Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 15, 2013 12:01 AM ESTDisplay Quality
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty happy to be getting notebooks in for review that don't have lousy 1366x768 panels. I desperately want to believe this is the direction the notebook market is heading in, though a pair of $1,500+ notebooks don't really constitute a trend, and I'll be a lot happier when $600 notebooks have gotten past 1366x768.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon employs a 14" 1600x900 display standard; Lenovo lists it as "wide viewing angle" but it's still most definitely a TN panel. That said, viewing angles are definitely good, and it exhibits none of the "no sweet spot" issues that plague lower quality displays. Lenovo's pseudo-glossy finish isn't as brilliant as typical glossy finishes are, but it's also not as reflective.
The X1 Carbon's display quality is acceptable, but take a look at the contrast graph to get a really good idea of how much of a difference spending just a little more on a display can make. The HP Folio's display has such horrible black levels that its contrast ratio is actually lower than its maximum brightness. Meanwhile, the X1 Carbon has a display that's both lovely and functional, and 1600x900 is about right for a 14" panel before you get into having to mess with the broken dpi settings in Windows.
Battery Life
While most of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon's user experience is at least solid, battery life is one area where it falls horribly short. That Lenovo doesn't offer any extended battery option of any kind turns out to be a major problem.
The X1 Carbon's battery life isn't horrible, but it's way out on the bottom end of competitive. Dell's two "prosumer" XPS notebooks both offer superior efficiency and running time, and the XPS 13 in particular can offer you a stellar 1080p IPS display in the process.
Heat and Noise
Sporting a larger chassis than most Ultrabooks, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is able to do a fantastic job of keeping the ultra low voltage Core i5 running cool. There's definitely a high-pitched whine to the fan when it spins up, but it's not especially loud under extreme, sustained load.
Thermally the X1 Carbon is almost boxing under its weight. None of the surfaces of the chassis get hot, and it's actually difficult to get either core of the i5 to break 70C. I think you could probably make a case for using a higher powered CPU in the Carbon's chassis, but I'm honestly happy just to see a notebook that not only doesn't have heat issues, it doesn't even flirt with them.
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Silma - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
The X1 Carbon would have been interesting with a better higher resolution screen, removable better battery, an ethernet port and less outrageous price - notably in Europe where it is incredibly expensive.On the plus side kudos for the mini display port as well as 8GB RAM option (would have preferred 16GB though) and the battery fast charge.
In addition there are many other interesting ultrabooks now (Samsung Series 7, Toshiba Kirabook) and even an Asus Zenbook Touch will compare favorably if you can do with 4GB RAM.
zodiacfml - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
i thought the price was due to the carbon fiber and i thought it's going to have problems with regards to heat. it's pretty neat overall.Calista - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
For those devoted to the mighty trackpoint I guess it will be an easy sell no matter what. Reviewers (both from Anandtech and others) often spend a fair amount of time describing the trackpad and keyboard. What they seem to overlook is all the people who couldn't care less about the size or quality of the trackpad as long as the pointing stick is working well. And in this the Thinkpad series have always excelled.Still, I agree that 4GB is stingy this day and age, but paired with a quick SSD it will outlast the 3 years or so the laptop is supposed to be in use in a corporate setting. The only thing that worry me is if we see a huge shift in the use of virtualization, and the expected increase of memory that will follow. 8/16GB would increase the longevity of the laptop although, and so it's a bit sad a saving in the $50 range could cut several year from the expected lifetime of the laptop.
Anyway, I understand the position of the X1 well, it's a stylish Thinkpad. For those asking for extended battery life, a better display, more power or whatever Lenovo offer a huge range of different models to cater to those wishes.
CSMR - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Lenovo has some great products but this is not one of them. Poor quality screen at a steep price.Daniel Egger - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Not going to buy Lenovo ever again after the disaster with the breaking displays on the X121e which Lenovo simply declared as a customer problem because you're according to Lenovo not supposed to carry a laptop just like that in a regular laptop bag. ThinkPad is just not a decent brand anymore as it used to be.Belard - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Still better than most... and when you call tech support, you're talking to someone who speaks ENGLISH.Belard - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Folks should keep in mind that its only the ThinkPad T-Series that is considered their TOP-END. The X1 is not a work-horse, never designed to be one.The ThinkPad T430s series is their thin serious computers (1" thick) but from experience, its still better to get the regular T-Series. its .5" thicker, far easier to service and about $200 less. And those we regular screens come with Windows7Pro by default.
noeldillabough - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
The screen on my T520 sucks compared to the one on my X230...one is a corporate buy so its probably not the upgraded screen but still. Here's hoping the future is bright on screens and there are no more 768 pixel high screens anymore.Belard - Sunday, May 19, 2013 - link
The higher end screen looks better... none of them are as bright as the glossy screens. I'd take that over having the screen have the mirror look.Johnmcl7 - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
"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"I don't understand this statement, what is the but for? I've used a variety of Thinkpad machines over the years and I find their current generation of chiclet keyboards both on their smaller and larger machines to be the best they've made. I find them comfortable to type on with better speed and accuracy than previous machines and users of the machines at work have made similar comments so I don't see how having a better keyboard is a 'but' regardless of whether you're an enterprise or home user. Yes, it may not be the classic Thinkpad keyboard but Lenovo have to move forwards.
I normally don't mind trackpads but their current one is horrible, I don't know what they were thinking as the button action doesn't work very well. I would have preferred they just left the trackpoint as with the older x200 as I end using the trackpoint anyway but with the trackpad there tend to default to it first then remember how bad it is and switch to the trackpoint.
John