X1 Carbon Gen 2 (Haswell)

All CPUs with the number 50 at the end are slower than their counterparts with 00 at the end of the model number when it comes to CPU clock, since the HD 5000 takes away some performance from the CPU.

If you want:
- Max CPU Performance: i7-4600U
- Max GPU Performance: i7-4550U

 

An inquiry was made twice before about possibly booting a LINUX LIVE-CD and checking the Fn row functionality. I am also be very, very curious about how that will work, and would be very thankful for any information provided.

It would be nice to know if it seems that it will be hard work to get it up and running.

 

Im really surprised ther are not more people requesting this given how popular thinkpads are in the linux community. Were ordering the new x1 for our whole team but we cant go ahead until we know whether the function keys will work in Linux. Dont care about adaptive, just need standard f-keys. Id be astounded in Lenovo developed a new technology which made their laptops incompatible with Linux but we need to know for sure. Please help us if you can! Thanks.

 

Well, I don´t have the X1 Carbon, but to my knowledge, when the ThinkPad boots up, then the normal F-keys will be displayed, and when the X1 Carbon enters the Windows OS environment, the adaptive row changes to the "Home Row" (with the volume keys etc.). If the F-keys are displayed when the X1 Carbon boots up, that means that these are software-independant and also should also be functional in Linux.

The mulitmedia-keys however, are a different story. These might require a driver, and might not be functional in Linux from the start (that might change over time when more and more people get their X1 Carbon).

 

Thanks ibmthink! Thats exactly how we assume it will be, but with all the design crazyness going on we just want some confirmation before ordering (otherwise our backup plan is the 440s).

 

From the parts list above, it appears the non-touch WQHD panel is an LG.

 

Look, there IS a Win7 config. Follow the link to see New ThinkPad X1 Carbon Business Ultrabook | Lenovo (US) Lenovo says: Windows 7 Professional 64 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Windows 8.1 Pro 64.

 

Why can't we have both? Is it a heat issue?

 

According to X1C2 FRU BOM http://download.lenovo.com/parts/ThinkPad/x1_carbon_gen2_fru_bom_20140107.pdf m.2 disks are 22x80mm and full-range of Haswell CPUs up to HD5000

 

Even the i7-4650U is slightly less powerful than the i7-4600U in CPU performance. The U CPUs are limited to 15 W TPD, which limits the performance to a certain level. If the GPU gets more powerful (HD 5000), the CPU have to loose some performance.

 

uh oh. LG made horrible screens for the 440s with bad light bleed, uniformity, flickering, and viewing angles.

a lot of posters in the 440s owners thread returned theirs if it came with the LG and only wanted the AUO panel.

 

The hands-ons from the CES say the screen is good. I guess we will know when the first users get their X1 Carbon with WQHD. LG also makes some very good screens.

 

Ah, that makes sense. Thank you.

 

true, but the hands-on had the touch screen. we're speculating on the non-touch version that Lenovo is sourcing from LG. the complaints in the 440s thread about their LG screens makes this a bit worrisome for the X1. a Samsung or Sharp IGZO display would've been ideal.

 

The non-Touch version should be exactly the same as the Touch version, just without the layer of Glass and the Touch-functionality. It should be even better quality wise than the Touch version, but a bit less ridgid because it lacks the Glass in front of the screen.

 

What are thoughts re: the non-removeable battery? My last Dell Latitude had a 9 hr battery that eventually wouldn't hold a charge for more than 2-3 hours. It took 2 years for that to happen but I was easily able to replace.

How soon do the batteries used in this type of configuration start going bad and can they be self-upgraded when that happens?

 

Looks like they can be replaced fairly easily according to manual posted here pages back.

 

Great, thanks - didn't see that!

 

Everyone is speaking as if the touch variant won't be matte. Isn't it going to be glossy with the antiglare film over it, similar to the last touch model?

 

It is not going to be glossy. it will be "non-glare". Maybe not as matte as a normal matte screen, but not glossy like the THinkPad Helix for example.

 

Makes sense. So what do you classify the 1st gen touch version? From what I remember it was the similar glossy panel (non-IPS) others use with the factory anti-glare film over it.

From videos, the new 2nd gen touch does appear to have a little reflection. As someone who lives by matte panels, I think I'm okay with this as long as it's not overly reflective.

 

Does anyone know if the 20A70037US configuration includes TPM?

 

In the First Look Video they talk about a feature for data exchange via "bumping" that sounds suspiciously like NFC.

There is also a reference to NFC (on some models) in the user manual.

