ThinkPad X240

Would the RAM be soldered??

 

Lenovo has been usually putting matte screen in all of its notebook. I would expect the x240 to continue the x230 use of matte screen.

 

That's highly unlikely. The touchscreen could have anti-glare and hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings, but unless they want it to look like a crappy resistive touchscreen from 10 years ago it won't have a matte (diffuse) front surface.

 

The FHD screen coating on the X240 will look much like this (this is an T440s with FHD Touch):
http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2oujcwTGNIo/UlqQ_FvKR2I/AAAAAAAALtQ/EMtgcns9CX4/s1600/PA100085%255B3%255D.jpg
(Outdoor usage with bright light)

Indoors, it looks like this:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lKiMtoaKSXc/UlqQ5etTM0I/AAAAAAAALrw/d4mbc8KrUN0/s1600/PA100141%255B20%255D.jpg

Taken from here: ThinkPad T440s: první pohled, zku

 

That sure looks an AR coating on top of a glossy surface to me, not a matte surface.

 

Hi!


Im looking forward to buy a X240. I really wanted a ThinkPad with dedicated trackpoint buttons and display hinges, but meh .. what can you do? Seems I have to adapt.

1.) Does somebody know if there are models available with FHD touch and smartcard combo? I will buy mine from here with student discount http://www.campuspoint.de/mobile/notebooks/lenovo/thinkpad-x-serie/thinkpad-x240/
But there aren't models with smartcard reader and touch screen. Both features would be a nice to have, besides 802.11ac.

2.) So whats about the FHD touchscreen? I had an look on ibmthink's link wiht the screenshot. Seems like the bezel is behind the "glass" in the touch version, but it still offers a thin bezel. Is the image quality the same between touch and non-touch? And maybe the "glass" adds some structual strength to it (and weight of course). What do you think?





Cheers!

P.S.: Something I noticed and maybe isn't that obvious: the x240 has a PrtSc Button, while the T440s doesn't. Instead teh T440s has a 2nd Windows key. Just fyi.

 

How does one get a screen shot without a Print Screen button?

 

Windows Snipping Tool.

 

The T440s does not have a second Windows key. This appears to be a mistake. The PrintScreen button is there where it should be with the new layout.

 

Ohh. Good to know. Lenovo's information seems to be very inconsitent. :/

 

Would Lenovo release X240 with regular mobile CPUs not ultra low voltage ones?

 

Does anyone know if anyone has an X240 in a store that I can actually go play with one? Lenovo's return policy is not very try it friendly. I am trying to decide between this and a Thinkpad Yoga. I like the more upgrade options on this, but the yoga functions might be useful. I played with a Thinkpad Yoga at my local Fry's and was very impressed.

 

Nope. The X240 will only have ULV CPUs.

 

You will be hard press to find any retailer selling ThinkPad besides the the mainstream options like the ThinkPad Twist or ThinkPad Tablet 2.

 

I think everyone here is missing the fact that the X240 has a FHD IPS screen and the option of a 6 cell external battery that would give the machine a total of 12 hours of real use.

 

Except you can't actually get that configuration. Maybe at some point in the future you will be able to, but not yet. Besides, how do you figure people are missing that? There seems to be quite a bit of talk regarding the FHD screen specifically.

 

Hi!
I'm about to buy this new thinkpad x240, which has just arrived in France at 800euros for the basic model (you should buy it at Lenovo France for good prices eh eh). I'm getting the one with all options in core i5 4300U, except smartcard reader and the SSD cache (getting the 500Go hard drive, sufficient for my needs, and i'm concerned about the longevity of the ssd cache).
I was wondering, there are three options for the rear battery : 72Wh, 47Wh and the basic 23Wh model. I know that the 72Wh battery is quite thick, but is ths 47Wh as thick as the 72Wh model, or i can imagine a thickness between the 23Wh ans the 72Wh models ?

Sorry if my english is simple, i'm a student who just arrivered in College this year in France

 

Unfortunately, there has been no sign of the 47h battery.

