Thinkpad X1 Carbon 2012

Must be coming with Windows 7.

 

Yep, there own topseller pdf did that.

 

Well, $1200 for the basic model is just about what I expected. I still would've liked to see 8GB of RAM for that price, but it's O.K., I guess.

 

Has anyone given any thought on what type of sleeve / case / bag they are going to get for their sleek new X1C yet? I've been lugging around a huge backpack for a few years for my !5.6" 6 lb laptop. With moving to a much lighter, thinner unit in the X1C I'm also wanting to move to smaller sleeker protection. More than sleeve for peripherals, dongles etc. But definitely less than a backpack. I want something that does the X1C justice. I've been eyes a few different messenger type bags from Booq or Timbuk2, or perhaps a leather messenger as long as the protection is there. Has anyone seen the exact dimensions of the X1C yet? It would make the bag shopping a lot easier.
Suggestions?

 

I've been pondering this too... I am considering both vendors that you mentioned but also sfbags.com as well. Their Cargo and Muzetto bags are pretty interesting prospects. Also the dimensions are pretty close to the 13" Air and Zenbook so the options should be pretty good. Can't wait...

 

I'm hoping Lenovo takes the opportunity to put a premium on the X1 Carbon. I wouldn't mind it starting at $1600 after discounts. If the price is affordable, everyone will be carrying them around. I'd like it to be treated as a premium product aimed at executives with executive pricing.

 

Not to side-track too much, but I've been using this bag: Chrome, Buckle Messenger Bag, Citizen | CHROME | Official Site for the last year or so at University, and it's been working great. Steep pricing, but an *honored* lifetime warranty--not that I foresee any problems.

They sell inserts sized 13-15" as well specifically for laptops, which provide additional protection.

 

Really? I have a "premium executive" coffee to sell you for $15 then. The finest beans money can buy, don't worry about the 711 cup. Jeez.

 

TL,DR

I find your comment a tad dificult to digest and am probably a prime customer for this machine, given that I bought 2 X301s and have been loyal to the brand, due to them being the only with a trackpoint, for 13 years.

I think it is not a sign of character if you have to show off with luxury items and if, then there are enough others around to do it with, rather than transforming laptops into this spiel. Vertu phones come to mind. Idiotic and so 1900s. Plus I do not want to have a bullseye above my head when I pull it out to work on it for every thief or crook that sees it, like as if I paid with a black amex.


I would want a high price on the X1C though, but for completely other reasons. I do not think that you get a free lunch in life and that thus "top spec" laptops will only be designed and produced if customers are willing to pay accordingly.

We are talking here about the 20yr anniversary Thinkpad anniversary laptop. We are talking not about a business workhorse, but an engineering showcase, brand-forming kind of laptop. We are talking about a machine that is supposed to go head to head, and this is what all ppl compare it to, "well then I am going to by a MBP", with the top of the line Macbooks, Zenbooks etc.

Well Lenovo cannot do magic and it shows. They cannot put excellent components into a machine, if nobody is willing to pay for them and let's assume they know their customer base.

I would love them to develop 1-2 top spec laptops, one ultrabook, one excellent T420s(or slightly bigger) and price them at the OLD Thinkpad prices, like 8 years ago, where these machines cost double on average.

Today, unless X1C changes that, and I hope so, Lenovo has no sports car in its showrooms, just practical ugly Prius.

Look at the price of the 15" Mac with Retina, they go from USD 1799 - 3749 (w/o VAT). Well of course they can put the best components in for these prices. And it's not that Macs are "elite user" products or something, yes they are kind of a religion, but the machines are excellent nevertheless.

I would love the choice to buy a Thinkpad with super components with a price range similarly to Mac, though probably starting at least a bit lower. And I would love that, not to differentiate myself from other humans and feel better than them, but because for me this machine is super important, and I have to funds to buy something that can then run to VMs in the background and be an ultraportable, have a nice screen etc.

Thus if this machine had a Retina-like screen, which is what many here are screaming about, and it would THUS cost 2500(mind you that's less than the middle of the RetinaMac price range), than I would be very very happy to fork over that money. I know, for others it would not be worth it, but for me it would, hell I'd even buy a second one again, for business continuity reasons.

Sorry for long post.

 

As a reference for a high-end Windows laptop, the new Dell Precision M4700 can be configured as low as $1,500 or so, but if you get a loaded machine, you can easily go far above $5k. Not an UltraBook, I know, but neither is that MacBook (even though it is slimmer than the M4700, which does come with an optical drive if you want).

