Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 15, 2013 12:01 AM ESTIn and Around the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
People familiar with Lenovo's industrial design aren't going to be too terribly surprised with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon: black goes with everything. The body is built primarily out of carbon fiber, and the now oddly "traditional" ThinkPad chiclet keyboard is present, as is the trackpoint. Build quality all around is generally excellent; lid flex is minimal, body flex just plain doesn't exist, and there's precious little keyboard flex. Also, the dot on the "i" in ThinkPad on the lid glows red when the notebook is in use and strobes when it's asleep, so that's neat.
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It's hard to find too much fault with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon taken on its own, but in a broader perspective and especially a historical perspective, the Lenovo acquisition of IBM's ThinkPad line still smarts. The X1 Carbon is further evidence of the consumerization of the ThinkPad line; the chiclet keyboard may be the best you can find, but it's still a chiclet keyboard. The touchpad has actually been replaced by a clickpad that has a wonderful surface but absolutely terrible clicking action and doesn't have dedicated buttons; thankfully, the trackpoint's dedicated buttons work just fine in a pinch.
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That consumerization also betrays the X1 Carbon's loftier ambitions as an enterprise-class notebook. Those of you with good memories will remember a period of time where enterprise was all about ThinkPads and that was it, but are you noticing more HP EliteBooks and Dell Latitudes and Precisions running around than you used to? So it is with the X1 Carbon, where the 1-year default warranty, aforementioned chiclet keyboard, and complete lack of serviceability undermine the enterprise dream. Former models of the X1 also supported external slice batteries, but the X1 Carbon forces you to rely solely on its middling 45Wh battery, and that battery is not user-replaceable.
Keeping in mind that this review unit was sent to me by Intel, I'm keen to point out the curious way it highlights the odd dichotomy of Windows 8's user interface. This is a ten-point touch display, yet it's also 1600x900, and the notebook actually shipped to me with Stardock's Start8 installed, thus completely bypassing Modern UI. The traditional Windows desktop has always been absolutely dire for touch, only more so with a decently high dpi on the display, but it's vastly superior for productivity. In a way, the touchscreen in the X1 Carbon has been reduced to a sort of novelty.
Nearest I can tell, Intel added Start8, as it's not an immediately available option when configuring your own X1 Carbon. Keeping Windows 8 in mind, though, it's worth noting that you can't order the X1 Carbon with Windows 7 as an option unless you forego the touch display.
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It must seem like I'm being too harsh on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Truth be told it's actually a very enjoyable Ultrabook to use; keyboard action is excellent, the 1600x900 display is attractive, and it's not too difficult to get used to using the mouse buttons above the clickpad. It's light, it's sturdy, and Intel's inclusion of Start8 is both the best and worst endorsement of Windows 8 on the planet. The problem is that despite the carbon fiber build and inclusion of vPro, this is not an enterprise Ultrabook. It's still priced like one, but it's not.
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noeldillabough - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Yeah I was VERY worried when the x230 came with a new keyboard, having used the old school keyboard for so many years. But after using it I realize the keyboard is GREAT! I hope they keep this in mind, if they mess up the keyboard it will be time to move to another manufacturer.chubbypanda - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
What makes it difficult to review this laptop is its name. This isn't real ThinkPad (same as ThinkPad Edge, better than majority of consumer-grade production but not quite there). No upgrades possible including battery, no docking station connector. But for an ultrabook, it's pretty solid machine. If you want ThinkPad, you buy X or T series. It's obvious from interview with Lenovo designers last year:Otsuka: I'd like to make a successor to the X300.
That may have been Lenovo's goal with the original X1. But personally when I refer to a successor to the X300 I mean a conventional Classic series product with well-balanced attributes.
The X300 has a perfect balance of size and weight, despite providing expandability for the optical disk drive and battery. I'd like to make a product like that. I think that would be a product faithful to the Classic series pedigree.
In contrast, I'd compare the X1 Carbon to a Formula 1 car with leading-edge specs. It can't drive on public roads. I'd like to make the successor to the X300 a compact, all-round sports car that applies Formula 1 technology but can still drive on public roads.
The T4X0s and original X1 were actually products that utilized the technology in the X300. Now with the X1 Carbon we've moved up a step. We still have a lot of challenges ahead of us.
(see http://blog.lenovo.com/design/developers-on-the-x1...
