Lenovo X1 Carbon Owner's Thread

I'm having this same issue but it does not jitter as much...Its pissing me off

 

Well, an external mouse has made it much more tolerable. Driver update didn't.

Sooo...in conclusion
- screen quality worse than I was expecting (fix: just tilt your head back)
- trackpad more annoying than I was expecting (fix: just use a mouse)
- no verizon support (fix: just set up an At&T account)
- charger bigger than I was expecting (fix: go buy a 90w ultraslim charger)

I think it's time to rename this baby the X1 Concession......

 

Wow.

So I was strolling round the Lenovo boards and noticed there was a problem with 90w slim charger causing x220 touchpad to be jittery. I havent tested yet, but this might be what is causing my x1 trackpad to be weird ( see previous posts) as I just started using the ultraslim charger tonight, just an FYI, as some people were considering buying ultraslim chargers. Be aware there might be a major issue with x1 compatibility and no fix.

 

i am not sure why lenovo decided to use a rubber coating on the trackpad of the X1 Carbon, glass finish one like the Macbook Air would be so much better.

 

I will receive my ultraslim charger in 3 days. I will report if I have the same problem. In addition, can you tell me if your ultraslim charge package includes the tip adapter for X1C. For I ordered the tip too, but it is still in production and may be shipped in >10 days.

 

I have confirmed that with my laptop, the trackpad becomes jittery while it is plugged in to the 90W ultraslim charger. The jitteryness goes away when it is unplugged. Anyone else?

(I bought the 90W ultraslim seperate, and had to buy a tip for the X1C).

 

Well, I'm still waiting for my repair. Lenovo has had my x1c for over 1 month, but I sure as heck hope that it doesn't come back this way. Once it returns, I'll post my results. What a major flub by Lenovo.

 

As posted on the Lenovo board:
See, I have not noticied any trackpad issues, but my 90W Ultrasim adapter started making funny sounds today - humming/buzzing and an occasional crackle. After using it for some time the volume increased, and it was audible from 2 meters away. Called Lenovo and they reckon it might be a faulty circuit board. They are sending out a replacement tomorrow and I won't even have to send the old one back.

 

Just saw the Lenovo Yoga. Wish we have this screen!

 

That sounds like the 90W power charger is messing with the trackpad's electronics. A similar thing happens to my X220 Tablet whenever I plug in a 90W adapter; I can't remember if it affects just the trackpad or also the digitizer pen. When I revert to a 65W charger it is fine. I believe it was only the trackpad/trackpoint, and the effect was that the pointer would just go straight to one corner of the screen. I figured it was a result of the active digitizer mingling with the charger. This does not happen for my X60 Tablet and 90W charger, though.

It all probably has something to do with how much power is being sent from the wall into your laptop's charging port. That is the best reason I could think of. Try using a smaller power rated charger, if you have access to one.

 

They had a kernel fix for it on the Lenovo boards, but I havent tried it yet on the X1. It was designed for the x220, and I didn't want to mess with it.

 

For anyone not happy with their X1 Carbon what's a good alternative Windows notebook 14" or less in screen size. Sure not the Sony Z - been there done that...

 

I generally prefer Lenovo, but the Sony Z3 was the only non-apple that had the specs I wanted. Just curious, but what didn't you like about them?

____________________
Sent via TapaTalk

 

Next in line would be the Samsung Series 9 13" or Asus Zenbook Prime 13"

 

Got mine today. Ordered Aug 17, 2012. Lenovo cancelled on me Sept. 24th. Reordered within 30 minutes. Couple of Question??? How long after you all got your x1c did you start noticing problems? I do not see anything so far. Installed Windows 8 Pro on it and updated everything. Where can I download the Thinkpad X1C Themes or wallpaper? Finally, I had a $150.00 concession with my original order. Do you think Lenovo will honor it?

 

I haven't had any problems so far (four weeks down the line) :thumbsup:

 

You must contact the person that offered it to you and have them place a request for credit. You may be able to contact the credit department and ask if there is a notation in your order history about the credit. I was told that after this contact a credit will be posted within 3-5 business days. Today is my 5th business day so I will check my credit card account over the weekend and see if the credit was posted. If not, I guess I will be calling again on Monday. Good luck.

Regarding problems: I have had mine approximately 2 weeks now and no problems at all.

