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A worthy Ultrabook appears: the ThinkPad X1 Carbon reviewed
- plg 14y agoi can haz ubuntu?
- nubela 14y agoexactly what i was thinking. we linux users need a good laptop that looks good, perform well, and something that isn't apple!
- rhizome 14y agoAnd for the record, Linux and the Retina MBPs don't get along. http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Linux-and-Apple-Which-Is-the-Lemon-Which-Is-the-Lemonade-75981.html http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Linux-and-Apple-Which-Is-t... (FYI: the Phoronix post has an overlay ad)
- ovi256 14y agoI really like how those guys think it's somehow Apple's fault. Fonts are too small because Linux doesn't have resolution independence? Apple sucks for building a laptop with too many pixels.
- sp332 14y agoWow, the original Phoronix article was much more reasonable. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=apple_mbpr_linux&num=1 http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=apple...
- dkhenry 14y agoThis isn't entirely true. A Fedora developer was able to have much more sauccess then the Phoronix tester. I can't find the post on the internet, but it was linked on HN a while back.
- dfc 14y agoI might be in the minority here but looks good is probably the last thing I'm looking for in a machine.
- macco 14y agoCan anybody of your guys test with Ubuntu. The X1 is not out yet in Germany. The windows 7 version should work quite well with Ubuntu, since it's no dedicated graphics card there should not be any problems with Ubuntu.
- adamgray 14y agoToo bad it's limited to 8GB of RAM.
- Torn 14y agoEh, I think 8GB RAM for a laptop is pretty damn good. It's an ultrabook, not a server replacement!
- akkartik 14y agoA recent article here elaborated on this: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/134760-pc-obsolescence-is-obsolete http://www.extremetech.com/computing/134760-pc-obsolescence-... (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4412905 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4412905)
- adamgray 14y agoI would have a hard time going backwards from 16 on my workstation :| Sometimes heap dumps can exceed 8GB.
- rogerbinns 14y agoI have 16GB in my laptop (Lenovo T430s). The chipset can support 32GB.
- apress 14y agoIs the RAM user upgradable? Otherwise it's an unconscionable $250 to go from 4GB to 8GB and no option to go higher.
- fjellfras 14y agoApparently the ram is soldered on the motherboard, so no.
- tokenizer 14y agoI have Ubuntu with my X1 (less than a year old but not carbon). While it works great from a drivers standpoint, the trackpad is extremely messed up. My only dislike for the laptop is the poor trackpad. Other than that it's solid.
- ajross 14y agoCan you be more specific than "messed up"? I'm actually looking at this very device as my next Linux laptop. Do you mean it performs badly? That the hardware is bad? That the drivers don't support something you want to do?
- evandena 14y agoDoesn't the trackpad differ between the original X1 and the Carbon? From his wording, it sounds like the drivers work well, but the physical trackpad is the limitation. I am also looking for a Linux laptop with a good trackpad.
- daviddaviddavid 14y agoI have a Thinkpad X220. First thing I did when I got the machine was load Ubuntu onto it. There were a number of annoyances: the machine got really hot, the fan stayed on constantly, the battery drained way quicker than in Windows. But the most annoying problem was definitely the damn trackpad. The main problem is that it's horribly jumpy and unpredictable. No matter how I tweaked the options for the device, it would hop erratically. Most annoyingly, the act of lifting my finger away from the trackpad would cause the cursor to move. So, for example, I would move the cursor over a 'close window' icon, lift my finger to do something else (e.g. press a button/whatever) and the cursor would no longer be over the icon. I'd then have to reposition the cursor. So frustrating that I just gave up on the trackpad for a while and started using the trackpoint (which, I tend to call "the nipple"). Eventually, due to all of the problems taken together, I just started using Windows 7 (which, to my surprise, I actually like) with Ubuntu running in VirtualBox. All problems seem to be gone. Trackpad is totally fine in the VM.