Hopefully this suggests there is X230 successor coming and it's going to be that ThinkPad we know and enjoy. Fingers crossed!
hasseb64 - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Hope Haswell really is improving things for this market. (been disappointed so many times before by Intel)These "Ultrabooks" are not good enogh products.
Better battery, less emissions, more power and every little single technical detail must be perfect, then people may find "Wintel" products enyoyable again.
deeps6x - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
I saw the article, and was hoping that this might be a Haswell sneak peek. No? Darn. Kept reading. Came to this: "It's a 14" Ultrabook, but it hopefully heralds more of the kinds of designs we can look forward to in the 14" and up Ultrabook bracket." and was thinking, 'well, maybe it still has some redeeming qualities'. But then I saw the spec sheet. Shitty resolution, glossy display. Dead stop. No need to read any more. Jumped to the comments.I will give them props for using a 5GHz wifi chip. $3 well spent in the BOM. Any 2013 laptop maker that doesn't include this must not want sales. Any 2013 laptop manufacturer that thinks a checkmark next to 'glossy screen' and 'touch screen' is a positive, is to be avoided at all costs. They should be forced to use their junk in perpetuity. I'm thinking this must be one of Dante's hell levels. Right?
nportelli - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Why do all 14in laptops only have 900p display tops? Yet smaller 13in ones have 1080p? Seems silly. And only 4gb? For that price?Sm0kes - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Quite simply, cost. OEM's don't think they need to offer a more compelling display if it only a small percentage of customers care. I'd be willing to bet the bulk of Lenovo's X1 sales were through the enterprise IT channel. Those buyers are typically only focused on price.It's only the likes of Apple, Asus, Sony (and now Toshiba) that continue to raise the collective display bar. It's shocking it still hasn't caught on, but it's getting better.
danjw - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Any review of a big OEM's computers should include a list of spamware that is pre-installed. So everyone knows how much work it will be to uninstall the junk. Also a section on how easy it is to remove would be nice too. I know, in a previous job I had, we had a Dell lab computer that shipped with security software that needed to be patched to even be able to uninstall it. Since this system was one we used for testing, it was a real pain in the butt, since we were regularly re-setting it to the state it came from Dell.Kornfeld - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
I have to take issue with a number of items in this review. I certainly think the price on the X1 Carbon Touch is high, but it is being compared to other devices that aren't like for like. If you're going to compare the XPS 13 to an equivalent Lenovo product, then it should be compared to the X1 Carbon, not the touch version. The non-touch version weighs under 3.00 lb and seems to run about $130 USD less compared to similar configurations for the Touch models. I can understand that this review wasn't for the non-Touch version, but it still seems unethical to make such comparisons without at least adding some caveats regarding the disparate features of the products.There is also a few comments regarding enterprise features that are lacking in the X1 Carbon Touch.
I don't understand why some of these things are being brought up. AnandTech has never really properly evaluated enterprise features of laptops. If you want to talk about Enterprise features, you probably need to start with listing what features you consider to be relevant to Enterprise usage. For me, this involves a number of items including: product lifecycle, global availability of the system, serviceability of parts, vPro support, support for BIOS changes via script or some other tool, Ethernet for OS deployment, and PXE boot support for OS deployment (either via USB Ethernet or wired Ethernet). You could even evaluate enterprise support provided for related utilities, like whether or not the vendor provides admin templates to manage utilities via Group Policy. The default warranty should not be considered an Enterprise issue. As long as the vendor provides warranty options that are well matched for the Enterprise, that is the only real factor. Beyond that, it's really a matter of pricing for the specific warranty options. Why is the chicklet keyboard being mentioned as a consumer feature? Both Dell and Lenovo are switching their enterprise products to this style of keyboard. It may be a trend that started in the consumer space, but there's no reason provided as to why this would be considered less well suited for Enterprise environments.
herzigma - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
According to other reviews, the non-touch Carbon gets substantially better (~2 hours?) battery life and ways less than 3 lbs. I wonder if that model would do better in the above review?Also, I wish it were smaller! I travel too much so an 11" machine is totally worthwhile.
zsero - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
I have been a huge Thinkpad fan, but if I were to buy an ultrabook, I'd definitely buy a Samsung Series 9 these days. Is there any chance of a 900X3E review one day? 1.1 kg!!!, 1920x1080 IPS screen, upgradable RAM and SSD (once you open up the machine).