X1 Carbon Gen 2 (Haswell)

It seems fears were unfounded, that keyboard layout seems pretty sensible - keys were moved around in a way that makes sense, I feel this is something that will prove to be fine in daily use.

This would be worth it for the forums meltdown alone!

It's absolutely key, let's hope Lenovo didn't skimp on that matter.

 

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@uniten,
I beg to differ too:
- Your Toshiba has a 13" screen, which also means a smaller chassis and less space around the keyboard
- Having an addtional row of keys on the side is a crap-layout if you ask me, I am glad Lenovo does not do this with ThinkPads
- Your Toshiba has no ports where the keyboard is, they are all on the back. ThinkPads do. I can show this with the example of the X240s: http://thehikaku.net/pc/lenovo/image/thinkpad-x240s/port.jpg As you can see there, there is also a small bezel on each side. This is necessary, because as you can see, the ports like Ethernet fit in exactly. The keyboard keys are thicker than the thin plastic bezel, and because of this, it can´t go to the edges. The X1 Carbon is even thinner, so there is even less space.

@xavier83,
what a very useful post...

 

i think uniten wanted a bigger keyboard and not a smaller chassis. Some of those keys look really cramped. This is another bad case of form (thinness) over function (ports + sane keyboard layout with big keys). Lets see who bites this bullet.

 

Make no mistake: This is a full.sized keyboard in terms of size. It appears to have exactly the same keyboard width as the 14" T-Series model, unlike the 12" models like the X240, which have a smaller, less wide keyboard.

If they would add some additonal keys at the side of the keyboard, the chassis would have to be wider, as the keys would collide with the ports on the sides. Of course they could make the chassis thicker. But this is their ultra-thin Halo model. It would be pretty weird if they would do this.

 

It appears Lenovo Indonesia has let the cat out of the bag.

THE PROFESSIONAL REDEFINED: Announcing the all-new X1 Carbon—2.8 lbs and virtually indestructible. Learn more:
YouTube

The video is still private for now.

 

By 15mm width only. But the point is they managed a keyboard with a tiny bezel.

What exactly is wrong with an additional row? The layout is fairly standard. When I first got it, I had 0 issues using the keyboard as far as layout goes. Even the Yoga Pro 2 puts the home, page up, end and page down in the last row on the side.

Look, all I am saying is that it could have been done. All they had to do was place the ports on the back instead of re-engineering the function key row and moving around the keys to weird locations. The z830 is still thinner.

Though personally I could care less about thinness, biggest reason I prefer ultrabooks is the weight. Making them thinner and thinner is a waste of time.

 

Is there any information on availability?

The similarly equipped Zenbook Infinity seems to be unavailable right now, even though it has been out for some time now. Delivery time frame 1-3 months...

I'm really hoping to able to pick up a X1 Gen 2 until end of february at the latest.

 

I can adapt to a lot of things for the keyboard, but... Where the f*ck is insert?

 

Another picture... This looks brutal to me...

*edited... already posted on page 26, sorry for the hijack.

 

Keyboard layout looks horrible, but where is the rest of the information on the machine? I thought today was the day....

 

@ducati_6,
This was posted originally here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thi...ad-x3-x1-carbon-successor-24.html#post9515755

The CES Unveiles Event has not started yet. It starts on 4 P.M. PST. However, we may see it maybe shortly before that. Its not long anymore now.

 

@ibmthink

Thanks for that correction, sorry I did not catch it earlier. I am sitting here typing on my X1 Carbon anxiously waiting some decent news. I don't want much changed except IPS screen with non-touch matte, Haswell, and 16GB ram. Everything else can stay the same. However, I do not think this will be the case.

 

Since CES is just a blink away. :thumbsup:

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon » Last Gadget

 

I have to say, the new X1/X3 looks very appealing so far: It's just a question of whether I can live with a virtual function row and whether a matte FHD option is available to me.

I'm very interested in what Lenovo will present in a few hours!

 

Thank you. Mind taking one of the power charger? Curious what size it is.

 

Sweet. And interesting. Sure to cause lots of buzz and discussion. Personally I like the layout; I've always wondered why Caps Lock, which I almost never use, takes up so much valuable real estate. Thanks Boosted!

 

Wooaahh, it is getting started Also don´t miss the new ThinkPad 8: Ecco Lenovo ThinkPad 8: prima immagine - Eeevolution

 

at 17mm and 3lbs it is neither the slimmest nor the lightest 14 inch.

 

@gazpel,
They don´t say it is the slimmest - only "as the lightest 14” Ultrabook", as it weights only 2.8lbs / 1.27kg. Which 14"er is lighter?

 

I'd be okay with getting rid of the Caps Lock key... But the virtual function row is disappointing. Especially when they say "context sensitive", that can't be good... Who here trusts that Lenovo's driver can do a reliable job of guessing when you will need which function keys? I imagine getting it to work on Linux won't be much fun either.

I was really looking forward to this laptop, but now I'm considering other options as well (T440s, Ivy Bridge X1 Carbon).

 

sorry, it's late and I might have misread the article on the slimmest part. in the weight department I bet the Fujitsu u904 is a strong competitor, especially if you add in the weight of a rj45 adapter for the x1

 

Fujitsu u904 is 1.39 kg
LIFEBOOK U904 Ultrabook™ - Fujitsu CEMEA&I

Out of interest, what are the other very light (let's say < 1.45 kg) 14 inchers?
I previously thought the x1 was the only game in town.

