
A worthy Ultrabook appears: the ThinkPad X1 Carbon reviewed - Cieplak
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/08/a-worthy-ultrabook-appears-the-thinkpad-x1-carbon-reviewed/
======
enduser
Depending 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.

~~~
delllapssuck
Amen. 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
Spot 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).

~~~
learc83
Mag safe is the only thing I miss after moving from a macbook pro to a
thinkpad.

It really makes me mad that apple was granted a patent when magnetic power
adapters were invented by UL in the 90s for deep fryers.

~~~
w1ntermute
> It really makes me mad that apple was granted a patent

Is that why no one else has implemented this feature?

~~~
eckyptang
Actually a company I worked for had prior art on that and had working
implementations in the field but as it was the defense industry, they aren't
that fussed.

------
sciurus
Here 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...](http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/14/lenovo-
thinkpad-x1-carbon-review/)

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-1...](http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/06/samsung-
series-9-review-13-inch-mid-2012/)

[http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/05/toshiba-
portege-z935-z835...](http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/05/toshiba-
portege-z935-z835-ivy-bridge-refresh/)

~~~
sciwiz
Don'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-...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/5843/asus-zenbook-prime-ux21a-review)

~~~
ahmelsayed
do you know of any issues with backlight bleeding? The Amazon reviews got me
worried

~~~
Andys
UX31A here. I have no qualms in recommending this as the best 13" ultrabook.

------
vhf
Looks 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> A keyboard with Ins Hom PgUp Del End PgDn.

~~~
ineedtosleep
Meh. This complaint is widely overblown IMO. I came from a T61 and an R61 and
recently switched to a W530 which has the same keyboard layout as the Carbon.
I contemplated the upgrade for an _extremely_ long time and finally jumped.

After a little more than a month of use:

For one, the "real keys" v. chiclet style keys issue is a non-issue for me at
this point. They have the same keypress feel for me and there's part of me
that prefers this keyboard more.

The Home-PgUp-Del-End-PgDn key issue is going to differ per person is a tricky
one for me to elaborate. I hated this keyboard at first since the PgUp and
PgDown replaced the forward and backward keys that I used HEAVILY. After
cooling down my hatred, I'm completely fine with those keys and the top row of
Home-End-Insert-Delete.

After getting used to those my only long-standing complaint is the god damned
print screen button. Why in the hell it's next to Alt and Ctrl is beyond me.
It's absolutely horrible positioning and I don't think I'd ever forgive Lenovo
for this decision.

~~~
astrodust
I really hope they have a "Pause" and "Scroll Lock" button on there, too,
because...what the hell is a Print Screen button doing on a laptop keyboard in
the first place?

~~~
ConstantineXVI
Screenshots? Weird to have a dedicated screenshot key, but that's what Windows
has done with it for nearly eternity and I'd imagine a few people expect it.

As for the positioning; only logical reason I can fathom is they ran out of
room and you can't split up Home/End, etc. (Then again, Microsoft drops Insert
on some of it's full keyboards, why not Lenovo?)

~~~
astrodust
That Windows needs a dedicated key for screenshots but usually has _two_
perpetually useless Windows keys that few people ever use still baffles me.

Windows is a museum of bad design decisions that have become so entrenched
it's impossible to eliminate even the most obscure ones.

------
rogerbinns
Lenovo 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/bLg18FtS...](https://plus.google.com/110166527124367568225/posts/bLg18FtS8KZ)

(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
It'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.

~~~
rogerbinns
It's even worse that the worse you suggest from my worse suggestion! Viewing
angles on the new screens are pitiful, with very rapid colour representation
as you move out of the small sweet spot. The _only_ thing I have found any
improvement on is that my 2012 screen is brighter than my 2007 screen -
sufficiently bright that I can actually use it ourdoors.

The new keyboards are more subjective - unlike the screens which I can't
imagine anyone defending. I got the backlit keyboard on my new system and am
happy with it - the old thinklight is still present so I switch between the
modes as suits my whims but mainly use the backlit mode. When you press Fn-
Space it cycles between keyboard backlight low, high, then thinklight (with
keyboard off) and finally all off.

On the 6 versus 7 rows, I am okay with the changes. But then I'm not that big
of a Thinkpad keyboard snob.

~~~
Zak
That's because the old high-end screens are IPS. That generally implies better
viewing angles, contrast ratios and color reproduction.

~~~
rogerbinns
I'm comparing my 2007 vintage T61 screen which wasn't IPS - just a regular LCD
panel to a 2012 vintage T430s screen. The viewing angle on the new screen is
_really_ small (both horizontally and vertically).

~~~
Zak
That's interesting. I rate the 4:3 T61 screen as not very good, but I'm
comparing it to my UXGA Flexview so that may be a little unfair. I have to
wonder if Lenovo thinks people just don't care about viewing angles.

~~~
rogerbinns
I have the 1680x1050 (IIRC) 16:10 T61. That was the upgraded screen not the
standard at the time. It was perfectly acceptable, and has decent viewing
angles, but not comparable to the IPS panels of previous generations.

On the Lenovo blogs almost any post will have comments complaining about the
screens. Lenovo's response has been that they could only get better screens if
they had large orders and that doesn't happen (apparently it would take tens
of thousands of orders to get a screen manufacturer to change tooling for a
16:10 run). But somehow Lenovo charge $1,000 to have 16GB of RAM in a laptop
(the most expensive place I have found for buying the RAM as a component is
$200), yet don't offer better screens for any money.