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- JohnsonB 14y agoAsus Zenbook Primes seem to be a very high quality Ultrabook series as well (be wary of the differences between 32VD/32A and 31 models) Also, the Zenbook Primes mostly have 1920x1080 resolutions. While the X1 Carbon was upgraded from a pitiful 1366x768 to a 1600x900 resolution, it's a shame they are still a bit backwards on that. I'm wondering what people think on the 1600x900 vs. 1920x1080 issue and how much of a difference it makes.
- T-R 14y agoWhy do you say to be wary of the 32VD? I was literally just about to buy one.
- somesaba 14y agoSame! I'm curious too
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- T-R 14y agoMy understanding is that the thickness comes from the fact that the body isn't a single piece of metal, so you can swap out the RAM and HDD (unlike the 31A and 21A). Also, apparently you can repartition the SSD that's used as an OS cache into a separate drive reasonably easily. As much as I'd prefer the formfactor of the 21A, the ability to upgrade to 8GB of RAM is too big of a selling point to pass up on the 32VD.
- JohnsonB 14y agoYeah, it's just the difference isn't clear from the model name.
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- JohnsonB 14y ago
- bhauer 14y agoAm I missing it, or does that review fail to discuss if the screen is matte (usable) or glossy (I'll never buy another)? Also, I look forward to the day when 1600x900 is no longer considered high resolution. That should be entry-level for a 13" screen. It looks nice otherwise.
- jemka 14y ago' Display (Premium) 13.3" (338mm) HD (1366x768) TFT color, anti-glare display with glossy infinity Corning® Gorilla® Glass LED backlight, 350 nits, 16:9 aspect ratio, 300:1 contrast ratio http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/pdf/system_data/x1_tech_specs.pdf http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/pdf/system_data/...
- flurpitude 14y agoFrom the Engadget review (http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/14/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/14/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon...): "Maximum brightness here is 300 nits, a figure that's a bit underwhelming. It's a fair bit dimmer than the Samsung Series 9, for example, which clocks in at 400, and outdoor visibility in bright sunlight is virtually impossible here. But, Lenovo kindly opted for a matte display, ditching the glossy Gorilla Glass found in the prior X1."
- drewjoh 14y agoThe Verge has a nice video review of this unit: http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/13/3232132/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/13/3232132/lenovo-thinkpad-x1...
- vhf 14y agoLooks nice, but you would give me one I'd refuse it. They removed the single feature that made me buy my current X200s : the full keyboard. A real keyboard, with real touch and real keys : http://bit.ly/P3NmYd http://bit.ly/P3NmYd A keyboard with Ins Hom PgUp Del End PgDn.
- sequoia 14y agoHow long have they been doing the mac-style fn-ctrl-meta-alt layout (rather than BIGctrl-fn-meta-alt like most other keyboards I've had, i.e. ctrl in lower left under shift)? This was one of my main issues with my brand new T530, along with the prn scn button BETWEEN the right ctrl & alt... I'd like to meet the genius who met this (who, presumably, takes in excess of 100 screen captures daily). Those complaints are followed by weight, general flimsiness, & ultra-shitty speakers. I know it's not a media center but they could have picked some speakers that are not subaudible and tinny. I planned to return the thing but Lenovo made clear that they were not cooperating and I gave up. Ubuntu runs pretty well & with Bumblebee the Nvidia doesn't eat up the battery so shrug Anyway I'm glad to see someone's at least trying to make a decent PC laptop.
- kpozin 14y agoYou can switch the Fn and Ctrl keys in the BIOS: http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/how-to-swap-the-fn-and-ctrl-keys-on-a-thinkpad-2010035/ http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/how-to-swap-the-fn-and-ct... (The only problem then is remembering to use the right key on the rare occasions when you actually look at the keyboard labels.) Don't know of a nice solution for Print Screen, though.
