X1 Carbon Shipping Thread

Thanks for the Info. If I do it, I'd probably get an Accidental Damage plan from Micro Center ($199 for 1 yr, $329 for 2yr)... Which would help the warranty side of things.

Add another $230 for a Samsung SSD, and $50 for RAM, I'd end up pretty close to what I'm paying for the Carbon.

 

Well here's another bit of comedy, coutesy of Lenovo. Turns out they DID end up sending me both orders! The first package will arrive Monday and the 2nd on Wednesday. Based on the early reports of hardware issues I think I'll wait for both to arrive and just send back whichever one is DOA, or missing a WiFi card, or who knows what else.

Something odd I noticed on the UPS tracking info is that one is listed at 3.1kg and the other is at 2.7. Identical machines with a 0.4kg difference? Odd...

 

There's just one thing wrong with that strategy... you are almost guaranteed to be charged a restocking fee of 15%.

My advice would be to have customer service attempt to intercept the package and have it routed to the return center, or simply ship it back after you receive it. Have customer service send you the email with UPS label return instructions.

 

Wow people are getting pretty down on their X1C's before having even received them!!

Some of these comments give me the impression that some people seem convinced that their X1C is going to have every problem that any X1C shipped so far has had!

Just to inject a bit of sanity into this discussion:

1. If I'm not mistaken, the only issue reported on forums so far which has affected more than one person is the loose trackpad issue.
2. Computers, like any product, will have manufacturing flaws from time to time.
3. It is not really possible to evaluate the defect rate from forum posts, especially in cases where a single flaw is not affecting multiple people. Assuming Lenovo is shipping 200 per day now has previously indicated, thousands of people have X1Cs. People with problems are more likely to report back than people without problems.
4. In a worst-case scenario where Lenovo is having a much-higher-than usual defect rate, we are talking about a defect rate of 10%, not 90%. A big problem for them, and 10% of their customers, but probably not enough to justify us going crazy before even receiving our orders.

My X1C should arrive next week. Obviously if mine has manufacturing defects I'll be disappointed.

But if it doesn't, there's a good chance that I won't be back to this thread again, making mine one more X1C whose condition is undocumented.

 

My order date is Aug 23rd, but my shipping date is the same as yours. Fair? I am waiting for it with patience, for you cannot really do anything to change it. Unless you don't like X1C, then cancel it. If you believe this is the one you like to OWN, then just wait. Wait for 2-3 more weeks, and OWN years long of something you really love and use it everyday. Like my X301, I like it more than any other laptops I owned, although the Win vista gave me a lot troubles on this machine.

BTW, USB 3.0 Dock = Adapter Port Replicator-US. They are the same thing but different names, I believe.

 

++1

that's wise and level headed thinking.

you must meditate and do yoga too. sort of like Andre Gregory in My Dinner with Andre. ;-)

 

I'm sorry but you are mistaken. This isn't the only board on the internet so it isn't the only place people report issues. On this board there have been numerous reports now of dissatisfaction with the screen quality. The trackpad issues are well documented. There have been several reports of issues with the machine not booting or powering up properly. Reviewers and customers here have reported fan noise or heat. The majority of the owners report otherwise so that's a good thing.

On balance it doesn't sound like anything yet is a serious showstopper. The boot or power issues seem like one offs. It's rare to see a model introduced from any maker and have it come off flawless. The launch of the revered X1 Carbon has NOT been flawless by any stretch.

I personally consider the screen reports troubling. I have long been interested in the X1 Carbon because of it's rumored IPS screen. I was hopeful the rumor from last year would be true but alas it probably got cut in order to keep the cost and power requirements low. The screen and keyboard are top priorities for me. If I am going to pay a premium price, I want a premium screen and keyboard. Lenovo clearly has a superior keyboard.

You are certainly entitled to your view and I understand the premise of your points, but I wouldn't call anyone making a decision with their money crazy or insane. I know in my case it was insane to order the damn thing on the first day. I feel it's better to wait a few months to see how the machine fairs in the hands of real customers. When Lenovo started screwing with the estimated shipment dates, I cancelled. That and they had charged (held funds) my credit card three times. Since I had TWO carbons on the order with some other stuff, that had to be addressed. So now I'll eat popcorn and watch the show for another few weeks and see if some trends emerge. Yea, call me crazy.

