed at 1.5kg with its six-cell battery and measures 282 by 209 by 29mm, thanks mostly to its freakishly large 11.6-inch screen.

That said, the X100e should have us cooing like idiots over its attractive chassis. Amazingly, it'll come in either white, red or black finishes, which is something of a miracle as Lenovo's laptop loins usually produce only bleakness. There's a chance it'll be pretty interesting on the inside too, as it uses an AMD Athlon Neo CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 500GB of disk space, and a copy of Windows 7.

We're not sure when the X100e will be available for general adoption, but word on the street is you'll be able to nab one for around $500 (£300), which is lovely. Head on over to netbooknews.de for more info, but stay close by, because with a bit of luck we'll snatch one out of Lenovo's cradle fairly soon for a full review.