Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 15, 2013 12:01 AM ESTConclusion: Prosumer Grade
Much as Mark Rosewater can't go a month without mentioning how he used to write for "Roseanne," I have a hard time not mentioning my background in video production. The reason to bring it up with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is simple: whether you're a hobbyist or a professional in any kind of content creation field, you have a pretty good idea of what "prosumer" means. Consumer grade hardware and software are generally (but not always) not worth your time, but professional grade kit often requires a substantial investment. Thus there's the middle ground: prosumer. Prosumer kit is typically fully featured, but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. You get 90% of the power of professional grade stuff at a fraction of the cost.
That's essentially what the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is. Weird as it sounds, the ThinkPad is basically the Windows user equivalent of a Mac and has been for a while. The name has a cachet to it, and you have a good idea of what it represents. In the case of the X1 Carbon, we get a strong and sturdy build, great quality display, and the best chiclet keyboard in the business. We also get the kind of price premium we've come to expect for the ThinkPad brand, a premium that predates Lenovo's ownership.
.jpg)
I have often said that you cannot charge Apple prices for Dell products. That's not necessarily to disparage Dell, but merely to make a point: you can't make bargain consumer grade hardware and still try to sell it at a premium. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a fine Ultrabook, and the $1,187 touch-free entry level model is without question the best deal in the lineup (though the 4GB of DDR3 stings mightily) and easy to recommend. If you want 8GB of memory you'll have to fork over at least $200 more (you get a CPU upgrade in the process), which is a bitter pill to swallow.
Where the Carbon runs into trouble is that its price is, like its battery life, barely competitive, and the higher-priced models are almost impossible to justify. Actual business-class kit is more expensive, but the Carbon is really competing with the likes of Dell's XPS 13. Dell will sell you an XPS 13 with a 1080p IPS display, faster processor, and 8GB of memory for $1,299. Married to the 14" form factor? Not a problem, they'll give you an XPS 14 with the same resolution display for $999, and at $1,199 you can even get dedicated graphics hardware.
Ultimately, if you're still smarting from what Lenovo has done with the ThinkPad brand like I am, it can be difficult to appreciate the X1 Carbon. It bears repeating this really is an excellent Ultrabook, falling short primarily in battery life and price but otherwise pretty tough to argue with. And Lenovo has been thriving compared to some of the competition, so they must be doing something right. I just don't like how they've sacrificed the ThinkPad brand on the altar of consumerism, and the X1 Carbon doesn't buck the trend. It's a fantastic Ultrabook, but it's not enterprise.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
91 Comments
View All Comments
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