- K2h 14y agoThere are stickers you can buy. Search amazon.com for "keyboard key stickers". with that said, I'm not sure I would use them - slight change in texture of the key would bother me.
- jarek 14y ago> How long have they been doing the mac-style fn-ctrl-meta-alt layout? Approximately forever. My X21, released around 2001, predates the spread of the meta key and has a fn-ctrl-alt layout. No idea who came up with the ridiculous print screen key location though. And at the expense of a menu key, too! That's approaching Toshiba consumer laptop circa 2004 bad.
- sausagefeet 14y agoThis could be my new machine if Apple continues destroying OS X for me.
- evandena 14y agoThat's what I'm thinking too. For the past year or so, I've been wanting to swap my MacBook Pro for an Air, but I'm becoming more hesitant now. I just feel like OS X is going down the road of iOS, and their lawsuits as of late are rubbing me the wrong way. Maybe I'll give Linux on the laptop an honest try. I know for sure it won't be Windows.
- krenel 14y agoUsually Lenovo laptops have a very good support for Linux. I have a x201 and everything works perfect under Debian/testing. I encourage you to give it a chance.
- doktrin 14y agoOut of curiosity, does "everything" include seamless external monitor support, sleep on lid-close and working wi-fi? I am not being flippant at all, however the above constitute the reasons I moved away from a Linux laptop 3 years ago (and, conversely, will not move back until their resolution). Thus far OSX works for my needs, but it would be great to have an alternative.
- blinkingled 14y agoAll of those things work great on my x220.
- dwiel 14y agoAll of those things work out of the box on my T420s
- Symmetry 14y agoYes, all those work on my new T430s. Just be sure not to get a model with NVidia graphics.
- to3m 14y agoThe keyboard looks a bit strange. The massively wide right-hand set of keys (Backspace, \, Return, Shift) could be made a bit narrower, surely, and the navigation keys squeezed in next to them. Judging by the keyboard layout, somebody reckons people still use PrtSc a lot! Well, with my suggestion, you could put PrtSc in this extra column, give us a right-hand Windows key where PrtSc is, AND you'd still have space left over for not just Pause/Break but also the vital Scroll Lock. This would also make it difficult to put an inverted-L return key in, because it would be ridiculously thin. So they'd pretty much have to do the non-US version with the same layout for that section. So if you lived in a 102-key country you could finally get all the extra keys you know and love, AND a proper Return key. I would buy that. But as it stands: meh. Odd keyboard, HD4000, max 8GB. Looks nice though...
- sequoia 14y agobroken record: just bought a t530 and the prtsc key makes me crazy. Who thought this was a good idea?? That and switching the left ctrl & fn (so it's like a mac). I suppose these things are just not for programmers/power users; anyway it's a big PITA to switch from ctrl under shift bottom left (every other PC keyboard) to "ctrl somewhere else, you just dimmed the screen." EDIT: Thank you for BIOS keyswap tip. It's still not as good as a properly placed, properly sized ctrl key but this helps!
- to3m 14y agoSo this is a standard Thinkpad thing, then?? How bizarre... Still, at least it has 2 Ctrl keys. The Macbooks only have the one. Makes some sense for OS X (until you run emacs, anyway), but it's a real pain on Windows.
- ludwigvan 14y agoYou could remap the right option key with keyboardremap4macbook, it also allows you to change it only for specific applications like Terminal.
- wbond 14y ago
- swalsh 14y agoMy Lenovo Brick... uh oh I mean T410S is still sitting on my desk. Within 2 months of getting it, the screen started having large white lines in it. Within 4 months the plastic started cracking, and within 7 months I got a fan error. I just won't trust a lenovo again.
- twmb 14y agoI am currently using a Lenovo T60p... a laptop from 2005. Lenovo is known to be a reliable business laptop.