 

Ok, I just cancelled my X1c order and ordered the T430s, which has a 9.22.12 ship date versus the sliding (now) 9.26.12 ship date of the x1c. Plus, fits my current plugs for lenovo line, swappable battery, upgrade in future to 16GB memory, etc. I searched far and wide for alternatives, but Lenovo is hard to walk away from despite the monkey business here. Hope all enjoy the X1C and avoid any of the problems discussed here. I have a funny feeling they'll ship both to me next week... then I'll be reporting back my tale... hope not!

 

Makes me glad I opted to wait until November. Let's see how this plays out.

May be the cancelled orders and returns will be a wake up call to Lenovo that the X1C is too expensive AND under spec'd as well as poorly sold and built (IMO).



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

I will wait until windows 8 regardless. I hope they finally clear out the backlog and it allows them to take their time while building the machines. They are artificially propping the price right now in order to limit the already bad backlog that exists. Hopefully the mystical i7/8gb/256gb machine exists by then.

I am also going to talk to a rep; I am only willing to pay what it would cost me to configure an identical MacbookAir. If they won't accommodate, I will hold off for Haswell and the Surface Pro.

 

Haswell won't be around until Q2-Q3 next year. Although the launch probably won't be like Ivy Bridge so ULV will take priority. So Surface, if its updated next year, will come after that.

 

There is no evidence of manufacturing irregularity with respect to screens. No one has put down two X1C's side by side and decided that one had a worse screen than the other. (It also seems that all X1C's so far have exactly the same LCD manufacturer.)

Personally, I have seen an X1C at a retailer and thought it had a great screen---certainly, much better than the other non-IPS thinkpads. If my screen looks like the one I saw---which I expect it will, with no evidence to the contrary---I will be very hapy with it.

 

If I am already waiting for Windows8, What is 6 months if it means the next Tick from Intel. They are already saying double battery life on the same performance as well as significantly better thermal profile.

Hell, if I wait, there is the chance a 512GB option or IPS.

 

And if you wait longer maybe there will be an quad in the x1c... you can always wait. If you need a laptop buy it thats it.

 

With the delay time and issues people have seen, how is waiting a bad idea. A new OS is a month away, next large processor update 6 months off, and display and design becoming a priority.

What's the point in dumping 2 grand on a underspeced product with iffy build quality and clearly poor customer service. Lenovo has to earn my money by producing a product worth the asking price and standing behind it.

 

I agree but maybe the x1c is unique like the x301. I searched for an other product like the x1c but never found one. For example:
Series 9 13" only 4Gb of ram.
Asus Zenbook pretty nice but no replacement parts in the future.
Maybe waiting for the next ultrabook generation is better but i need a laptop now and i hope my x1c has no flaws.
If u have no need then wait.

 

For anyone that purchased already, the best of luck. I hope it's a great laptop and it serves you well. I had my pointer on the order button but I decided to wait. My original reason to wait was the pricing options being so high. They are higher than Apple pricing, and that's quite the pill to swallow. When/if their pricing comes down and the lead times shorten I may consider it further. Until both of those occur, I will wait for the surface/pro as well as the touchscreen units from Asus and Samsung next year.

 

How do you reconcile the reports from owners here that say their LCD screen has the "screen door" issue? You dismiss such reports? Do you also dismiss them on the T420 ThinkPads? I don't. I have personally seen the 14" screens on the T420 where this was visible so I have no reason to believe an owner here would be lying about it. If they are, it's a grand conspiracy.

 

Not all owners are saying it has the screen door effect, and some that are say that it is hard to notice or only see it if they are really looking.

Personally, I ordered the X1C to replace my T420 (with its garbage AUO panel that I've put up with for over a year and half now), so I am expecting, based on some reports, that it is a marked improvement over the T420 screen. If it is not a vast improvement, I will be highly disappointed. I'm not expecting a macbook quality screen (wife's 2010 macbook air has a very nice screen) but if it is better than I currently have I think I will be happy.

Of course this could just be me being optimistic, since I already placed an order. I guess I'll see eventually (if it ever ships).

 

No no, not at all. I think the most likely explanation is that people have varying sensitivity to the issue. Probably if I remembered to check for it I may have noticed the screen door issue on the X1C I checked out also.

Of course, it's possible that there is really wide variation in the LCD dot pitch just due to manufacturing defects.

