My husband got it for me about two months ago and I’ll admit that I was skeptical at first. I’ve never been a big fan of electronics but, after deciding to go back to school, it became clear that I needed a laptop. I already had enough textbooks to carry around so another 10 lb bad boy was out. What we found was a purse sized, five pound little wonder made by Lenovo.

The major appeal of this laptop is its portability. It fits in most standard sized purses with ease, it’s reasonably durable, and you can get about 2.5 hours of active work time out of it. To a school teacher and returning student like me, that’s invaluable. I can work almost anywhere, anytime, and I don’t have to worry that my young students will break my computer if I leave it out. For the price, the world will NOT come to an end if it gets snatched or broken, unlike some higher end business models (you know who you are). Just be sure to invest in USB drives because its tiny size does not allow for any disc drives.

Size matters and your take on this computer will depend a lot on your personal stature. For most women and children, the smaller keyboard is ideal. It’s keyboard lends itself well to petite hands and if you can get by without all the bells and whistles of a bigger laptop then this is a really good buy. This is not to say that full grown men can’t use it too. It just takes some adjustment for those with bigger hands to get used to it.

However, I’ve noticed that men, on the whole, don’t respond as well to this laptop as women do. Again, it seems to be an issue of size. In addition to a bigger keyboard, males typically want a bigger screen, bigger hard drive, and a big enough motherboard for a DVD drive. These are also the same men who don’t mind lugging around a fat computer bag or heavy backpack.

Women, on the other hand, go absolutely gaga over my computer. At least a dozen times this semester, women have started have women brought me aside to tell me how adorable it is. Just today I had two girls ask if they could play with it. Then there’s the other major selling point: the price. Everyone wants to know how much it retails for and they’re genuinely pleased when I quote it at around $400.00. The only complaint I hear from the ladies is that they wish it came in more colors. On this one, I have to agree.

Although I was able to procure my laptop in burgundy red instead of the standard black, I really would have been happier with it if it were in a more compelling hue or pattern. All you’ve got to do is go through a woman’s purse to know how important pretty packaging is. Think “Arrest-Me Red” or “Tropicana Pink” or even “Pussygalore” (produced by Nars Cosmetics). I’ve heard requests for pink, purple, electric blue, and just about every color on the nail polish spectrum. I, personally, would have forked over another hundred for a version in Burburry plaid.

If this were any old laptop I would say sure, keep production costs down and offer only a few gender-neutral colors. But the smaller design and lack of bells and whistles inherently targets it for a female market and we are such an esthetically driven bunch.

Although Lenovo does plan on putting out a few more color options next year, there’s nothing to indicate that they’ve gotten the hint and will give women the stylish colors that they want. I would call this short-sighted. In this market, where there isn’t a big difference between one pint-sized laptop and the one your competitor is making, you’ve got to move beyond the geek and provide the chic!