- jlgreco 14y agoThe T60p's were absolutely fantastic machines. I used mine (got it early in 2007) fulltime until a couple of months ago when the fan died (for the second time. Made very loud grinding noises whenever it tried to spin up.) I still use it on occasion without the fan, making sure to suspend to ram as soon as I see the temperature go past 75C or so. I didn't bother fixing it this time since the price of a new fan/heatsink assembly and a new battery would have been more than the cheapest eeepc I could find on newegg, but I've wanted to get another thinkpad ever since.
- Zak 14y agoHeatsink/fan assemblies are under $10 on ebay, and these laptops are straightforward to disassemble. The official hardware maintenance manual will tell you step by step. It should take less than an hour to replace.
- jlgreco 14y agoAh, they were around 30-50USD on ebay last time I looked; thanks for the tip.
- marekmroz 14y agoIf you haven't yet, you may want to try opening the case and cleaning the fan with compressed air. I fixed the infamous "Fan Error" on my 3yo x61s this way.
- sciurus 14y agoHere is the engadget review. It has comparisions to many more ultrabook models than the Ars Technica review does. http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/14/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/14/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon... There are definitely some compelling Ultrabooks besides this Lenovo. What about the similarly priced Samsung Series 9, or if you have a tighter budger and can accept lower specs, the Toshiba Portege Z935? http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/06/samsung-series-9-review-13-inch-mid-2012/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/06/samsung-series-9-review-1... http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/05/toshiba-portege-z935-z835-ivy-bridge-refresh/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/05/toshiba-portege-z935-z835...
- mjmahone 14y agoI was going to say, it looks like my Series 9 15" is at least as good in every aspect (and it blows the lenovo away in terms of battery), plus if you're looking for something lightweight, it looks like it's about as heavy the 15" and a good deal more than the 13".
- sciwiz 14y agoDon't overlook the 2nd gen Zenbook Primes from ASUS, 1920x1080 IPS screens on both 11.6" and 13" models. http://www.anandtech.com/show/5843/asus-zenbook-prime-ux21a-review http://www.anandtech.com/show/5843/asus-zenbook-prime-ux21a-...
- ahmelsayed 14y agodo you know of any issues with backlight bleeding? The Amazon reviews got me worried
- jpdus 14y agoIm using the UX31A daily since ca. 1 month... ive red the complaints about backlight bleeding and the 1mm higher cassis on the left while opened - laughable in my view. I am absolutely satisfied so far, great Performance, great Keyboard and an amazing high resolution ips screen which is also great for working outside... Definately prefer it to any current MBA.
- hcarvalhoalves 14y agoOuch. They still make notebooks with the "nipple" mouse? I actually thought it was a Thinkpad from the 90's on the first pic. BTW, who invented the term "ultrabook"? It's cheesy as hell. Reminds me of the "laser disc" days.
- squeed 14y agoI love the nipple mouse. I find it much less irritating on my wrists than a trackpad. Plus, it allows for a rapid transition between keyboard and mouse.
- pearle 14y agoI agree and I have disabled the trackpads in the bios settings for both of my Lenovo laptops. I just wish they could solve the slight movement drift you experience sometimes when using the ThinkPoint.
- nadahalli 14y agoOh. You echo my very pet peeve with the trackpoint. I hate the slight drift. I have a script that disables the trackpad. I will figure out how to do it in the bios.
- clebio 14y agoSomewhat annoyed that their three comparison computers are all Macbook Airs. Ignoring the fact that you're comparing different OS and most people will choose based on that alone, there are several decent Windows-based ultra-portable computers out there. The Samsung Series 9 was the first 'Macbook Air killer' and is still solid. There's also the Asus Zenbooks (as mentioned already) and the Toshiba Porteges (Z set), among others.
- juan_juarez 14y agoI'm not entirely convinced that being a "Macbook Air killer" is even that important of a goal. It proves that you can do it & there's a bit of a halo effect but I've not seen enough people using MBAs to think that it's really a major market segment to chase.