By the way, the jury seems to be out on what real benefit the high resolution of that Retina screen really has. I am not convinced that, when compared to a full-HD IPS screen there is much, if any tangible benefit, but the final assessment will depend on your usage, of course.

 

av676, I completely agree. I love Lenovo's but am sometimes tempted to get an Apple just because they seem to be the only manufacturer that builds a no-compromise machine. The X1 Carbon might change that. Everybody who is whining about the price being too high--dont' get it. Nobody complains about Ferrari when their new car starts at $300k. Nobody says (seriously) "I would buy it if only it cost less." It CAN'T cost less--it has top of the line components.

I used a computer for 10 (or more) hours a day. Even if the computer is $2500, that's about $0.50/hour I have to pay to use the computer (if I use it for two years)--which is totally worth it. I want to be able to travel around and still have a powerful machine. If I couldn't afford it, I would just buy the Honda Civic of computers. You can't expect to get gold for the price of dirt.

 

Well, I do not want to see pixels anymore, I want non-zigzagging fonts without having to use anti-aliasing like Cleartype. I want in my work laptop, what others have in their leisure freaking Ipads. If it is better for these people, then it will be better for me too. For sure. Hell my phone has better DPI than my laptop The jury is not out on that. What the jury is out on, is whether the extra cost are justified by the benefits, not whether a higher resolution screen is nicer to look at. Apple says, to hell with it, we have the customers who buy our premium machines and just does it. Lenovo could have just done that too, it's no rocket science, the parts are out there. Plus for me at least, you can work with smaller fonts/zoom and have more screen real estate, relatively speaking. I don't care about IPS though too much, I care about the resolution. [sry bit chaotic writing]

The M4700 is a tank

I need a super light, slow processor(lowTDP), quiet working machine, where I can have a couple of VMs open(which means lots of RAM). My current machine has a 10W TDP CPU, that is beautiful, yes sometimes a bit slow, but you can always have her comfortably on your lap without burning up, unless watching 720p. And yes 1080p is not doable, which is fine, do not have the display for that either.

 

If a basic carbon (128GB SSD/I5UM CPU/HD Display) is released at $1,200, it will sell like wildfire. That is particularly true if Lenvo does one of its classic deals on release of the new model. a typical 15% off puts the base model at an unbelivable price. If the standard model has the HD+ display, all you have to add is Bluetooth and a Webcam. If that is really the price, be prepared for delivery and availabililty issues after it's released.

 

Except that much like a Macbook, you are paying quite a bit for the Ferrari name and logo. In fact, Ferraris could be made MUCH cheaper (they are also disproportionately expensive because they make very few of the top of the line models).

As an example: The Nissan GTR goes around the Nurburgring faster than the Ferrari Enzo yet costs one tenth of the price. If you believe that something is better simply because it is costly and has a well known brand behind it, you are mistaken.

 

I could care less who else is carrying it around. I am not an executive - I am a working, mobile, IT professional/consultant. I usually wear shorts and a t-shirt (when not meeting with clients), not a $5000 suit.

I would like fantastic components (especially the display) and I am willing to pay for a well engineered machine with the right specification.

I do not think that the right approach is to price for exclusivity. Build a better machine, price it accordingly.

 

I don't drink coffee.

 

I support your sentiment. I don't care if everyone and their dog has one. I just want the machine to fit my needs and like you I travel a fair bit, want a great keyboard and screen, want it to be reliable and durable, etc.

My only worry is purchasing too early and paying the early adopter tax.

 

Realisticly, the pricepoint will probably shoot for MacBook Air pricing of $999/$1199.

The MacBook Air is aimed at mainstream and everyone and their mother has it. I'd like the X1C to be more premium than the MacBook Air, providing exceptional quality and feature-set at a fair price. Also, if they aim the X1C at executives, they can set a pricepoint which allows them to have the freedom to design the X2 (or whatever it is called) to include a retina quality display and all the goods without having a huge jump in price.

What I mean is that I'd like the X1 series to compete with the MacBook Retina rather than the MacBook Air (Yes, I know the MacBook w/ retina is not an ultrabook).

 

I honestly think that Lenovo has an opportunity to increase their margins with this machine without impacting their sales. It will sell well at any reasonable price. Might as well get what the market is willing to pay.

 

I wold not expect it be less than $1400. No way lenovo can compete with Apple with their first ultrabook model. Materials are not cheaper too. And also business features build in.
So as far as they can't give better price, they also will have no intent to do that. Why compete with Air if you can beat most PC ultrabooks and have good margin.

 

After speaking with a Lenovo Service Representative, he/she confirmed that the laptop would be released on August 20th with a base price set around $900 USD.

