X1 Carbon Touch

The washed out screen door look is there and I am going to try adjusting it to look better because I want to keep this but so far the screen is not impressing me

 

I still see it listed. Two i5/4gb versions; one priced absurdly high.

 

I was one of the first people to get this laptop. I got it on the 27th. I have had touchscreen problems as well (seems there are two types, the 'doesn't work at all' and the 'works for 6 seconds'. Check the Lenovo forum ( X1 Carbon Touch - touchscreen problems - Page 2 - Lenovo Community)

When I got mine and first started it up, the touchscreen was working fine, but perf degraded throughout the day to the point where it now functions for 6 seconds at a time only.

 

How would you describe the glossiness? Is it an anti-glare like we've been hearing with a semi-gloss finish?

 

Yes themouse, those two are still listed, but if you look above those you will see "written in red" the not available statement.

 

It is semi gloss matte finish there is no glare And I been using nothing but the touch screen and so far it's been fantastic I will continue to test the crap out of it but as for now the system is worth the 1800 I paid.

 

Even with the screen as it is?

 

Nice. But you've been going back and forth saying the screen's "decent", then saying it's washed out and not impressive. Now you're saying it's fantastic? Or do you still stand behind the fact that the display isn't up to par?

 

Anyone who has it and has not had touchscreen issues please post your full model number on the bottom of the PC?

I'm having issues and mine is 3448-b66

 

Just curious, did you happen to order with that glitch online that was going on when you added Windows 8 Pro and the price actually dropped? I somehow doubt this has any effect but I'm trying to think of any differences possible in how people ordered. I'm picking mine up from UPS in about 2 hours so I'll take a look at it.

 

Mine was ordered through my corporation. There were all kinds of order issues but nothing like that.

 

I said the touch was fantastic the screen is a let down but not enough to return just for that reason I can live with the screen I lowered the brightness and it helped a little with the washed out colors

 

Just lower the Gamma to 0.8 and set the saturation to 20 in the Intel driver. It should help to make the colors better.

 

Ah I see. That's good. But yeah sometimes anti-glare displays give a more washed out look vs. glossy. I was impressed with the X1C's though it didn't totally live up to Samsung's PLS or Asus' IPS. It was definitely better than your average TN so I'm hoping this touch model at least matches it.

 

what is your model # from bottom of laptop?

 

urbanglowcam, do you still have the X1C? Or did you return it for the X1CT?

Either way, please let us know how the screen compares between them.

 

Well, now that the X1C touch reviews are in, I guess we can conclude that it is not IPS (even though some super high ups told me it would be). I might be looking elsewhere, as I can't justify buying a new laptop that is an incremental upgrade (for me). What do you think of XPS 12 (small screen worries me)? That's the only other one that caught my eye. I know some people have mentioned Macbook, but I've got an ipad and I like to try and stay up to date with both operating systems. Plus, I don't want to have to buy Office for Mac.

I don't want to derail the thread, as the X1C is definitely a nice piece and I am sure many people will be satisfied with it. Just asking if anyone is eyeing anything else right now, as th X1CT might not fit for everyone, and there are no solid reviews on it yet.

 

jcb, I can only speak for myself -- but after relentlessly reviewing all the options out there 4Q'12/1Q'13, there really isn't anything comparable to the X1C[T]. That is, as a general mobile productivity device, I think the X1C[T] is best-in-class; also, the 14" screen is IMO the sweet spot for portability with productivity. For creatives or multimedia, Apple has the edge with their screens and/or OS. All the other offerings out there today have compromises to a greater or lesser degree that I think make them worse than either Lenovo or Apple at their respective orients.

Of course, we all know this; that's why the lack of an IPS display is such a letdown for the X1C[T] since it's so-very-close to being the best of all worlds. Alas, it was not to be. Thankfully, the X1C[T] isn't severely disabled by its TN panel the way the T430s is. So the question becomes: are you willing to put up with an upper-range TN display in 2013?

For me, presuming that the touch is actually functional, doesn't kill the battery life or make the thing heat up excessively--I'll probably be going with that for the edge-to-edge glass + subtle build quality improvements over the X1C. Don't really care about touchscreen itself really... though throw on the Yoga's hinges and then you've got yourself quite an interesting little device...

 

Thanks for the feedback. I would agree the 14" is very nice and the keyboard too. I guess I am also wondering, that since the X1CT is not IPS, is the touchscreen compelling enough for the .5 lbs and cost. Are there any other upgrades other than glass to glass? Did they make build improvements to the X1C? I was going to exchnage my X1C for an X1CT, but curious what all the upgrades are.

