Data for Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon; wath's new, but not necessarily improved

Introduction And Design

You may want a machine with more ports. You might need the higher capacity of a hard drive rather than a

solid-state drive. And with prices starting at $1,399, you definitely might decide to seek something more affordable. But if you're shopping for an ultrabook, Lenovo has your new first choice or system to consider before all others: the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

Named for the exotic, ultralight carbon fiber that forms its lid and internal roll-cage structure (the base is magnesium alloy), the X1 Carbon is officially the successor to last year's ThinkPad X1, but it more closely resembles a ThinkPad T420 that's been ironed or steamrollered: a 14-inch business laptop with the weight (2.94 pounds) and thickness (0.7 inch) of a 13.3-inch ultrabook. Other 14-inch ultrabooks we've tested weigh anywhere from 0.75 pound to 1.3 pounds more than the Carbon, though some, like the Samsung Series 5 14-inch Ultra and Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 481TG-6814, incorporate the optical drive the Lenovo lacks.

If you're an IT professional, you can think of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon as the enterprise answer to Apple's 13.3-inch MacBook Air. In a nearly identical tapering-wedge form factor (measuring 0.7x13x8.9 inches), you not only get a larger, sharper display but Windows 7 Professional and a processor with Intel's vPro technology for remote and network manageability.

If you're a business traveler, you can think of the Carbon as an executive status symbol to rival the likes of the super-slim Samsung Series 9 or Sony VAIO Z series, with superior usability—the screen and keyboard are both first-rate. Jaded Computer Shopper editors commented both on how nice the sleek system looks and on how sturdy it feels, with a sure grip when picked up with one hand and almost no flex when manhandled by the corners of the screen.

Configurations and CPUs

If you're on a budget, you can think of the X1 Carbon as unattainable. The $1,399 base price gets you a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Stepping up to our $1,499 test configuration brings a vPro CPU—the 1.8GHz Core i5-3427U—and 3G mobile broadband. Opting for a 256GB SSD hikes the price to $1,649. Finally, $1,849 combines the 256GB solid-state drive with a 2.0GHz Core i7-3667U processor.

All are backed by a three-year warranty and come with a software preload that more than half fills the 128GB SSD—in fact, after you subtract the recovery partition and preinstalled software, there's only 52GB free on the C: drive. The software bundle ranges from a skimpy 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security to Chrome, Evernote, and not one but two app stores (Lenovo's and Intel's). We also noticed that the Carbon came with a 60-day trial offer for the complete Microsoft Office 2010 suite rather than the feature-limited but no-time-limit versions of Word and Excel we've grown used to under the Microsoft Office Starter banner.

Features

The X1 Carbon's screen isn't covered in tough Gorilla Glass like the X1's, but its matte finish does a good job of blocking glare and reflections if you find yourself sitting near a window or beneath an overhead light. Brightness drops off sharply if you turn the backlight down a few notches to save battery power, but at its upper settings the display is very bright and clear, with colors that pop.

The 14-inch screen's 1,600x900 resolution is a welcome step up from the 1,366x768 of most 13.3-inch ultrabooks or even the 1,440x900 of the MacBook Air. Text and icons are sharp, and images show fine detail. Viewing angles are wide—you'll have no trouble gathering several peers around the ThinkPad for an informal presentation, especially since the system's sound is quite loud and rich, if not heavy on bass.

A formal presentation might be slightly trickier, since the Carbon has neither a VGA nor an HDMI port for plugging in a monitor or projector. (The lack of HDMI is partially addressed by Intel's Wireless Display or WiDi; once you've coughed up the cash for the ultrabook, you're not likely to balk at the extra $100 or so for a Netgear or Belkin WiDi adapter for your HDTV set.)

Instead, you'll find a Mini DisplayPort on the system's right side, between the headphone/microphone jack and the Lenovo's lone USB 3.0 port (which isn't colored USB 3.0's trademark blue, though there's a tiny "SS" for "Super Speed" stenciled next to the port). There's also an SD/MMC card slot on the right side.

On the left is an "always on" USB 2.0 port for charging handheld devices, along with a hardware Wi-Fi switch and the AC connector. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are standard; the X1 Carbon can also serve as a mobile hotspot to share its wireless connection with other devices.

  

The Lenovo's left profile. The new AC adapter connector is incompatible with third-party or previous ThinkPad power adapters.

  

We wish Lenovo had provided at least two USB 3.0 ports, if not the three of Asus' Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71, but give the company credit for bundling a USB-to-Ethernet dongle for accessing wired office networks—although losing the dongle is always a possibility.