 

I'm not sure that's correct -- Apple maintains the highest margins of any computer manufacturer right now. The lowest 2010 model MacBook Air was estimated to cost $718 to manufacture, and sold for $999. Lenovo's entire supply chain is in China, so one would assume that it's cheaper to manufacture, and they're able to swallow a little more margin.

 

My main concern with this machine is the ulv processor (I have never had any experience with them).

For my job, I need to have 2-3 virtual machines open (running Fedora). I think that 8 GB of ram will be plenty for my needs, but I'm not sure if the i7 ulv will be powerful enough to handle the host OS and the 2-3 VMs that I work in.

I'm really looking at buying a Thinkpad and the only competitor to the X1c I have in my mind is the T430u. For my needs, do you all think I should go for the X1c with the i7 ulv or just wait for the T430u to be released?

I'm currently working on a 5 year old laptop, and I really want to upgrade to a quality machine that doesn't struggle under my needs.

 

My rule of thumb is that a 17W I7ULV is similar in performance to a 35W I3. I know that is somewhat simplistic, but it is a decent yardstick. If you have are using anything other than an Intel Extreme or Quad CPU, my guess is that the ULV I7 would work for you.

If the base price of the X1C is really $900 and there is a discount on its release, I may change my mind and consider getting one. I really doubt that it will be that cheap. My staff would be happy to inherit the X301, which I love.

 

You would be surprised at what information you can find by just chatting with a Lenovo Service Representative at Lenovo's website. Some of the representatives tell you way more than they should. The representative I spoke with noted that he was 80% certain of the $900.00 price range as a base model. That would be after the initial discount. It would only go up from that price point.

 

Sales rep just confirmed the same with me as far as date. The expected price is a little different though. This one sounds a bit more realistic. They also said you will be able to customize it.

 

I was looking at the CPU benchmarks... the Ivybridge ULV i7 performs about as good as the i5 2520m after you consider the Video performance improvements and consider real-world performance (vs synthetic benchmarks).

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon pricing spotted in Hong Kong -- Engadget

 

I have said long time ago that x1c will be available around 20th, cant wait to see real reviews thought

 

I was looking at the CPU benchmarks... the Ivybridge ULV i7 performs about as good as the i5 2520m after you consider the Video performance improvements and consider real-world performance (vs synthetic benchmarks).

 

I found this article very informative. It focuses specifically on HD400 on ULV. As I see in ULV CPU very shared between CPU and GPU processes. Where non ULV goes good with CPU and GPU at the same time.
AnandTech - Mobile Ivy Bridge HD 4000 Investigation: Real-Time iGPU Clocks on ULV vs. Quad-Core

ULV is also my concern now as I would be coming from vaio z with non ulv i5 processor.
I'd love to get t430u too as soon as it has HD+ option. I do not care bout how thing X1C is. You would not really benefit from couple mm on one side. Wight is a concern though. But if they would offer more ports (DP!) and more battery - that is win win.

 

I'm going crazy waiting for this thing to come out. I wish they could take a page out of Apples book and make products available upon announcement. To hell with waiting 4 months after a product is announced. This is the only thing that is stopping me from buying a Macbook Air. If it gets sub-par reviews I've got to go with a Macbook, but I need some concrete evidence first. It's driving me nuts checking every day for some kind of update or review. Release it already Lenovo!

 

That's a fair statement. If anything, I do think they need to really produce a better (more premium?) machine to keep value in the brand, to do what you've mentioned. A lot of die hard ThinkPad users are still here based on the design philosophy and build quality from the IBM days.

 

lol, relax mate... its really only 2 more weeks to go, if you made it so far 2 weeks is like a breeze...

 

I'm the opposite at this point. I would rather them put up a preorder page with a firm date so I can place my order already. It's pretty much guaranteed to be August 20th. Just take our money now!

Also, ULV... hopefully that means this thing will run cooler than it's full powered brothers?

 

Executive TransPorters: Trager Seattle USA

 

I'm waiting for the T430u because, like you, I need the memory. I also want to run two VMs and I can tell you right now, on an original X1 with 8GB RAM, it's cutting it close a lot of the time and if you're doing other things in the host OS - browser, word processor, etc. - it lights the hard drive up.

 

I am expecting to take the x1c to work and plug it into a 27 inch dell which has a max resolution of 2,560x1,440 - will i be able to get that plugging into the x1c? Also is there a way i'll be able to run TWO of those monitors from the x1c? Any thoughts on this?