 

so Far.

I have still had no issues with the touch screen it is working perfect.

I do have one driver that says it is not working correctly intel USB-IF XHCI? I have did all driver updates from lenovo but that one still has an explanation mark, I will search intels site for a driver and try.

Rating the system so far would be like this:

Build quality. 10 This system is solid from top to bottom and feels expensive in your hands.

Keyboard. 10 Best laptop keyboard I have used to date right up there with the macs.

Touchpad 10 very smooth and accurate.

Touchscreen. 10 I have typed flipped moved pin pointed and every time its been super responsive, feels like touching my ipad3.

Screen 7 all my other laptops have always been 1900 or better and maybe thats the problem I am having is getting use to the lower resolution? However its just not as crisp as I would like it to be but its not a deal breaker based on how well everything is.

Mine has the sandisk 256ssd and its super fast. I will run crystal disk mark in a few and get accurate reading but I can already say its not a let down.

Battery life looks to be around 4hours, you can stretch that out a little I am sure but with screen one notch from full brightness I am showing around 4hrs.

Overall I would rate the system a 9 out of 10, I think with some adjusting as mentioned in an earlier post (thanks by the way) that I can get the screen to a point I will be OK with.

I am not the best and writing reviews and I am sure I have missed many questions but I hope this helps?

 

Thanks for your informative feedback and I hope the unit be productive for you. Can I ask you to record a video from the laptop with all the details you see and upload over the Youtube. Till now there is no recording of X1CT or unboxing video and It would be quite interesting to see. I appreciate your considerations and good luck.

 

Just took delivery of my X1CT! Typing this on the machine as we speak.

I've only used it for about 15 minutes, so some first impressions. For reference, I've used the X1C, Zenbook, and MBA previously.

The machine is SUPER well built, as you'd expect, same as the X1C. The weight change IS noticeable, but not a deal-breaker (for me anyway). I plan on using it for frequent travel. Slim-ness wise, it's still good, and feels good holding it tucked in my hands while carrying around. Doesn't have the light weight throw-around feeling I have carrying other ultra books though if that makes sense.

I haven't had any problems with the touchscreen yet- it responds well and popping around in Windows 8 I haven't noticed any problems. Everything registers and feels responsive.

The screen quality sucks. Sorry to say it. I'm not surprised- I used the X1C before and the screen on that sucked as well, so I knew what I was getting myself into. It's just really depressing reading forums, reading emails, and just trying to read in general on this thing with the crappy screen door effective. The whites just don't feel white and it bugs my sensitive eyes. Text isn't as sharp and clear and everything feels dirty and static-y. I don't care compare it to the Zenbook, the gorgeous display on that thing makes me wince every time I have to switch back to this display and see what I'm working with.

The keyboard on the other hand, is the same as the X1C and out of this world. I've used a lot of ultrabooks and this one by far blows everything out of the water, I prefer it over the MBA, the Zenbook, and the Samsung 9. It just feels like I'm at home when I type on this thing. My hands never want to leave the keyboard. I can't emphasize enough how much better this keyboard is- it's the direct opposite of the screen.

I have the same missing driver for the Intel WiUSB as Darkhan mentioned- certainly feels like they could have polished the release a bit.

I'll report back after some usage on HDD speed (I have the 240GB) and battery life, but honestly I don't care that much about either.

The decision for me really comes down to "Can I put up with this display in order to have this awesome keyboard?". It's .. a hard call. For me it's either going to be the new Zenbook Touch or this guy .. The screen is too gorgeous on that thing to ignore. Working in email all day on the road, it's a hard call- I can't stand typing emails on the Zenbook keyboard compared to the X1C/T, but I can't stand reading emails from this thing. Feels wrong I have to make such a choice on a $1800 machine.

 

I'm with you there. Just got mine. The screen is about on par with what my X1C was. I would describe it as a semi-gloss display like others mentioned. I'm using it near a window with some sun shining through and it's visible, not overly reflective. It's pretty good, though the white levels could be a little brighter. Viewing angles are generally good.

Like it was mentioned earlier, the lid being thicker actually has a form firm feel than I remember with the X1C original. I do have the issue where the touchscreen was working perfectly at the beginning, and now doesn't work suddenly. When it was working, it worked really well and fluid. I'm thinking (and hoping) it's a driver issue.