But it seems unlikely. If that were the case, I would expect variation in dot pitch even within invididual LCD's, and of course, no one has reported that. (Keep in mind, all LCDs are the same part from LG, unlike the T420, which had multiple LCD manufacturers.)

 

That's the thing. The MacBook Air screen (at least, the 2011 and 2012) have awful screens compared to much of the competition or their "Pro" siblings. Terrible viewing angles, too much gloss, but they sure do look good at just the right angle.

Word has it that the X1C's color is way above the MBA's, but I fear I may not find out.

 

Haven't checked back on this thread for a while. I am glad that my X1c has not problem, since I've seem some people have problems. For the screen, I do notice a screen door effect tho, but I am also prepared for it too, since I've heard from chinese forums that although the screen has good color, but the screen door effect is noticeable. Especially if you are coming from older generation of thinkpads, such as the T60p or T61p with IPS or AFFS screen. Other than that, I have no complains. Very good machine, conformable to use. Nice trackpad, although I use trackpoint most of the time. Deserve for the wait, at least for me.

 

Glad to hear the good news from you. I believe X1C with problems has a very small percentage. It happens to all brands and all products! It is just someone is unlucky to receive a DOA.

iPhone 4 is a great phone. But it has problems too. It often makes calls automatically. I also received calls from friends who did not intend to make them...

 

Has anyone noticed that the Integrated mobile broadband option has changed to "GOBI 4000 for AT&T". When I ordered the included product was "Ericsson H5321gw".
I believe that the GOBI 4000 is compatible with LTE. I don't know if the Ericsson card is LTE compatible.

i5/8/256
Ordered 8/16

 

See the general X1C thread for a brief discussion of this. It's not clear if anyone is getting the GOBI. The specs page clearly list the Ericsson card but some people have the GOBI in their buildsheet but received units without the GOBI. In the "customize" page on the Lenovo website, it still lists the GOBI device, so I think there is actually confusion all around in this.

I expected the GOBI device and received the Ericcson. The differences are that the GOBI is built-in and supports LTE, the Ericcson requires a sim and is only 3G compatible.

I'm waiting to see what happens here and then may take action with Customer Service/Repair.

 

Well that's a bummer. I checked the German site, and it still has the Ericsson card listed. Maybe this is for LTE markets only?

Anyway, the price I purchased the X1 carbon for can't be had any more. If the GOBI was offered as an upgrade originally I wouldn't have chosen it.

 

Gobi 4000 is better, working for both 3G and 4G (LTE), than Ericsson (only 3G). It costs $169.99 at Lenovo.com. I hope mine is switched to GOBI 4000, but not happen yet.

See this link: Qualcomm gobs off about Gobi 4000: the buy once, use anywhere mobile chipset -- Engadget

 

Just got off from sales chat regarding the GOBI 4000. The sales rep stated that the Ericcson card is no longer an option and the GOBI 4000 is now the standard as it allows both 3G and 4G on Verizon and AT&T.
I don't know what the units still pending manufacturing will be shipped with.

 

I remember, at the beginning when this unit just came out, many commented that they won't buy this unit unless it is 4G compatible. That is what I want too. But they didn't change it in my config.

 

Same here. They recently removed my order and reentered it and it still shows the Ericcson card. I never researched the Ericcson card when I first ordered. Why ship a new computer with a 3G card when all the providers are moving to 4G and 4G cards are available? Will units that have been shipped get an exchange at no charge?

 

OK, I added a separate thread to gauge what people are receiving and what they expected.

Looks like I will be calling CS to request that they send me a GOBI to install or have me send my my X1C to get the Ericsson swapped out. Since they are now installing the GOBI, I think it's only fair for them to do the same for early orders...it's not like those shipping with the GOBI are a new model, separate from the ones purchase (way back when) a few weeks ago...

Annoyed.

 

I searched the Ericsson model. It seems the speed is about 20MB/sec. I was told this is 3.5G, much better than 3G. Can you confirm? If that's the case, and they don't switch mine to Gobi, it appears not very bad. As long as the speed is >10MB/s, it should be faster enough to me.

 

It supports HSPA+, so download speeds up to 21M bps. HSPA+ speeds are a lot better than 3G, at least in my experience with At&t. But LTE is faster.

 

I'm going to call Lenovo on Monday, I want to know if they shipped the laptop on 16th as they had promised on Friday.

