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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Hrel - Thursday, May 16, 2013 - link
At 1200 bucks I would expect AT LEAST:8GBx1 DDR3 1600 RAM. A 256GB/240GB SSD. Wireless a/c 5Ghz. Then if they could fit a larger battery in it, 54Wh for instance, that would help a lot too.
For $1320 I expect better specs than these...
Not a bad system, just not suited well in the market; especially with Haswell right around the corner.
boe - Thursday, May 16, 2013 - link
If this thing was about 1lb lighter and had a higher resolution screen, I'd be interestedsmilingcrow - Thursday, May 16, 2013 - link
The Dell XPS 14 was mentioned but the screen is a washed out mess worthy of a laptop less than half its price. Its a poor TN panel with its one saving grace being the resolution of 1600x900.The XPS 12 and 13 in contrast have wonderful 1080P IPS panels. What were Dell thinking!
relativityboy - Thursday, May 16, 2013 - link
In your review you said "High resolution" that's HILARIOUS!WTH? Did someone pay you to say that?
frakkel - Friday, May 17, 2013 - link
I love the x series. But why did they go for 16:9 format. I dont buy a labtop for watching movies. Please go back to screens with a more square layout e.g. 4:3 or at least 16:10Belard - Sunday, May 19, 2013 - link
Yep... I miss the 16:10 screens like my current 5+ year old ThinkPads. To give you an idea of the height loss. a 14" 16:10 has the same height as the 15" 16:9 - I noticed this during their transition from the two aspect ratios. So we went with the older 14" model which results in a smaller and lighter notebook.A major reason Lenovo went with 16:9 is that they still have to get their displays from a supplier. And because everything is 16:9, it costs LESS money. To go with the 16:10 could had $50~100 to the costs or more because of mass-production.
At least they still make screens that are NOT gloddy.
crispbp04 - Friday, May 17, 2013 - link
The use of the term "kit" to refer to hardware is driving me, in the words of Gwen Stefani, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.coastwalker - Saturday, May 18, 2013 - link
Hardware Enterprise vendors are in a difficult situation. Windows 8 is destroying their market. No business with any sense is going to buy the consumer mobile phone interface that Windows 8 is. This is great news because it probably means that we can switch back to Apple again like we did in the 80s. I cant wait!Shinobi_III - Sunday, May 19, 2013 - link
What's the point of 5Ghz wifi anyway? You point it out as absurd that it's not included.But it doesn't offer more performance, and the range is atrocious.
I have a wifi router from Asus with both, and 5Ghz is 75% signal one room off, and doesn't even work down stairs. The 2.4G works out in the garage!
RoslynWan12 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
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