 

For those interested, Engadget has just put up their review on the X1C Touch:

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch review: one of our favorite Ultrabooks gets a touchscreen

 

I agree with LSK2 the zenbooks screen really makes this screen look like . But typing and the overall fell of this machine in your hands is hard to go back to typing on the asus.

I think I will keep mine for a few months and buy one of the next gens mid summer. Its sad that they cant place a better screen in such a nice notebook.

 

@jcb: as near as I can tell, the physical changes outside of the screen are mostly cosmetic (an added LED on the 'i' of the cover; can't remember what else). Really, I was just thinking that the rapid emergence of this model so soon after the X1C probably lends itself to some QC improvements over the X1C's initial run so hopefully things like trackpad eccentricities are a thing of the past.

Guys, really digging your feedback; thanks for the write-ups. One thing really drawing me to the X1CT over the X1C is the added weight/bulk -- I actually *prefer* it, and generally don't like the super-lightweight feel of, e.g., the MBA, where the ultrabook is featherweight and flimsy. urbanglowcam, you got me really excited when you said, "the lid being thicker actually has a form firm feel than I remember with the X1C original". Sounds great!

 

Thanks for sharing the review. Pretty much says what we've all discovered, but for some reason the professional reviewers don't seem to be skewering Lenovo over the screen....Either way, this reviewer also mentioned the Yoga and XPS12.

 

Darkhan, LSK2: Thanks for the great feedback!

The other laptop that I was looking to get was the zenbook ux32vd as well, because of that awesome screen and lower price. However forum readings show a lot of issues with those models and lenovo has always had a solid record with drivers so I ended up pulling the trigger on the X1CT. Your reviews confirm what I was expecting.. great overall ultrabook with a passable screen (though certainly an upgrade over my T420 ). If only it was FHD.. and for the price it probably should've been.

 

Just keep in mind that there are still very real issues with the touchscreen. Again, it seems very much like a driver/software issue though. I hope Lenovo issues a fix for this quickly.

I'm going to start messing with the different drivers and bios updates when I get home in a few hours as well as some display settings to see if I can get the screen to look as good as possible.

 

I just installed a new bios not sure what the changes are?

 

I would agree with that quote until the past 2-3 years. It doesn't seem like Lenovo is handling bugs in the ThinkPad W and T series like they used to. It seems more and more major bugs are punted to the next model in the hopes that the Intel platform chipset change will resolve them.

 

You're not having any issues with touchscreen responsiveness?

 

Which bugs for example?

 

That's exactly what happened to me! For awhile I thought it could be a Windows update issue or something but that can't be it because I've reinstalled Windows 8 3 different times from 3 different sources. I just don't understand how a 'driver issue' could cause performance to degrade and then permanently stay bad without some kind of update.

I'm hoping desperately it's a driver.

Btw, I finally gave in and called Lenovo support. The tech was really nice and went off and talked to the engineering team. They said that 'it's a known issue and they are working on it' but he had no other information (like hardware/software, whether it will be fixed, etc).

So I advise everyone to keep a close eye on their laptop over the next few days, and call support to report the issue so they can see how serious it is. There is a 21 day return policy for Lenovo, after which you have to get it serviced if you need something fixed.

 

I JUST read what I think was your post on the Lenovo forums. I also mentioned to everyone to report this to Lenovo so they see how common of an issue it is so the chances of a solution is increased. I don't want to have to return this so I'm hoping its related to the software.

Have you tried updating your drivers / bios?

 

No my touchscreen is flawless.
The main issue I am having is my wifi will not work after being woke from sleep state I have to reboot.

 

Interesting. I have the same problem on my X220 work laptop. Let me know if you find a fix, I have NOT been able to find one and it is really annoying to have the wireless connection go into a disabled state after sleep.

 

I had an issue where my x1c wouldn't connect to my wifi at home period. Cisco router with wpa 2 aes encryption. I had to download more recent intel drivers for it to work. Supplied was 15.4 from memory, and 15.5 was available to download

 

I've found T410/420 and X220 to have very good support. There were no unexplained crashes/reboots or things not working as expected. From what I've read on lenovo forums it does seem like they require a bit of forceful persuasion from users to push them into fixing bugs, but it does get done eventually ;-)

If X1CT doesn't have hassle free drivers I'll probably jump ship to Apple. Can't afford to spend a bunch of time doing RMAs and arguing on forums. Yoga seemed to have a bunch of issues so hopefully the "business line" X1C won't have the same problems.