 

Laptop finally shipped -
Ordered August 20th 2012. The base model using the B&N coupon + 10% off
Expected arrival date is September 20th 2012

Overall 1 month to get the unit. Not too bad

 

Anyone with the 256 SSD ship yet?

 

Received mine Thursday, 9/13. Love it

Those complaining about the graphics, make sure you check the power profiles if you haven't already. The default settings for the plugged in option, for whatever reason, seems to be dialed way down. I adjusted mine and the display looks really good.

The touchpad is the best I've ever used.

 

34 days and counting...

I placed my order on 2012-08-14 (before 6am EST). It is for the i5/8GB/256SSD. I have not yet receieved a shipping notification. The last time I spoke with a Lenovo representative on the phone they said the original 16 September date they had given people was actually pushed to 17 September.

The "Order Detail" page however, when it's actually accessible, says that the estimated shipping date is 26 September. So really I have no idea.

 

Ordered my i5/8gb/128gb from Lenovo.com.au on 28th August and it arrived 14th September here in Perth Australia. After having spent the weekend getting it all set up I'm very pleased with the device. Coming from a 2010 vintage Sony Z1 with i7/8gb config there is no noticeable performance loss for day to day tasks.

Pros - Awesome keyboard only downside being the Fn/Ctrl keys being wrong way around, BIOS change fixed it but why the hell swap them in the first place? Love having dedicated PgUp and PgDn keys again. Screen is perfect resolution, coming from Z1 with full-hd display, the 1600x900 is spot on for the 14" screen size. Fast charging is great too. Laptop just feels solid and great in the hand, the material used on external surface is sublime. Hopefully its resistant to scuffs.

Cons - Ridiculously large power brick, I mean seriously? Even ordered the slimline adaptor to reduce carry around weight but after you add power tips, Y-cables and all the other crap it is not befitting of laptop designed for portability. Backlit keyboard is manually activated, Sony Z1 had a light sensor which automatically activated the keyboard back light in low light. I know it sounds nitpicky but things like this just make premium products like this more justifiable after you've swallowed the premium price.

Overall a fantastic piece of kit, already had many envious looks at work and at uni. If only this thing came with a built in 4G LTE capable modem then it would be damn near perfect.

Anyone considering the Lenovo 14W neoprene case - DONT DO IT - Very sloppy fit and you can fold over about 2" of the case with the X1C inside. Dimension wise the X1C is nearly identical to the MBA 13" so will visit an Apple store to see if I can find one that fits better.

 

GREAT! It seems this X1C deserves my long wait.

 

I called. They told me that it will be shipped before 26th of September, so the same date as on Order Detail page.
What is going on? I called them on Friday, and I was told the shipping date hadn't changed. I'm so angry, they might as well change the date again next week. I don't know what to do.

 

Exact same situation here. I'm fuming; at this point, why shouldn't I just wait to see what October/November brings?

 

When did you call? I called on Friday and they claimed 16th. Today, they said 26th.
I think that on Friday the guy contacted 'warehouse', whatever it means. Today the woman just read information on order page.

 

I just cancelled my order, I am done waiting.

Good luck to those who are still waiting for theirs.

 

definitely worth the wait

 

This remains to be seen!

 

It depends how long you have been waiting and how long you need to wait. They can just keep moving the shipping date, you don't know when they are telling the truth. It is sick, just compare it to Apple's customer service.

 

That's really unfair to say, given that we have no way of knowing what the wait is anymore. The ship date keeps getting pushed back, first 9-3, then 9-16, then 9-24, now my status says 9-26... I ordered on 8-16. A month in Technology is a long time, new stuff is coming in October, if I have to wait, why I don't I wait and buy a new PC in October with the Launch of Windows 8 and a bunch of new computers are launching.

 

I tried to cancel, and I was given that garbage about how it "may not go through" because it takes 3-5 business days. Seriously?

 

just received my unit i5 w/8GB/128GB today. I have to say the whole one month wait is really worth it. I checked my machine and I am quite happy with it in terms of built quality, weight, screen, viewimg angle, performance, etc. The only downside is the missing dongle which is supposed to be included . I dont find it in the box. I called lenovo and they told me it will be shipped later. But no actual date can be given at this moment.
windows 7 accessment is as follow, looks like the bottleneck is graphic which i dont really care about.
hopefully all the folks here will get your own machine asap. cheers.

processor 6.9
memory 7.4
graphic 5.8
gaming 6.4
hd 7.9