Does anybody know which models will have that, or how you'd know?
As far as i've seen, there is no reference to it in lenovo's shop...

 

This lucky kid apparently has exclusive access to the only X1C 2nd gen. available in Europe : ...

Techie Blog Weekly EP 29 - Lenovo X1 Carbon 2nd Generation Touch Released CES 2014 Review - YouTube

 

has anyone gotten a better ship date than the 23rd? i placed my order the first day and it started out as targeting the 21st now saying 23rd...

 

Yes, my colleague ordered on the first day, and got a notice later yesterday that it had just shipped. No ETA posted yet by the courier.

 

I've looked at the numbers, but is there actually a noticeable difference between the i7-4600U and the i7-4550U? This will be my first ULV processor, and I have become accustomed to my computer being really snappy. I also sometimes have to do things like run OCR on PDFs, which seems processor limited. If a performance drop is noticeable, I'm not sure the HD5000 would be worth it.

 

• Processor Number i7-4550U i7-4600U
• Clock Speed 1.5 GHz 2.1 GHz
• Max Turbo Frequency 3 GHz 3.3 GHz
• Processor Graphics ‡ HD 5000 HD 4400
• Intel® vPro Technology ‡ No Yes <-- Intel® vPro™ Technology is a set of security and manageability capabilities built into the processor aimed at addressing four critical areas of IT security
  
• Intel® TSX-NI No Yes <-- multi-threaded performance scaling
• Intel® Stable Image Platform Program (SIPP) NO Yes
• Intel® Small Business Advantage NO Yes
• Intel® Smart Response Technology NO Yes
  

it is not only slower, there are several buisness and security technologies missing. Damn Lenovo, this was so useless....

 

Yeah, the clock speed on the i7-4550U is actually slower than the i5 option. Decisions...

 

I wish they would release the customize your own model so we can see all the hardware options.... don't get why it is taking so long.

 

A nice small overview site from Lenovo with a 3D-Demo of the new X1 Carbon: New Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

I guess they have these standard-models to make it quicker available. It always takes its time until a CTO unit is built.

Somebody mentioned it is going to be availabe as CTO in the next week...we will see.

 

I'm very likely going to buy one of these, but I want to read a couple reviews by anyone reputable before doing so. I the lucky European kid's "review", and was hoping for something a little more substantive. I'm still surprised that other than the 14 year old, I can't find anything other than initial CES hands-on reviews.

I suppose it's only a matter of time before these start arriving in the hands of first day buyers, though.

 

I thought lead_org had one of these in hand when he posted here that he'd signed a NDA. Would be very interest in his review/comments.

 

Lenovo's still vetting the website to make sure is has the proper number of errors....

 

From the looks of the Fn row, the icons seem to be static (pre-printed) like on an old-style LCD, based on the fact that each icon is in a different position as the modes change. I was hoping they would be completely dynamic/customizable with additional icons as needed, like an e-Ink display.

 

Do you guys know if the new X1 Carbon's touchpad is the same as the T440s?

 

That sucks...
I wasn't sure until now, but I think I'm going to get the 4600 one.
Judging from the comparison HD4400 / HD5000 that someone linked to a while back, the 5000 isn't really worth it.


For all those like me waiting for this to be available outside the US (in my case Germany)

I spoke to a Lenovo Sales Rep and he told me that it would be available " by the end of the month".

I guess by then the custom build models should be available as well.

 

When is this officially coming out and when can we start seeing reviews for this thing?
Also, what advantages does this have over comparable laptops released in the past 5 months?

 

From what I can tell, all this is is an el-cheapo semi-transparent plastic strip glued over a row of LEDs illuminating different areas of the strip depending on the function set chosen. No LCD, no e-ink, no nothing. If that's what it is, that would be pretty atrocious, IMHO.

 

Yes, it is too bad that such a drastic change to the keyboard results in a half-baked static solution when technologies like E Ink are readily available for much more flexible and low powered features like that. An E Ink strip solution with a complete API attached, so Photoshop, Office, etc., could have their own customizable "stripcuts" as well, would have been really great. Hopefully they'll do it right for gen 3

 

e-Ink would mean a challenge to properly illuminate that row. Anyway nothing can replace physical keys.

 

All Lenovo had to do to make a perfect laptop was put an IPS display (1600x900 or greater), non-proprietary msata hard drive connector and at least one dimm slot to upgrade memory in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 1. I can live with 8GB of soldered memory, even if it is not ideal. Instead they created the FreakPad X1 Carbonstein. There are at least 3 deal breakers for me in this laptop. The Gen 1 has only one, the proprietary hard drive.