- holri 14y agoNo RJ45, No VGA? There is a lot of old hardware / circumstances requiring this in a professional setting. An adapter is not an option because I am going to loose it all the time.
- thelema314 14y agoVGA ports are too tall to fit in ultra-slim laptops. RJ45 is a bit smaller, but must also be sacrificed for slimness.
- wumpwoast 14y agoSome old PCMCIA cards used to have pop-out RJ45 connectors where the cable plugged vertically into a square open-ended socket. While making this design durable seems difficult, I'd still appreciate having an Ultrabook that didn't require a dongle.
- shrughes 14y agoSimilarly, the latest model of Vaio Z has an ethernet port taller than the body, with a plastic cover that folds open to accept the full height of connector.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- jfb 14y agoThen you're not in the market these machines serve. I have been rocking the MBA since it came out, and the latest rev is I think the best computer ever made for me. When they go Retina (and use a discrete graphics card) I will be in hog heaven. People occasionally ask me what laptop to buy, and I always admit that I know nothing about the Windows laptop market. Is Thinkpad still the only game in town?
- holri 14y agoI also know nothing about the Windows laptop market. But in Linux land Thinkpad is just working perfect.
- rogerbinns 14y agoLenovo messed up on the default calibration of that panel. You have the same problem with the t430s which I own. I used a ColorHug to get the correct ICC profile at which point it looks a lot better. More details and the profile from G+ https://plus.google.com/110166527124367568225/posts/bLg18FtS8KZ https://plus.google.com/110166527124367568225/posts/bLg18FtS... (Lenovo do ship an ICC profile with Windows, but it was made in 2010 and is simply for a 60% gamut screen of that resolution and doesn't take into account the actual panel used.) Screens have been the major area where Lenovo have been taking backwards steps, while everything else have been (sometimes debated) improvements. We now have low resolution and 16:9 instead of 16:10 losing vertical resolution. My laptop has over 5cm of wasted vertical space (just plastic) that would be better served by being pixels.
- Zak 14y agoIt's worse than you suggest, and the trend has been going on for years. Highest resolution available in a Thinkpad, by year: 2005: 2048x1536 2010: 1920x1200 2012: 1920x1080 And the old ones were IPS. I like the old keyboard lights better than the new backlit keyboards too. This is not arbitrary; they're useful for reading things other than the letters on the keyboard.
- tedunangst 14y agoThe new models still have the thinklight.
- jlgreco 14y agoThe "real" thinkpads / T-series have the Thinklight still. This X1 Carbon seems to have a backlight keyboard.
- tedunangst 14y agoMy t430s has both.
- rogerbinns 14y ago
- enduser 14y agoDepending on who you ask, the "stiff hinges"--common to all ThinkPads--are a feature, not a bug. The hinges will still be in great shape several years down the road when other laptops will be floppy or unable to stay open. I can hold my hefty W530 by the screen bezel, open, and walk around with it without the base moving at all or stressing the case. This is a case of being built to last rather than being built to feel buttery in the showroom.
- vasco 14y agoThe laptops that I've so far had (acer, asus, fujitsu) could all be opened and a screw on each side could be tightened when they got too loose. So that's a tip you can use.
- delllapssuck 14y agoAmen. This is why I'll never buy another inexpensive Dell laptop. Stupid things like hinges or fans will fail and the way these laptops are contructed, it's more trouble than it's worth to try to repair them, even when you know te rest of the components are doing fine. Disposable Computers. Fail. In the end, I'd rather have an older ThinkPad, say a T61, than a new Dell. There's one great thing about older computers: there are fewer problems with non-Windows drivers. Lots of non-Windows OS's will run great on, say, a T61.
