Thinkpad X1 Carbon 2012

FYI, wired review

Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

It's a poor quality review (more of an overview actually), but it's adding to my concern around the battery life. They claim ~3hrs (no testing methodology mentioned).

 

Do note that Wired got 4 hours with their X230 6 cell, nearly everyone else got 50-75% (2-3 hours) more. I would take their battery life numbers with a large grain of salt.

 

Glad to hear it, although the longer my order takes to ship, the more tantalizing the Acer S7's claimed 12 hours battery life is looking. Admittedly that's with Windows 8, but even adjusting for that and taking a haircut for manufacturers rosy claims, it still looks very interesting...

 

Even though Lenovo constantly has discounts going there is no guarantee they'll have a significant one for Labor Day. The current sale they have going for the other PCs on the B&N site ends 8/29 so maybe this thursday they'll start their Labor Day sale. I say just don't be shocked if the X1 Carbon isn't heavily discounted.

 

that would be "tantalizing" IF and only IF one were to judge a laptop/ultrabook based on one single parameter.

when looking at these complex machines, most often, we all look at them based on a myriad of parameters: build quality, trackpad usability, screen quality, SSD quality, heat generation/dissipation, weight, and, yes, battery life.

merely based on one single parameter of battery life -- i would call 12 hours exceptional with the big caveat of "how are the other parameters?"

 

Well, it's a bummer that my base price (the laptop only sans other add ons) went up by $104 from 8/21 to 8/27. this is the 8gb/i5.

now, on 8/27, i've added the USB 3.0 dock, a 2nd 90W X1C AC adapter for convenience in use at 2 consistent locations, 3-yr Onsite/Accidental/Priority Tech, etc.

The Barnes and Noble pricing does help, but the final price is still at $2,000 (just a touch below $2,000).

 

Don't want to take this off topic, but the other parameters look quite amazing, although only "hands-on" comments so far (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrZUttuRkUM

The real unknown is build quality. For me, battery is the key factor. Of course everything else matters, but battery and weight more than most.

 

Perhaps they're running the X1 with the screen at full brightness, which is valid because a lot of people use their machines that way, but they should have laid out the testing parameters. I've been getting just short of six hours on the X1. That's with the screen brightness at half and WiFi on just doing typical stuff.

 

Anyone know how to still get a good deal via discounts? I know the RETAILMENOT discount works for 10% off but the USXDISCOUNT that ws 30% off no longer works. Also I can't stack the RETAILMENOT with my eNewsletter code like other people said they were doing.

What a bummer.

 

Are you referring to the X1 or X1 Carbon?

 

NotebookCheck adjusted their rating for the X1C from 81 to 84%. I don't get that when they have the Samsung Series 9 and Asus Zenbook Prime at 90%. Most other reviews I see rate it higher than those or at least on par. The fact that they changed it shows the author doesn't have too good of an idea.

Still though, they have some of the best reviews and it was helpful seeing their display color measurements.

Review Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

Will you be posting a review?

 

If you look at the comments after the review he explains the way he tests it, which I don't think is very representative of typical usage.

 

They're all perfectly good notebooks, giving an objective score is silly. It depends on what's important to you. Today I went to check out the new Series 9. I didn't find the 15", but did find the 13" . They've made improvements over my original S9 in almost every area - with the exception of the keyboard. For me, it has gone from being very very good to being mediocre. For many people that may not be so important, but for me it's important enough that I would give my older model a higher score.

So I've assumed the 15" keyboard would be similar, and therefore ordered the X1.

 

This video from laptopmag says that over all the great features the X1C has, the most impressive thing is the battery. Which is strange because of how many reviews we've heard saying the opposite.

"You would think that a notebook that is this thin and light would have crappy battery life. But amazingly, you'd be wrong. On the laptop battery test which allows continuous surfing over wi-fi, this managed 7 hours and 45 minutes. That is one of the longest lasting notebooks on the market. It is over an hour longer than the Zenbook Prime gets. That makes this really, really compelling.."

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - YouTube @ 4:12

 

WOO~! It finally came out in Aus. but the mark-up's a real ripoff. $630 for the 256Gb SSD and $300 for the 8 Gig upgrade

Lenovo Ultrabook | ThinkPad X1 Carbon | X Series Laptops | Shop | Australia
I was looking at options and found it was cheaper to get the i5-3427U 8Gb option and downgrade the memory to 4Gb. Price went down from $1719.00 to $1246.00

 

Should be live in a few days. Check my signature for updates.

 

The fact that people just started posting up their hands-on reviews in the Chinese forums on 51nb.com today makes me feel like we'll actually see these shipped any day now. Since it was officially unveiled there days before the states, this makes even more sense. Not to mention the fact that they are being shipped from China, so they would obviously receive them first.