1. No more physical mouse buttons: The TrackPoint physical mouse buttons were perfect in terms of kinaesthetic feedback and ergonomics. Now it is almost impossible to buy a Haswell ThinkPad with any physical mouse buttons. At least one row of mouse buttons should be included and there should be a configuration option for physical mouse buttons or clickpad only.

2. Frankenkeyboard: Okay, I get it with using the CapsLk key for something else. But, no more physical Fn key? Tilde between right Alt and right Ctrl? LED strip for F# keys? Is that going to work in Linux? What if I don't like scrolling through the adaptive functions every time I want to change the volume and then go back to regular F# keys? Are you freakin' kidding me? I use a Goldtouch keyboard at the desk and I also own Apple laptops. The keyboard layout was pretty close for going between Apple and Lenovo, but not any more with the Carbonstein. I constantly hit the Fn key when trying to hit left Ctrl if I use a friend's Dell or HP laptop which is bad enough. This new keyboard layout is a productivity nightmare if you also use a laptop from a different manufacturer or a standard keyboard.

3.SD / Media reader gone: One of the things I was planning on doing to supplement the limited capacity msata hard drive with the upcoming ThinkPad X1 Carbon was to buy a 128GB SD card to store media files and other stuff. This would act as a second hard drive and stay installed in the laptop. No longer an option.

The new gestures are also a bit creepy big-brotherish. But, I guess some people will want to show off their latest collection of vacation photos to their buddies standing around the water cooler by spanking the air to flip to the next photo.

"High Five! The next round of waters is on me!"

The great thing about ThinkPads used to be that you could count on a consistent usability / ergonomics experience. This has gone out the window with the new ThinkPads. Lenovo should consider providing these radical changes as configuration options and then crunch some marketing data to find out what people are buying, instead of finding out that people are buying something else because they changed things too much.

btw, just for kicks, you notice how they are branding this as a " beautiful contradiction" in some of the early promo videos?

New ThinkPad X1 Carbon -- First Look with Kevin Beck - YouTube

(note the akward smiles at 0:59 freeze frame after mentioning "beautiful contradiction")

Another marketing term is " Uncommonly Intuitive". Yes, it is so uncommon, it's hard to be productive.

New ThinkPad X1 Carbon Business Ultrabook | Lenovo (US)

Another is, " Pushing boundaries". Yes, they pushed the boundary too far this time.

Laptops, Notebooks & Netbooks - Laptops For Those Who Do | Lenovo | US

Okay, I'm done ranting. That was fun. But seriously, I hope Lenovo reconsiders the direction they are taking the ThinkPad line and starts including configuration options to cater to customers who prefer a more traditional, user-friendly experience.

 

The loss of the card reader is at least compensated for by the expected 500GB SSD (at least if you were interested in it for additional storage). I have a few devices that use SD cards, though, so it will still be missed. I don't understand why that had to go. I've seen SD slots squeezed into tiny spaces on other laptops (like the Fujitsu u9040).

 

Yeah, it is nice to have the option for 500GB configuration and potential 1GB upgrade in the future. But, I have a 500GB 7mm drive and 128GB msata maxed in my T420s and I'm constantly having to move backups of photos to an external hard drive to free up space. It's also really about the convenience of being able to pop the SD card out of the digital camera and plug it into the laptop to transfer photos at high speed, without having carry around or mess with a clunky USB / SD card adapter.

 

I've seen at the end of this document that there will be two different 512GB-SSDs awailable. Can I make sure to get the Samsung when ordering it? What's the quality of the Toshiba?

http://download.lenovo.com/parts/ThinkPad/x1_carbon_gen2_fru_bom_20140107.pdf

And, if the notebook (Windows 8.1, WQHD Touch version) is mainly used for university work (internet, Outlook, Word, Exel, Lightroom, Photoshop (not much), watching a movie etc.) should I better go with the i7-4550U or the i7-4600U?

 

Anyone else had one of the higher model ones ship yet? Mine is still booked for the 23rd to ship and customer service is beyond useless.

 

Am I the only one who is furious/thinks its absolutely criminal they advertised a Jan 9 ship date on launch day, but once u actually placed the order the ship dates was not for 2 weeks.......Bad Karma lenovo........

 

super irritating. though my ship date just changed to the 13th now on the order status page. such ty service.

 

This has been pretty standard for Lenovo lately. People have been complaining on the Yoga 2 Pro thread about having ship dates repeatedly bumped back on the day before the computer is supposed to ship.

 

I've had similar problems with Dell - I guess this is common with just released products.


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