 

I don't know about the batteries, but I would advise you get the IPS screen option if possible.

 

Oh crap the 47Wh really exist on Lenovo France. It's indicated as a Li-ion cylindrical in opposition to the 23Wh one which is a Li-po. The battery is a few euros cheaper than the 3 cells and is available as default for the X240 and T440 (but not for the T440s).

I really want to see how this battery looks like.!

 

Looks like the FHD and touch are coming in December (in NZ at least)

Meet X240

 

The FHD Multitouch Models are now available in the US, though the screen resolution is showing as 1366x768. I'm thinking its a typo.

 

That's not FHD. HD Touch is a separate option that's been missing here, but available in other markets since launch. FHD and FHD Touch are supposed to come in December.

 

And the $200 bump for touch will have me thinking twice about whether I need it.

 

A short first unboxing of the X240 on Youtube: Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Laptop Unboxing - YouTube

He says he will test the X240 and then post a video review later.

 

I ordered the Thinkpad X240 yesterday the 25/11!
Lenovo says it may take 15 days max manufacturing my Thinkpad, and then the delivery to France may take 15 days as well I believe... I will post here the stories of the delivery, if they exist, and in ~ a month, I will make a little review of it

 

I connect my x240 to 4 different fullHD monitors (2 LG models and 2 Viewsonic models) with D-SUB and there is noticeable difference in the color just by dragging window across workspace. I used different cables and I do not have any issue with my Asus U24A. My x240 runs windows 8 and xubuntu 13.10; and my asus runs windows 7 and MintLinux 14. I borrow another x240(same config with i7 and 1TB harddisk) and it shows the same color difference in one test (windows 8, one of the viewsonic monitor at work).

I want to see if it's just bad luck that I see this in two different x240. I don't have a cable for the display port, but don't mind know if it is better than the D-SUB port. x240 owners, please help. thanks.

 

A review about the X240 is available! However without the FHD display.

Test Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Ultrabook - Notebookcheck.com Tests



Cheers

 

Another review:

Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Review - SlashGear

 

I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, just trying to understand, but is x240 really an evolution of x230?

Besides FullHD screen (that who knows when they will offer or how much it will cost), what other advantages x240 has?

For me cons of x240 are:
- new trackpoint
- higher capacity battery is lifting it instead of sticking behind: The whole point of being thin is to be thin. Also, I'm not sure how is typing experience after that, since it's under an angle. And finally, is it more comfortable to carry it ?
- max RAM is 8GB !?

The only pro for it would be newer CPUs which have lower voltage.

I hope they will keep selling x230 for a while...

 

I am sitting right in front of a X240 at the moment and install Win 7 updates. I bought it for 698 Euro in the configuration:

i3-4010U
4GB Ram
500GB 7200rpm
non-IPS Screen
7260 WLAN/Bluetooth
3 cell battery
Camera

I updated to 8GB Ram and installed a Seagate Momentus XT 750GB SSHD.

The notebook will replace a X220i with similar config. Compared to the X220i the screen is brighter and I like the backlit keyboard of the X240. The X240 is definitely smaller and lighter. However it makes a really solid impression.

My wife will use the X240 for Office, surfing the internet and using Skype. Buying a faster model with i7 would not make sense. Throttling will reduce performance anyways.

I would not spend more than 1000 Euros for this notebook. Single channel and TDP limits performance and I am not sure if I could really use a FullHD Screen that small.

 

Dissapointed by:

>Lack of FHD, or at least 900p
>ULV CPU

Once they fix these issues i will start recommending this laptop again

 

The first will be fixed eventually. As for ULV's I expect even the X250 next year will use Broadwell ULV's.

 

I think the X2xx series is designed to be a really portable laptop with huge battery life. It targets on office applications. If you want more power, you can get a 4xx or 5xx model. The X240 is the first model that completely focuses on the mobile office market,

You cannot design a laptop that small that can handle 35W heat dissipation just for the processor. The only way would be to spread the heat over the keyboard and the laptop buttom and burn the user. Battery life would also decrease. Even with the 15W processor, throttling occurs.