 

so can anyone comment on the performance of the laptop? I remember reading on earlier pages on this thread how people were saying it was not feeling very fast. I am planning on purchasing the i7 8gig when it become available but I am wondering what everyone's impressions are on the day to day use of this lappy

 

On Win8:

Balanced mode (or any other normal energy profile): Perfectly speedy... not a workhorse obviously as it's still an ULV processor, but definitely a fast system.

Power saving mode: Noticeably sluggish sometimes.

 

So should I look elsewhere if I am considering this for my main computer? How much of a performance hit is the ULV?

 

What programs do you plan on running? Even my X220 Tablet is noticeably sluggish on Power saving mode, and it is running a full voltage Sandy bridge i5 processor. Therefore I also always keep it on Balanced mode. I don't believe the ULV vs full voltage difference is so pronounced.

 

I am very happy with its performance, quality and beauty! No complaints at all, at least for now (2 weeks).

 

I am using my X1C (i5, 8gb, 256gb) as my main work (not gaming) machine for two weeks now. I have to say that I am really impressed with the machine's performance running Win8.
The only problems I experience are:
- sound output on headphone jack distorted and bad quality (hoping for a driver problem here)
- WWAN module disappearing after standby
- touch pad is so huge that it sometimes reacts to my palms while typing; had disabled it on my old machines, but this one is really good
- track point middle key not usable as middle mouse button for whatever reason

 

I just received my X1 yesterday, having originally ordered it August 17! I am generally fairly pleased with it.

However, as shipped, the display had a bad bluish color cast. This can be largely corrected in Windows Color management by reducing the blue slider more than half the way to the left and moving the green about a quarter of the way left. I corrected the color further by using an Eye-One colorimeter and associated calibration software. As calibrated, the color is fairly close to that of my X220, but the latter's IPS screen is somewhat more saturated and has much wider viewing angles. Even for use for preliminary photo editing while traveling, I find the X1's screen acceptable.

 

I received my X1 Carbon ( i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD ) today, after having it ordered it from my university a couple of months ago. First impressions are pretty postive. It is fast, and build quality seems great, although screen quality is a bit disappointing. I will be installing linux on it tonight, and will use that as my primary OS.

 

You are the first one reporting i7/8GB RAM/256GB SSD....

 

Someone from Lenovo Forums also has one. These have been available to order for some companies and educational institutions for some time, but I think people who have purchased through these channels are only starting to receive them.

 

I ordered my i7 / 8 / 256 nearly two weeks ago in Australia, to be a DOA replacement of an i5. The i5 then had to be picked up etc, which took a while, but as of a early this week the PC was released to manufacturing. I have received an ETA of 28 Nov.

FWIW I did consider going to the MBPR13 as that was just announced when I was returning the i5, however I'm so impressed with how the X1C ran on Windows 8 and also the keyboard and case quality that I decided to stick with the Lenovo.

In Windows 8 it'd cold boot to the lock screen in 10 seconds. And it'd open Studio 2012 in just a few seconds. It was a big deal faster than the default Lenovo home install. Granted, none of the bloat was installed in my Win8 RTM build.

 

Mine is on the way. They are orderable now in the Netherlands.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Did Lenovo just stop offering the cellular/mobile broadband option on the X1C?

 

In Canada, yes, and it's not even an option any more.

I've been waiting for the i7/8GB/256GB and it's not out yet and and now even the WWAN is gone as an option. I wonder what's next?

 

Thanks Funkdancer. Have you found a way to customize special keys such as that 'PrtSc' key with this utility?

 

Anyone know why Lenovo would make such a move? WWAN was a great feature and poof it's gone.

 

Historically port shortages have caused options to disappear.

 

So does that mean they generally can't be retrofitted in those cases?

 

Hard to say without seeing it.

 

WWAN isn't gone. It's now an extra option. Here's a snip of the US buying site. See the WWAN buying button at the bottom of each of the four configurations?

 

It's gone in Canada (for now at least). For no apparent reason. It's no longer an option and it says No Mobile Broadband Support.

 

Had the Carbon for a month now (i7/4gb/256). Like it quite a bit. No real complaints actually. Did a clean install with Win7 (can't stomach Win8), only installed minimal Lenovo software, updated BIOS, new drivers. Runs super fast, boots in seconds, runs multi monitors with mini displayport to HDMI adapter cable.

