Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Review Discussion

[MidnightSun]

Indeed, the X1C is looking to be a very strong contender in the ultrabook market, and as a high-end ultraportable option for business users. Only thing left to see is what the "realistic" price is for end-consumers, particularly through the Barnes & Noble Gold program. Hopefully, it's more than competitive with the existing MBA and Samsung Series 9 options!

[lenardg]

If you remove the back cover, can you still upgrade the RAM yourself? Also, can you add an mSATA (as there is a 3G option available, I would assume there is a WWAN slot, where you would add the mSATA drive?)

[wditters]

Can't wait for mine to arrive .. I've been discussing this baby at length with Lenovo over the last few months and hope to be in the first wave of shipments ... Will put it through it's paces and do a head to head comparison with my identically specked Macbook Air (well almost, 256Gb instead of 512Gb :-)

[n8han]

Would it be possible to test installing Ubuntu on that review unit? It would be really helpful to have a rough idea of how much does/doesn't work before I place an order. (I'm prepared for lots of things not to work on a brand new model. If it boots, that's good.)

Nathan

[Hakro807]

I can understand if Lenovo had to exclude the option of a slice battery. But I don't understand why they don't try to push an external battery similar to what Hyperjuice (former Hypermac) is selling. Carrying a laptop weighting 1.5 vs 2 kg is a marked difference, carrying a bag weighting 10 vs 10.5 kg is more or less a toss up. And those extra 500g could let the user double or triple the battery life of the laptop. I know it ain't a beautiful solution but surely it could be useful.

[notebookhelp]

The review states:

Oh my! Best touchpad surface ... ever!

Does this merely refer to the surface feel or does it also refer to functionality (buttery smooth two finger scrolling, good touchpad rejection when typing, etc)?

[Prabhash]

If you remove the back cover, can you still upgrade the RAM yourself? Also, can you add an mSATA (as there is a 3G option available, I would assume there is a WWAN slot, where you would add the mSATA drive?)

No. The RAM cannot be upgraded. Mentions this in the article somewhere - clearly. Says it is soldered. I know! That sucks!!!

[John Ratsey]

No. The RAM cannot be upgraded. Mentions this in the article somewhere - clearly. Says it is soldered. I know! That sucks!!!

So in that respect it sits alongside then 13.3" Samsung Series 9, which has a much better screen while users wanting more RAM can look to the 15" Samsung Series 9 (has been tested with 2 x 8GB) which also offers significantly better battery run time.

John

[Mackan]

It certainly must feel a bit embarrassing for the Lenovo design team that the end result of their ultraportable turns out to share so much similarities with the MacBook Airs. They are just 2-3 years behind. Like many other PC manufactures.

I do welcome this development though, since people who like Apple's designs now get more attractive alternatives in the PC world. Hopefully together with more upgradability options and openness. For example, it supports a 3G simcard which is welcomed. You'll never see that on the MacBook Air since Apple's greed forces you to buy an iPad for that...

There are some unnecessary things kept on this model though, such as the trackpoint and extra trackpad buttons that are just there to satisfy old ThinkPadders who refuse to adapt to a superior glass touchpad with multi-gestures. Who wants to use those trackpad buttons for scrolling when you can simply swipe two fingers one glass touchpad? I have owned a ThinkPad and can compare. The trackpoint and extra buttons will be gone in 1-2 years, and people will wonder why so many years were wasted on them. Not to mention the scrolling momentum we have in OS X that is so natural as well. I guess we have to wait another 2-3 years for that as well before we have competent drivers on Windows.

[Mitlov]

It certainly must feel a bit embarrassing for the Lenovo design team that the end result of their ultraportable turns out to share so much similarities with the MacBook Airs. They are just 2-3 years behind. Like many other PC manufactures.

Wait, what? How is so similar to a MacBook Air? Yes, it's thin and it's got a ULV processor...both of those are just driven by functionality, not copying. The carbon-fiber construction isn't like the MBA. The 180-degree hinge isn't like the MBA. The fast-charge battery isn't like the MBA. The multiple input devices (touchpoint and hardware buttons in addition to touchpad) aren't like the MBA. The 14", 1600x900 screen isn't like the MBA. The matte black aesthetic isn't like the MBA.

There are a ton of MBA ripoffs on the market, but the X1 Carbon isn't one of them.