When you open the laptop, you will easily see, why there is only one Ram socket. Due to the integrated 3 cell battery, there is no space left for another socket. Apparently, Lenovo is of the opinion that single-channel up to 8GB is enough for the target market.

A X240 is not designed to be used for video-editing, gaming or compiling larger proigramms. For that purposes, I have an i7 desktop with lots of memory and a graphics card that additionaly serves very well as heater in winter. Your could also buy a W540 for that.

 

What are the chances of seeing a single 16GB in 2014?

 

A nice short X240 user-review on Youtube:

I don´t think 16 GB RAM sticks will be available until DDR4.

 

You'll be better off getting a X230 if you want an X series with 16GB of ram.

 

@IBMthink

This review is a joke. He's just read the specs off a sheet of paper, providing nearly no new information for us. Where does it flex? Compared to the X230 how good is the build quality? Some thoughts about the new trackpad, except you have to adapt to it or that the laptop misinterprets your left-click. How good is the accuracy? And can you actually screw the screws tighter or stuff something beneth the trackpad to prevent it to "click" in other words to make unpleasant noise?




I am eagerly waiting for the X240 with FHD to arrive at campuspoints' warehouse. I hope for the possibilty to order it at least before christmas eve.

Some thoughts of mine, which could prove to be helpful for other potential buyers:

1.)
Regarding the FHD display. I checked the "Samsung Ativ Book 9 plus" this week, which has a 3200x1800 resolution on a 13.3" dsplay. I could easily read the letters from 60cm away (2 ft) with the native resolution (no dpi changes). Well you have to sit still, then it's easy, while moving this will be to hard to read. Keep in mind that I am short-sigthed with a dioptre of -2.5 on each eye. So people with good eyesight (+/- 1 dioptre) are good to go.

So if we visit this page and calculate the ppi (points/pixels per inch) Is This Retina? - DPI/PPI Display Calculator we can easily see that the X240 with the 1366x768 resolution has a ppi of 125.37; the X240 with 1920x1080 has 176.23 ppi; and the Samsung has a astonishing ppi of 276.05. What is the conclusion? When you calculate the ppi you don't have to look at the resolution anymore nor the screen size. You just need to compare the ppi and you know on which screen the font will be displayed smaller on the native resolution. The higher the ppi the smaller the font will be. The fact, that I could read text on the Samsung with the native resolution more or less easily, I imply that you can read the text on the X240 above all too! The text on the X240 with FHD resolution will be readable. So no worries there. As soon as I get hold of my X240 with FHD, I can write a review about the ppi topic.

However .. I had people complaining aobut the small font size on my Clevo 15.6" with FHD. I guess it can't be generalized ... Go to your next electronics supplier and look after the "Samsung Ativ Book 9 PLUS". The Plus is important, because only that version has the QHD+ resolution. Btw: the build quality of this ultrabook and the screen are jaw-dropping, but the rest ... yuck!. No changeable battery, no power bridge, a couple of ports, no docking. So ThinkPads are really the only option. Whatever BTT !

2.)
Why do people hate the 16:9 resolution? Especially when you want to open to programs side by side. This is useful for people like me, who are coding a a daily basis.

3.)
I'm not sure, but on the YouTube video review IBMthink posted, the guy exposed the internal parts/structure. It seems that the RAM isn't solderd on the MB.
Here is the precise moment, where he shows the RAM slot. Seems to be non-solderd for me.
Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Review! - YouTube

4.)
@IBMthink

Do you know why I can't order models of the X240 on campuspoint.de with smartcardreader and multitouch? When I go for the FHD Touch version, I can't have the smartcard, but I guess that there will be the preserved smartcard slot, however there will be no interface mounted but the slot will be there. Do you think you could upgrade that yourself? I don't know a integrated smartcard reader might come in handy. And what about NFC? US site states that there is a NFC configuration. Do you think that would be upgradeablet too?