I did remove the back and tightened the trackpad, took 15 minutes, easy as pie. Got rid of the noise and looseness. It wasn't a necessity, but I have the tools and skills and figured what the heck.

Keyboard is simply the best laptop keyboard of all time. Screen is really nice (not sure what all the spec freaks are complaining about), I use it hours every day, and its very very good.

I have the 90W slim adapter, I haven't noticed problems with it, but I may simply not have noticed it. I'll test a few times. Only complaint with the 90W adapter, is that the power connection, with the X1C tip is 3 inches long and protrudes out the side of the machine that far, its an accident waiting to happen, somethings gonna break.

Used it to play some games on a recent europe plane flight. The silly Intel HD4000 has enough juice to play most games I tried. I played Borderlands 2 for 4 hours straight (plugged into the United seat power)... it was plenty fast, albeit I didn't have all video options cranked, but it was totally playable for sure.

Audio is weird though, not typical RealTek sound quality. Might be my middle aged ears. I've learned how to get RealkTek HD audio to sound great in all my machines for years, this one ain't, but not done messing with it yet.

Mini displayport is annoying, but functional.

 

I totally agree with you. I have no any complains but very satisfied with the screen, touchpad, keyboard, battery life..... This is simply the best ultraportable and sexiest notebook (i5/8GB/256GB)! The ultra slim power adapter is really slim, much smaller than the 90w slim adapter. Got to get one for travel use and leave the brick at home or office.

 

Does your X1 Carbon's screen look like this?





I wouldn't consider this to be " very very good" by any stretch of the imagination, even for non "spec freaks" as you so eloquently put it.

While Apple is touting their new Retina screens, Lenovo seems to going the other direction with LINEN

 

Hi, my old friend, how did you get that picture? Without knowing the ratios of the photos, it's hard to make sense of them.

 

First picture is the Windows 7 start menu. The second picture is on a plain white background. Both images have the arrow cursor to show that the ratios are the same.

Many people have been very disappointed and complained about the poor quality screen on the X1 Carbon on these threads, but no one had posted a clear picture of what it looks like and how bad it is. Now everyone can see it and decide for themselves whether it's acceptable to them or not. It is what is, but "very very good" its definitely NOT.

 

Many people (including most reviewers and some people in this forum) also have praised the screens.

You said they have the same scale ratios, but what is it? 1 to 10? If that is the case, then it explains a lot of things.

 

Everyone can decide for themselves if it's acceptable to them or not.

If your standards and expectations are low maybe it won't bother you, but if you're used to even remotely decent quality screens the X1 carbon's screen will be very very disappointing.

​

 

Having used MacBook Airs and a Retina MacBook Pro I can tell you exactly what the X1C screen is. It's GARBAGE.

The fact that buyers accept this crap from Lenovo is sad. They should be emailed repeatidly, boycotted, an online petition should be circulating.

That's how bad their displays are and they're well aware of it on the X1C and the many other models too. It's about making a few more dollars in profit, giving us a very poor user experience.

Screen door effect makes your eyes work harder to see past it and ignore it, it's stress and tiring on the eyes. Don't think so? Read from a good display then come back and read from the X1C.

The display is a VERY important part of the user experience, people stare at them for hours on end and Lenovo repeatidly delivers poor displays on most products.

Don't accept it. Otherwise they'll keep taking advantage of everyone.

 

Out of curiosity, what's the percentage of X1 C owners who have complained about the screen?

 

It was my impression after having the Air for about six months and the Carbon for a couple, though they did not overlap, that they were pretty similar screens. Both offered pretty decent contrast and an above average sweet spot for the viewing angles. It did not seem to me that the Air screen was significantly better than the X1C.

If you don't like Lenovo screens then buy something else until they get the message. That's the power you have.

 

What do you suggest? The ASUS Zenbook Prime? The Sumsung Series 9?

 

I would suggest people buy the notebook that best meets their needs. For me that was the X220i. It has a good screen and keyboard, is light and durable, and the dual drives was big for me after having small ThinkPads small SSDs only. I don't care about HD+ and the average touch pad wasn't an issue as I'm a stick users. If you think the X1C screen is garbage, then you shouldn't buy it. All manufacturers have balance cost an features. I nthis case it would seem the screen is the issue, though I would disagree with the assessment. There's really no perfect notebook as all seem to have some pros and cons. X1C - bad screen, Series 9 - keyboard, Asus - build quality, MBPr/Air - expensive, etc.