I am very grateful for Apple making screens an issue that can no longer be
ignored on decent laptops. I'm very happy with all other aspects of the
Thinkpad, but the screen made me seriously consider an Apple product instead.
Lenovo are just lucky that some of the non-screen aspects of the Apple
products are sufficiently annoying to this Linux user that I didn't switch.

~~~
Zak
Apple is well known for being able to get what its wants from suppliers, but
I'm sure Lenovo sells enough laptops that if it cared enough to make screens a
big issue with suppliers and a selling point for customers, it could get good
screens too. When IBM wanted good screens, it _created a new company_ (IDTech,
since sold to Sony) as a joint venture.

------
sausagefeet
This could be my new machine if Apple continues destroying OS X for me.

~~~
evandena
That'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.

~~~
w1ntermute
> Maybe I'll give Linux on the laptop an honest try. I know for sure it won't
> be Windows.

Just install Ubuntu, it works very well with ThinkPads and it's made to be
easy to use for end-users.

~~~
ecaron
All my responses on using Ubuntu on a Lenovo were summed up nicely on
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3964530> (Ubuntu visits Google.)

For my developers getting new machines, I tell them to split the HD into 3
partitions: Windows, Ubuntu and Mint - give each a one-week shot and then
stick with what feels best.

~~~
serge2k
I'm loving Ubuntu 12.04 w/ cinnamon instead of unity on my x201t.

------
JohnsonB
Asus 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
Why do you say to be wary of the 32VD? I was literally just about to buy one.

~~~
JohnsonB
The 32VD is bigger/thicker than the 31 models and has a hybrid HD(24GB flash)
rather than full SSD. It's got a dedicated graphics so I guess it's just
targeted towards a different market.

------
tokenizer
I 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
Can 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?

~~~
w1ntermute
His device is the X1. The X1 Carbon has a drastically better trackpad.

That said, you should try to use the TrackPoint, since it's a much more
efficient pointing device once you get used to it.

~~~
rayiner
Used a trackpoint for a long time. Big glass touchpad is way more efficient.
You move your fingers more, but because you have more control over the larger
range of movement than you do over the smaller range of movement, you can jack
up the tracking speed a lot higher.

~~~
w1ntermute
> you can jack up the tracking speed a lot higher

I just increased the sensitivity of the TrackPoint. When I use a MacBook
(supposedly the pinnacle of trackpad technology), I feel like the cursor is
moving in slow motion.

------
4bpp
This 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.

------
Gussy
I 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.

------
clebio
Somewhat 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
I'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.

------
to3m
The 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
broken 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!

~~~
andreer
I thought everyone remapped caps lock to control anyway, but maybe I'm in a
vocal minority here? I can't stand it any other way, and it feels much more
ergonomical. Do yourself the favor of trying it for a while.

~~~
lallysingh
Or Escape if you're a Vimmer (theory, I'm an emacser, so it's Ctrl for me).

------
bhauer
Am 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
' 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/...](http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/pdf/system_data/x1_tech_specs.pdf)

~~~
JohnsonB
That's the original X1, the X1 carbon I believe switched to matt.

~~~
jemka
Ah, thanks. I was needlessly disappointed.

------
Zak
I've read some comments on this machine at <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.

------
swalsh
My 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
I am currently using a Lenovo T60p... a laptop from 2005. Lenovo is known to
be a reliable business laptop.

~~~
jlgreco
The 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
Heatsink/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
Ah, they were around 30-50USD on ebay last time I looked; thanks for the tip.

------
plg
i can haz ubuntu?

~~~
nubela
exactly what i was thinking. we linux users need a good laptop that looks
good, perform well, and something that isn't apple!

~~~
rhizome
And for the record, Linux and the Retina MBPs don't get along.

[http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Linux-and-Apple-Which-
Is-t...](http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Linux-and-Apple-Which-Is-the-Lemon-
Which-Is-the-Lemonade-75981.html)

(FYI: the Phoronix post has an overlay ad)

~~~
ovi256
I 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
Wow, the original Phoronix article was much more reasonable.
[http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=apple...](http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=apple_mbpr_linux&num=1)

------
drewjoh
The Verge has a nice video review of this unit:
[http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/13/3232132/lenovo-
thinkpad-x1...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/13/3232132/lenovo-
thinkpad-x1-carbon-review)

------
johnchristopher
I 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
I 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
I 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.).

------
ixacto
How 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.

------
adamgray
Too bad it's limited to 8GB of RAM.

~~~
Torn
Eh, I think 8GB RAM for a laptop is pretty damn good. It's an ultrabook, not a
server replacement!

~~~
apress
Is the RAM user upgradable? Otherwise it's an unconscionable $250 to go from
4GB to 8GB and no option to go higher.

~~~
fjellfras
Apparently the ram is soldered on the motherboard, so no.

------
holri
No 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.

~~~
jfb
Then 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
I also know nothing about the Windows laptop market. But in Linux land
Thinkpad is just working perfect.

~~~
jfb
More accurate I guess would have been "the ~OSX laptop market." Precision in
language!

------
hcarvalhoalves
Ouch. 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
I _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
I 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
Oh. 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.

~~~
joezydeco
I've found that pressing directly down very hard on the stick will sometimes
kill the drift.

~~~
jodoherty
The trackpoint always auto-calibrates itself when you let go of it. If you
begin to get a drift, let go for a few seconds and it'll fix itself.

~~~
joezydeco
The drift I see is when your finger is _off_ the stick and the cursor keeps
moving. And it goes more than a few seconds.

~~~
jarek
Yeah, it'll do that because it's used to your finger being on the stick and
thinks that's the neutral position. It's supposed to stop and recalibrate
itself eventually, especially when it reaches the edge of the screen. I've
never had that take more than a dozen seconds on my Thinkpads (X31, T60) but
of course YMMV, yours might be actually buggy.