5.)
About the RAM. It seems that the single channel ram is most likely to be practically 20% less efficient as dual channel ram on memory intensive programs. When you are using the whole 8GB e.g. video editing, rendering, having a lot of data in the RAM this will become a noticeable side effect, but if you were for example watching a FHD movie or playing some mediocre games this won't be measurable at all, because you are not using the whole 8GB. Maybe 1-2%. Look it up on the interwebz "single channel vs dual channel ddr3". For those of you who want to upgrade the RAM, DDR3 RAM sticks are only made up to 8GB of course. 16GB sticks will possibly come with DDR4 like one IBMthink wrote it on this page earlier.

6.)
A question of mine: Do you think you could run 3ds Max 2014 on the X240 with the i7-4600U ? I don't intend to do complex 3D work on it, but simple 3D shapes, with animation (for school projects) .. what do you think? Will it be acceptable? According to the Autodesk required specs information on their homepage, the Intel HD 4400 is an approved video card, but they don't mention any ULV CPUs. As rule of thumb, how much % ULV CPUs are weaker than the non-ULV CPUs ? I mean if you can play mediocre games on the X240 it should be possible to do basic stuff in Autodesk 3ds Max, shouldn't it?

7.)
Aaaaand one other second qestion of mine is: What is the advantage of the 130W Ultradock over the 90W Ultradock? They are completely same, except the watts are different. What advantage gives you the 130W over the 90W? Will the battery charge faster? If so, is this bad for the battery or not?




TL;DR ... some useful thougts about the X240 and some questions. Read it you lazy sloth!





Cheers
WhyDoINeedToRegister

 

1. Agreed. As an X220 Tablet user, I could really do with a much higher-res screen. Not losing Wacom input is a requirement though... which really limits my options at this time...

2. 16:10 is better: Same width, an extra 1/9 vertical resolution. Code is usually around 80 chars wide and much taller, so you tile it. Seeing more lines of code is always better.

3. One stick is removable, the other is soldered on. Seems a popular choice for most OEMs for whatever god-forsaken reason... I mean, Dell can make a real dual-SODIMM ultrabook (Latitude E7240 and E7440) for comparison...

4. If they're using a common chassis (very likely, to save costs), you can look up the FRUs and grab the modules and fit it yourself.

6. Run? yes. Run smoothly? Less so. Just a simple fact that rendering software is all designed for high-performance desktops and workstations with at least one quad-core chip (dual hexa-core chips are fairly common in high-end workstations) and dedicated mid-range or better GPU(s).

7. It charges slight faster, but not that much faster, since the battery is self-limiting. It does some minor extra damage to the battery, but nothing you'd notice over the life of the battery. The real benefit (on bigger/more powerful machines) is the ability the charge the battery at full rate even while the laptop is under full-load. The funny counterpoint to that is having a less powerful charger and draining the battery when on mains power under maximum load (seen that happen, it was funny for a short while).

 

Thanks for the information about the power adapter ZeDestructor!



I just checked the specs between my current Intel Core i5 2560M and the X240 Intel Core i7 4600U.
Intel Core i7 4600U vs i5 2540M

Seems pretty same to me. The CPU should not be the problem (my current i5 is completely sufficient) .. and the video card is approved. I just have to rely on the Autodesk specs and hope it to work somehow fluently.



Cheers
WhyDoINeedToRegister

 

You won't get high-quality rendering, especially at 1920x1080

Meanwhile, here I am, enjoying my GTX 670 SLI setup in games (on the desktop) \o/

EDIT: by high-quality rendering, I mean high-quality live rendering. Actual renders will look just as good, but take a while to render.

 

I will only use 3ds Max to create mid detail 3d models. Maybe some animations and thats it. If I will render something, I will only have a basic 3d scene. I think this will be sufficient enough. My old GeForce 8800 GTS could to this. I could just buy a new Clevo notebook, which would me cost 30% less and would be twice as fast as the X240, but on the other hand I want to work allday off the grid whatever the drawbacks. After carrying my present Clevo, which is 4,5kg heavy, and the battery which lasts aprox. 5 minutes in idle and the the 'literally' power BRICK.