 

Few more images...

 

Ah no one here mentioned that they wanted to see the new thinkpad 8 inch windows 8 tablet.

 

I wouldn't mind. Problem is I can't recall which charger I received. Problem of having a few chargers lying around.

 

@B00STED,
I think the people here will be very interested... :thumbsup:

 

Actually, there is a lengthy thread on the sister forum Thinkpad Tablet 3 Do you have something to share on Tablet 8 too?

 

All. Watch. This.

1. Lenovo First Look: New ThinkPad X1 Carbon - YouTube
2. The New ThinkPad X1 Carbon Tour - YouTube
3. The New ThinkPad X1 Carbon: Incredible Engineering - YouTube

 

Officially announced just 4 minutes ago: The new X1 Carbon!
[video]ww.youtube.com/watch?v=ykdl9nb[/video]

Too Late, edit

 

Here is an official product page New ThinkPad X1 Carbon Business Ultrabook | Lenovo (US) (actually, Lenovo has updated their original page)

 

Fantastic, thanks! Wow, that business guy in the middle video sure gets all the ladies' attention. Must be the X1. Oh, and Samsung Galaxy-style gesture-control stuff.

 

The tech specs page still hasn't been updated

 

Official press-release Lenovo Newsroom | New ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Lightest 14 inch Ultrabook in the World

 

Ouch! That Fn row looks like a doozie.

I was waiting to see the final product before making my next laptop decision and the user upgradeable msata drive along with high quality display seemed promising. While I can agree with re-appropriating the CapsLk key, the rest of the changes are just too radical. If Lenovo is going to go off the deep end with keyboard retooling, they should provide a configuration option for standard keyboard with at least one set of dedicated mouse button. I have owned a button-less Macbook 5,1 since 2008, the first unibody with no mouse button before they changed all of the aluminum models to Pro. I also have a Macbook Air, and I still find that it is much more productive to work on my ThinkPad T420s with dedicated mouse buttons for both touchpad and trackpoint. And, I have been using Linux since around 2006 and I only use OS X to upgrade firmware and load Windows when I have to in Virtualbox. Is Lenovo going to provide Linux drivers for that Fn row out of the gates?

Such a shame. The original Carbon X1 would be perfect if it had a removable msata hard drive and IPS display. I guess I'm going to be looking more closely at the HP Zbook 14, even if I prefer traditional ThinkPads and I don't like a sharp palmrest...

 

I hope those get updated soon. Looks like they added HDMI, which is interesting. But have they really removed the 4-in-1 SD card reader? That would be really disappointing.

 

Great that it was announced but so far nothing that we didn't already know.

 

I might just have to sign up over there then and answer all the unanswered.

 

With all the videos and press releases now I guess I am no longer needed here.

 

Your efforts have been appreciated!

 

Since you have a machine, can you tell me if the Hard Drive is upgradeable? Also does it come with a gigabit dongle, is that USB or something else? Thanks for all the information you posted, I have been following this forum but first time posting.

 

The HD is going to be M.2 SSD. This was answered previously. Therefore you can always opt to buy a larger SSD if you wish. They do get a bit pricey I seen.

As far as the dongle that will be released with the machine I am not sure since they may opt to change it. It should remain a gigabit micro Ethernet to RJ 45 dongle. However like I previously stated it is micro Ethernet that is built in on the carbon.

 

I think repacinging the capslock with home/end is acceptable: capslock is rarely used, and home/end was not in a natural position since x30 series anyway. However the Esc/Backspace/Delete design might cause some problems. Wonder why they cannot place these keys in the 6 row along with the adaptive keys together.

Sent from my GT-I9508 using Tapatalk

 

Indeed. Thank you Boosted.

 

I could not agree more.... What the hell they were thinking of moving "childa" key from upper left to bottom right..... Let alone Function keys.... sigh...

 

I don't think this has been posted yet: a USA Today columnist doing a a three-minute video overview of the new X1, focused on the virtual keys. Also some discussion of the gesture controls. A finger-to-the-lips apparently mutes the computer. Ha ha.
New Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard adapts to app being used

 

this is a huge disappointment on so many different levels.

the keyboard functionality is horrible and will cost Lenovo a ton of sales. in addition, there is NO FHD matte option for serious business users! and the overall design, style, and overkill branding are hideous.

the only thing the Carbon has going for it is the 14" screen in a close to 13" form factor, but you're stuck with a gimmicky glossy touch screen or an incredibly cheap 900p non-IPS alternative with horrible viewing angles and terrible color saturation.

Lenovo has dropped the ball in a big way here and they will pay for it at their bottom line. the amount of loyal ThinkPad users who've already ruled this machine out says it all.

 

@ibmthink
now you can change title of this post

 

So can someone summarize the key differences between this and the X1C? I had a X1C and X1CT, but sent them both back because of screen door problem, giant charger, and shoddy craftsmanship. What are the key differences between Gen 1 and gen2?
- size wise
- screen wise (is screen door problem fixed)
- charger size
- battery life
- Build quality

Thanks for all your help Boosted!