¡¾Ô´´¡¿Äõ½X1 CarbonÁË£¬Ê¹ÓÃÖС£»¶ÓÌáÎÊ£¬¾¡Á¿»Ø´ð¹ØÓÚʹÓøÐÊÜ·½ÃæµÄÎÊÌâ¡£ - ThinkPadרÇø(20ÖÜÄê¼ÍÄî) - רÃÅÍøÂÛ̳--רҵµÄ±Ê¼Ç±¾µçÄÔ¼¼Êõ½»Á÷ÉçÇø

I've only seen two users post reviews so far and those were both today, 8/27. I managed to dig up some info. One user was saying that their X1C had a better keyboard and display than the MBA. The same user said they got 4:22 hours of battery with I think full brightness, but that was hard to read with the translator.

For the gamers, the other user/review said playing Street Fighter 4, they managed about 30fps but the framerate wasn't always consistent. They managed a steady 28fps with Resident Evil 5 however. This review is a bit more technical with other benchmarks as well. If anyone reads Chinese or can understand these better, you might get more out of it.

¡¾À´×Ô̫ƽÑó¡¿ThinkPad X1 Carbon³¬¼«±¾ Ó¦ÓÃÐÔÄÜÊײâ - ThinkPadרÇø(20ÖÜÄê¼ÍÄî) - רÃÅÍøÂÛ̳--רҵµÄ±Ê¼Ç±¾µçÄÔ¼¼Êõ½»Á÷ÉçÇø

 

He said the battery icon on Windows read 4:22, at 7 brightness (the highest being 15). He then used the laptop for 1-1.5 hours, at brightness 8, while browsing the internet and downloading updates. At the end the icon read 3:18.

Not exactly a very reliable metric, but it is what it is.

 

Thanks. A lot of those numbers being thrown out confused me with the translator. Did you do the same thing or do you actually speak Chinese?

 

I speak Chinese - and I can see how it wouldn't be very clear through a translator. I'll look around and see if there's anything more of interest. Let me know if you run into any other confusing posts!

 

Notebookreview.com is doing another review? I thought Jerry Jackson already did one.

 

Sounds good. Thanks for the feedback!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

 

No, for LaptopReviews.com. It's run by Andrew one of the moderators here, who along with Brian, used to own NBR before it was purchased by TechTarget. When Brian and Andrew ran the site, I used to write reviews for NBR, but that dried up when they sold the site. I think the last review I wrote for NBR was the X61s.

 

Finally! I was checking the site daily for when the X1C review would be up. Haven't liked the NBR reviews lately

 

My X1C should have shipped already! Whats the deal? Anyone else delayed?

 

There's a whole shipping thread about it. Looks like everyone is delayed for unknown reasons.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

What was the cheapest priced 8gb system people have gotten? (with EPP + newsletter)

I know it's higher now, just wondering what the best price was, as I don't believe those two ever stacked?

I personally got the base 4gb for that $999.20 price. Wondering if I should have shelled out for the 8gb. But I think it was something like $1500 at its cheapest?

 

Yeah. Mine was $1503 before tax. Though they did just give me another $75 off for the confusion of my order and the constant delays.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

 

Mine with EPP, newsletter, and delay concession ($150.00) will total $1425.00 including state taxes.

 

The cheapest I could get it down to was $1390ish. You had to pick the 8gb model, add any of the MS office packages, then the stacked EPP + newsletter coupon would work. I think without a MS software package the price would show up around $1250, but it wouldn't let you check out with this.

 

That's with the 256gb or the 128gb?

And yah, I'm looking for the "no haggling" prices... since we're all going through Customer Service russian roulette.

 

So before the haggling down an extra $75 I was at $1503 with the 8GB / 256GB / i5 config. This is before tax. But keep in mind that was with an EPP discount and newsletter code.

I think it would be difficult to get that again until another promotion hits.

 

I have a quote for one with 8GB/256GB with 3 year onsite with ADP for $1679 OTD, but that seems like a bad deal after reading about a few of your deals. At any rate, I opted to buy the T430s instead... The upsides of the X1 Carbon were good, but the closed architecture pushed me back to the T series. I am holding out hope that the FRUs align and I can someday retrofit the(a) nice(r) LCD into my T430s.

 

Here's some information for haggling. My EPP price on the 1.8GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Mid 2012 MacBook Air is...

drum roll please...

$1503

Coincidence?

 

That's not too bad with the 3 year warranty. Mine is without it. Hopefully the T430s meets your needs better. That would be great if you could swap the X1C's screen in the near future. Good luck!

No. The difference is the MacBook Air sucks. jk

 

The lowest price I can get right now for the i5/8GB/256GB 1 year standard warranty is 1,763.10 with 10% LOGICBUY discount. B&N and student offers are more expensive... Any better offers?

 

The best I was able to do was 10% off (with the e-coupon from signing up an e-mail address) for a loaded X1C (i5/8GB/4yr warranty + ADP). This was just before prices went up, and came to $1997 with the warranty (I'd previously owned a Lenovo X300 with a 3yr warranty whose screen went out in the 4th year...) .