- eckyptang 14y agoSpot on. T61 user here. eBay is a veritable goldmine of bits for T61's. There's not a single bit you can't replace for trivial amounts of money. I've spent about 150GBP on this T61 since I got in a couple of years ago (and that included the purchase price!). All I did was chuck more RAM in it, buy a genuine mains adapter (after the shitty clone one zapped me) and a new key scissor after I bounced the TV remote off it by accident. I'd also say that the T61 works better with Windows than some of the new machines as well. It has proper hardware and no corner cuts like shitty network interfaces, "odd" graphics devices and b-rate media devices. Also screw mag-safe - this thing just bounces if the kids trip over the cable (much better engineering IMHO).
- johnchristopher 14y agoI don't understand why two-finger scrolling works in some applications but not in every application... Isn't two-finger scrolling basically a hw emulated wheel scrolling as far as the OS is concerned ?
- andreer 14y agoI think the issue is with discrete (line-at-a-time) vs. smooth (pixel-at-a-time) scrolling. Two-finger scrolling typically sends the latter type of event, which is not yet widely supported in Windows and Linux software (although I have it working on my thinkpad X121e with the latest gtk3).
- johnchristopher 14y agoI thought the "smoothing" was done entirely in software because my old genius mouse wheel behaviour changes according to firefox "smooth scrolling" setting. It still seems weird to me that if the smooth (pixel-at-a-time) event is sent two-fingers scrolling fails while a mouse doesn't. The OS or the application is accepting pixel-at-a-time event and fails or succeeds regardless of the originating device (mouse, touchpad, wacom, etc.).
- 4bpp 14y agoThis is all fine and dandy, but I would have much preferred them to put the effort into producing a decent X* tablet again. Since the X201T, every upgrade they did, starting with the switch to an even flatter and wider resolution and most recently switching from having one of the few decent keyboards remaining in the market to yet another clone of that hybrid style between TV remote buttons and the metal anti-vandalism keys found on airport internet café terminals that Apple popularised, has been feeling like more of a downgrade.
- ixacto 14y agoHow is the noise profile? My 4 year old t400 (upgraded to 8gbyte ram and a SSD) is still dead silent except when playing hd video.
- Zak 14y agoI've read some comments on this machine at http://forum.thinkpads.com http://forum.thinkpads.com. The complaint I see a lot of there is that the screen is terrible. It's bright, and has what passes for a high resolution these days, but the color reproduction, contrast ratios and light leakage have all produced complaints. Disclaimer: this is a forum where people hack together T61/T60 hybrids so they can have 8gb of RAM and a UXGA IPS panel, so they make have higher standards for their screens than most people.
- Gussy 14y agoI bought an original Thinkpad X1 at the start of the year and after using it since then I have to say the biggest problem it has is the battery. It's more like a large capacitor than a battery, something to keep itself powered while your run between power outlets. It is actually quite disappointing when the sole reason you buy an ultra-thin "ultraboook" is for mobility and portability, but you have to stay tethered to a power outlet. It's great to see that they have addressed this issue in the X1 Carbon. Engadget suggests a 3:30 battery life for the original X1 which seems about right, so I trust their measured battery life of 5:07 to be pretty close. I presume real world usage will be even better than the extra 1:07 from the original X1, as moving to the matte screen should mean a lower display brightness, since you're not fighting the reflectiveness of the corning gorilla glass. The second biggest issue I have had is one of quality. My first X1 was RMA'd for faulty mouse buttons and wireless antenna right after I opened the box, and the second one I received reported incorrect battery capacity, had dead pixels centre screen and some other hardware faults which escape me. Thankfully I was able to salvage a completely working X1 out of the two (original and replacement), returning to Lenovo a very broken, but brand new Thinkpad. Despite the carbon fixing my number one issue of battery life, I'm still not sure if I would upgrade to it, given then chance. I originally bought this Thinkpad X1 because it was supposed to be a Thinkpad, something that was nearly bulletproof and would withstand the abuse of travel and the outdoors. Lenovo has lost my trust in Thinkpads for now, but hopefully this X1 Carbon is better than the original.