I find it always funny, that my mind tries to sugarcoat the new Thinkpad generation and my notebook acquisition. But allday off-the-grid properties are in favor whatever the performance.

I will visit a local retailer today, who hopefully has the a X240 showpiece exhibited. I might report my findings about the touchpad and the multitouch display. There are some reviews about the Trackpad but not many reviews told me how it works with the 12.5" form factor.




Sigh. *reminiscing* Someday I have to launch my own company, which produces functional and efficient notebooks like IBM once did. With no cutting corners here and there. *dreaming* Huh?? Sorry OT, I was daydreaming.

Until then ... cheers!

 

Will there be a slice battery on this laptop? I know 20+ hours is doable with the 9 cell but imagine with a slice... 2 days of nonstop battery life?

 

@Jobine

At the moment I don't know of any slice batteries available for the X240. I think they won't make any in the future, because that's the point of the bridge battery. You don't want to carry all the weight with your notebook. You could carry some additional batterys in your backpack and simple exchange them when needed. I think that's even better than the slice battery. However I don't know of any option to charge batteries without the laptop. Does lenovo offer some kind of charger which address this problem?





My impressions of the new trackpad:

The local retailer only had the T440s in stock, so this refers to the the T440s trackpad. Mind that I haven't owned any ThinkPad yet. Well it is definitely not the same experience like the old one, that's for sure. (They had a T530 next to it too, so I could compare both.) However I think that the surface of the new trackpad is much better than the old one. The sound is really quite quiet, if you click it with a moderate speed and not slamming the sh*t out of it. Using the trackpad for 2 minutes (tested with Excel) revealed actually no problems, the cursor does not shift away while pressing the trackpad. It seems okay from my point of view. A rather bigger problem which I encountered, was the ALT+F4 Combo. If you are a Windows user, you would need to constantly have the FnLock activated when using F1-12 key combos e.g. Alt+F4. If you don't do this, you will mute your microphone instead. The dedicated buttons would be much better, but oh well ... you have to a-d-a-p-t. Deal with it. btw the sound of the T440s was REALLY REALLY good. They have the same quality like 20$ speakers from Logitech. When using on the lap, this could be a problem, but even if you cover the exit holes of the speakers, the soundwaves will take an alternative route and exit through the cooling/air-intake grills on the bottom of the laptop.



Qestion:

I think I will buy the X240 model with the touchscreen, but how much does the touchscreen drain more power than the regular screen? 30min? 1h?





Cheers

 

So it's December now... anyone heard anything more on when that FHD option is supposed to be available? Is it just going to be delayed ad infinitum like every other Lenovo product I've been watching this year?

 

It got delayed until early January.




Happy christmas!

 

Yes, it was delayed until January, possibly because if components shortcomings (TP Yoga uses the same FHD display...).

Well, even if they would announce the FHD models today, I think the users won´t see them until January.

 

It's friggin Lenovo we are talking about.

They promised FHD displays on the u430 series, GT 750M Ultrabays for the Y4 series, FHD Thinkpad Edges are still not availible in North America, Flex series is still stuck with 1366x768 displays, and half the G and S series laptops sold by Lenovo are not on their website.

Good luck with those FHD displays, watch them get delayed month after month.

 

It's so unfortunate that the 1080p displays keep getting delayed... I just spoke with a representative and she said that January is the new expected date for the new displays in the US with Canada being about 2 weeks later.

The waiting, lack of dual channel memory, and keyboard changes are really making me want to just stop waiting and buy a VAIO Pro 11.

 

No! Don't do the mistake and buy a Vaio. They are all plastic and the keyboard flexes like 1cm deep. It's horrible.

When you want buy some good and cheap Notebooks, buy the new Clevo 14" ultrabook with exchangeable battery. Clevo is pretty solid.



Qestion:

I think I will buy the X240 model with the touchscreen, but how much does the touchscreen drain more power than the regular screen? 30min? 1h?