Lenovo sales was horrible. It took them a while to contact me, and when they did the sales rep gave me about a $96 discount, and was "call me, call me, let's get this done today" in several e-mails. I asked how long the quote was valid. No answer to that. I sent back an e-mail asking if his discount could be combined with the 10% off newsletter e-coupon. No he said, and he "assured" me that the discount he'd given me was the best possible. I wrote back pointing out that the 10% off e-coupon gave a discount of $193 which was (amazing had though it is to figure out) better than what he'd quoted. I never heard from him again.

Anyway, I expect to really like the X1C (and I'm not too bothered if it doesn't ship right away) and I've had excellent experience with US technical support on previous Thinkpads, but if this is how lenovo hopes to manage sales to a professional client base, they're way off target.

 

So the X1 Carbon uses a non-standard / proprietary size and type SSD? It's not a 7mm SSD or mSATA SSD?

 

correct. do a search for SanDisk's press release for more info about the SSD.

 

Looks like the X1 Carbon got some competition from Asus: The Asus BU400

Video
Too bad it will be available at the earliest of October.
btw... just ordered the X1C, can't wait any longer

 

considering the fact that the current "USX..." coupon on lenovo is due to expire today at midnight, does it stand to reason that they will start their Labor Day Sale right away?

after all, we're merely 2 days away from when EVERYONE will have Labor Day sales! i can't imagine that a large store would not start their sale by this Friday, 8/31st, right?

 

I hope so - been waiting for it.

Does anyone know what size sleeve would fit the x1c? The order page lists 14W and 15W sleeves but the x1c is supposed to be smaller than a typical 14 inch laptop. (The T430s, for example, seems about 0.5 inches wider: 13.03" x 8.9" x 0.74" vs. 13.50" x 9.05" x 0.83" - 1.02").

 

i have the EXACT question burning in me but was afraid to ask!

i figured that since none of us have one yet, who could possible be the expert in the "best fit", right?

i would prefer:

- the smallest, most perfect fitted slender sleeve for my x1c.

- prefer the thinnest possible sleeve yet providing adequate protection, i.e. thin but still practical.

- insist on full closure, i.e. zipper or otherwise, but not an "open sleeve" for dust protection from a backpack or similar


having said that, i purchase an InCase sleeve for a 3-year old Asus laptop a year ago from an Apple Store here in nyc. it's oatmeal colored, fabric but a very robust linen-esque material, and extremely well made/designed. i was shocked at how well put together this item was while trying it with my Asus at the Apple Store.

that said, it was shockingly costly at something around $60!!

on the other hand, the zipper is great, the color/material is spot-on, the amount of padding/thickness/thinness is perfect - not too thick, not too thin, so i got it immediately before a long 6-week trip.

this sleeve will go inside the laptop compartment of an ordinary InCase black backpack, but one of those that would allow it to "butterfly" out so one would not need to pull out the laptop for TSA x-ray scanning purposes. so it's sort of a TSA-"approved" design.

well, all in all, as costly as those 2 contraptions are (sleeve and black nylon backpack), they worked splendidly for the trip and they are purpose designed and performed admirably.

so...i do want another sleeve but this one to perfectly fit all of our upcoming (soon, i hope), new x1c

may i ask for suggestions please, from the knowledgeable folks here on this forum?

thx in advance!

 

Awesome, no sale for Labor Day on the X1 Carbon. And now my other alternative, the X230, has a worse sale price than before. I'm really contemplating the $999 MBA 13 deal at BB.

 

are we totally certain that ALL Lenovo's Labor Day sale prices are announced already by today? might they still come up with something between now and Sunday?

also: do we know when the first recipients of the X1C will actually receive their units? so far, i have not heard of a single person receiving an x1c yet!

 

If you're not in a rush, you might want to wait it out. Since they can barely manage fulfilling the launch demand, I doubt there will be a sale in the short term. In fact, it seems prices have crept up by 50-100, perhaps to stifle the demand a little.

I am going to hold out until I have a decent coupon and the i7/8GB/256GB arrives or mid-November.

 

Zaz' review is up: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Review

This is interesting:

"My biggest gripe about storage on the X1 is that the factory install is huge. The recovery partition takes up about 20GB of space on the drive, which leaves you with 100GB of space. The factory install was 62GB. 38GB of usable space is left for everything else. "

Who's going to do a clean install now?

Can anyone point to the best clean install guide for idiots that would suit the x1c?

 

Yeah, the stock Thinkpad installs always take up far too much HD space and have too many ThinkVantage programs installed for my liking. I usually clean-install, and have seen no detriment to battery life or performance. A comprehensive guide can be found here.

But it's an extraordinarily simple process on Thinkpads: backup activation using ABR, download and install Windows 7 SP1 using a stock disc (either through external DVD drive or USB or SD card), install WiFi driver, and install ThinkVantage System Update. Then, you can use System Update to automatically download and install your selected ThinkVantage software and drivers.

 

Review by booredatwork
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook Review-The Best in the Market