The X1 Carbon's backlit keyboard looks identical to the Chiclet-style, smiley-shaped (each key curved at the bottom) layout of the ThinkPad X230. The scalloped keys feel great under one's fingers; typing feel is slightly shallow (as with virtually all ultrabooks, thanks to their thin frames) but quite comfortable, once you get used to having Home and End on the top row and PgUp and PgDn near the bottom. Pressing the Fn key and space bar cycles through off, low, and high settings for the keyboard backlight; the low setting is more than enough for the typical night flight, while the high setting is so bright that you might need it only in a pitch-black room.

  

The Carbon's keyboard features a large touch pad, both speaker and microphone mute buttons, and a fingerprint reader.

  

Depending on whether you prefer to keep your fingers on the home row, Lenovo gives you a choice of its trademark TrackPoint keyboard-embedded pointing stick or a large, buttonless glass touch pad for cursor control. Both work smoothly and accurately, though some of our light taps in the middle of the pad didn't register—a firmer tap, or one closer to the lower left corner mouse-button zone, did the trick.

Performance

Note: As of August 2012, Computer Shopper is using a new set of benchmark tests for desktop and laptop reviews. Direct comparisons are valid between systems within each review's bar charts, but not between linked reviews using different tests.

Productivity Tests

Its 1.8GHz Core i5-3427U—a dual-core, four-thread Intel "Ivy Bridge" processor—gives the ThinkPad X1 Carbon perky performance, even if it couldn't topple Core i7 ultrabooks like the Asus UX32VD-DB71 and Dell XPS 14 in our Cinebench R11.5 processor benchmark:

The combination of the Core i5 and a fast SSD not only made the Carbon feel snappy in everyday operations, it crushed the competition with a score of 5,149 in PCMark 7, an overall performance benchmark that simulates workloads ranging from image import and Web browsing to gaming (and that skews favorably toward SSDs):

Another 14-inch, SSD-based "Sandy Bridge" ultrabook, HP's Envy 14 Spectre, also did well in PCMark 7. The Sony VAIO E Series, a 15.5-inch laptop included for comparison's sake, brought up the rear.

While not finishing on top, the X1 Carbon posted respectable times (within a few ticks of the Core i7 ultrabooks) in our Handbrake video encoding and Adobe Photoshop CS5 image editing benchmarks. These tests, which transcode a five-minute 1080p video to smartphone size and apply a dozen filters and effects to a large JPEG image, challenge a PC's multimedia capabilities.

Graphics & Gaming Tests

Though it easily bested the HP Spectre and its previous-generation integrated graphics, the Lenovo's Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics posed no threat to the dedicated or discrete graphics of the Dell XPS 14 and Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 in our 3DMark06 benchmark:

Similarly, the Carbon upheld an ultrabook tradition—design for productivity, not playtime—by falling well short of the 30 frames per second (fps) required for smooth gameplay in our Lost Planet 2 and Crysis tests. That leaves it suitable for casual and puzzle games and MMORPGs, but no first-person shooters or arcade titles.

Battery Life & Conclusion

Our new MobileMark 2007 battery-rundown test cycles through a variety of applications ranging from Microsoft Outlook and PowerPoint to Adobe Illustrator, alternating between script execution and pauses to simulate idle time. With screen brightness set to 50 percent, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon lasted for a very respectable seven-and-a-third hours in the test:

Considering the Carbon's sub-three-pound weight, that's impressive. (The Dell XPS 14's bigger battery lasted two and a quarter hours longer, but that system weighs a portly 4.7 pounds.)

The X1 Carbon has the advantage of rapid recharging, too. Lenovo boasts that, while a full charge takes 90 minutes, a 70 percent charge—enough for more than four hours of work—takes just half an hour.

  Conclusion

We haven't loved every Lenovo portable we've seen (one or two underwhelming tablets come to mind), but at the risk of sounding like suckups, we can't remember the last time the ThinkPad laptop team swung and whiffed—the basic-black business line consistently hits solid doubles, triples, and the occasional home run.

Going by that metaphor, the X1 Carbon is a triple, if not a homer for corporate IT managers and elite executives. It's thin, light, and handsome, with a stellar screen and keen keyboard.

It's also expensive, especially when $200 less will buy you the Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 with a faster Core i7 chip, discrete graphics, and an even more gorgeous 1,920x1,080 screen. Frankly, we'd be happy if Lenovo would offer a more economical model with a non-vPro CPU and Windows Home Premium instead of Professional, and maybe throw in a Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA (or to-HDMI) adapter, as well as the USB-to-Ethernet dongle.

But that's wishful thinking. As is, as of today, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is at the head of ultrabook shoppers' short lists—or, at the very least, their wish lists.

More Data 

• Thin and light
• Excellent 14-inch matte screen and backlit keyboard
• Good performance and battery life
• Expensive
• No HDMI or Ethernet ports (though USB Ethernet adapter provided)
• Only one USB 3.0 port
• Scant room left on 128GB SSD

BUY IT NOW

Lenovo $1,448.00