 

That's funny. That's exactly what I'm planning on doing. I heard somewhere that the i7 model might have Thunderbolt. If this is true, I think I might get one of those MSI GUS II, if they ever get released. That way, I can use an external GPU to power dual 2560x1440s.

Anybody else have any ideas?

 

I fully expect the X1 Carbon to support up to 2560x1440 on my Dell U2711 across mini DisplayPort. I assume it will go to a higher resolution on something like the 30" Dell.

I read somewhere the Intel HD 4000 supports two external LCD panels but I don't know how that is accomplished with no dock. Maybe a USB device or hub.

 

The ULV has the same core design as the extreme version, nothing different. Check out their wp page or the intel page. The difference is a bit fo cache, negligible and of course the Mhz. The Mhz is kind of linear reduction.

Not knowing what you all come from...with regards to the VMs. What matters is what you do with them. One VM can kill a machine. Is the VM configured to use two cores for the guest. Can it be completely in memory?(That's the most important, enough Ram).

I currently have a X301(2 cores no HT, 10W TDP, 1.6Ghz) with two Vms on. A win7 and a win2k, sometimes a linux. Host is Linux. They use about 1.5GB Ram, My machine has 3, due to 32bit srewup.

If the VMs are loaded and don't need to do a lot everything is fine, otherwise she stutters around.

So whether ULV or not ULV is really not much of an issue. This machine will have two cores, plus HT, so 4 processing units, as the bigger ones. The Ram is same speed. The major difference to the bigger machines is a discrete graphics card(which doesn't matter to much Vms anyhow) and 30% more cpu power(if you have the extreme version cpu). With the 8GB X1C you should be able to run 3 Vms no problem, if they don't all require full processing power, but then you would have a problem with the faster machines too.

Check out the stats for the 3667U at the wp page. Not that much difference to the 3520M, that is in the T430s, about 30% quicker. Remember it is not a different processor, but the same, just running at lower speed, so pretty linear scaling performance wise.

I think it should be a breeze, if you get enough RAM and configure the VMs properly.

WP Ivy Bridge CPU link

 

I used to do that and worry about it with my T61p, but these days you can build a nice VMware host machine, running many VMs and just remotely connect to it (sometimes using built-in WWAN).

This is the model that we've moved to and it allows my partner and I make the shift to ultrabooks and still have more than enough grunt for VMs.

We built a VMware ESXi box last year for around $1200 that has i7 2600k, 4TB of storage, and 16GB RAM.

 

Dual 2560x1440 should work over new USB 3.0 DisplayLink solutions. There are several including docking station from lenovo. Not GPU intensive solution but will work for most tasks.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I've taken a look at the SFBags as well as the Tragers now.... both very nice. So many to choose from... Hopefully once it's released other will share their case choices.

 

I know the feeling, mate. Until the past couple of weeks, there was no news since 15 May!
It's fated -- X1c will come with HTC One X+
and that's next month (my estimate for delivery). Is Lenovo alone in announcing products like this? I believe Yoga was introduced even earlier and still not released

 

With the dock, I'm curious to know if it can display to the 2 external monitors PLUS the laptop screen. So in total 3 different desktops.

 

More pictures from the show in Taipei right now.

【採訪】2012 台北電腦應用展 Lenovo X1 Carbon、U 系列 Ultrabook 輕薄上陣 - Lenovo - Mobile01

Screen's looking impressive though it's not shown at extreme angles.

 

Yup as expected.

So now they officially show this at a Taiwanese tradeshow and will tomorrow even give away one/more X1C at a raffle.

Still no official press release or specs.

Not sure, but is this a better way than the Apple way, with a big bang, all specs, preorder page, review units to reviewers and a firm shipping date?

This, as they call it is their 20th anniversary model, should be some big thing, no? And then this humdrum backyard release. And lenovo twitter just posts about their W530(already released) unboxing video...

Just as before, this is not a leak, this is the official thing. Maybe something bigger will come next week in the West, but in the days of the Internet there should be a global launch.

I am not complaining, just wondering as to what kind of strategy they are following. Does not seem the best way to generate hype for the machine. Good for people who want to get their machines quickly, but definitely a strange way to release their top of the line anniversary laptop, globally. I don't dare calling this a launch yet.

 

Don't worry, it'll be here soon.

It's just about 2 weeks away. I think they will market it a lot more once release is closer and/or it's launched. No reason to hype everyone up, only to see they forgot about it when release comes.

 

Actually, few consumer electronics (smartphones and computers alike) are launched globally at the same time. Apple, which is famous for its big announcements, staggers launches of its products between different continents by months. Seeing as China is Lenovo's home market, it's not surprising that the X1C will trickle out from Asia.

Patience!