 

Drivers have all been updated. The touchscreen is controlled by the standard Windows USB Human Interface driver. It would seem on the surface that to fix via a driver would require a whole new Lenovo-specific one to replace the Windows one, or a BIOS update. As for the BIOS, my laptop shipped with 2.09, 2.10, which was released on Dec 4, doesn't look like it changes anything significant: Drivers and software - ThinkPad X1 Carbon

 

I have a Dell XPS12 and now (for ~ 1 hour) the Carbon touch at home. Both laptops have the issue with a missing wifi connection after sleep or restart. It takes about a minute of two to connect. All my other devices (Iphone, Sony with Windows 7, Ipad, Dell with windows 7 have never had any issues. Could it be Windows 8?

First impressions of Carbon touch:

Solid computer, touchscreen (still) works. Screen is good, but not great. Needed over 10 updates, USC device is flagged as disabled as other users have reported.

Compared to Dell XPS 12, the screen feels MUCH bigger and less glossy. Weight wise, they both feel the same. Here are some images.

 

I see. Those drivers are from October (except the Bios and a few others), so I'm wondering if they were intended for the standard (non-touch) X1 Carbon. There's a change they use the same ones but we don't have any recent ones that support the addition of touch.

 

Great comparison. Can you give some more thoughts on the xps12 versus X1cT? Do you use the tablet feature on xps at all? Thats one of the things I liked about XPS and yoga- the ability to use them on flights without worrying about seat in front of you.

 

@drjochen I have an xps12 on order also. If you had to make the decision to keep one which one as of right now would you choose?

Thanks!

 

I have had the XPS12for about 3 weeks now. I have used the tablet feature maybe 3 times. Somehow, if I want a tablet, I always revert to my Ipad. It just feels too bulky for a tablet. Haven't flown with them yet. My next trip isn't until the end of January. I am sure I would enjoy the tablet feature on a plane.

Hard to tell, I have only had the Lenovo for 2 hours. I am still installing Office. Give me 2 days. But from a first impressions, I like the Lenovo better. Don't know why, just a first gut feeling. I never warmed up to the XPS 12 completely. Feels heavy for its size. Btw., I currently use a Sony VPCZ1, which I have had for 2 years.

 

After reading that the X1CT display isn't IPS and is generally not regarded as great quality plus the driver issues and the obviously lack of production quality I am considering cancelling my order.

The only problem is finding a suitable alternative.

The MacBook Pro Retina is great hardware, but I am sure Win8 would be buggy and the 13inch with flash drive is crazy expensive.

The new Asus ux31a Zenbook touch looks very nice, but no one knows when it will be released in the US ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A Touch review: new touchscreen, same solid performance

And I don't see anything else out there that would be a good alternative to the X1CT. Frustrating.

 

Lack of IPS is the worst of what you listed. Though I'm pretty happy with the display on this X1CT. The driver issues with the touchscreen are annoying, but if Lenovo can provide an answer/fix soon I'll be happy. Who told you the production quality was bad? I'm very happy with the quality of the device.

In terms of the UX31A Zenbook Touch, it's been out.

Asus Ultrabook 13.3" TouchScreen Laptop 4GB Memory 128GB Solid State Drive UX31A-BHI5T11 - Best Buy

ASUS UX21A / UX31A - Microsoft Windows

 

The issue with 1080p on a 13" screen is that windows scaling is terrible. I have excellent eyes, but you have to run at 110-125% dpi scaling to see anything. This leaves all sorts of compatibility issues with various programs, and many websites have issues with graphics (fuzziness, alignment issues, etc). Until Windows 8 can scale properly, 1600x900 on 13" is max for me personally.

I had the UX32VD and returned it for this very reason. Bought my wife a UX31A, which has a beautiful screen, but the same exact issue. Not a big deal to her because she isn't quite as picky as I am!

I'll wait patiently for my X1CT on order...hoping the touchscreen issues are sorted out by mid-January.

 

I miss my e30 M3.

Good luck with the X1CT.

 

Agree with schnieds on all points... It's really sad, for this price and for this machine level people expected at least 'very good' display...

We are long time Thinkpad users here, we can't do easy switch to Apple, Dell & others... (MacBook Air is amazing, but I cannot work on that keyboard, and Windows experience is not great)... And what's that with all those Lenovo guys confirming and double-confirming that X1CT indeed has IPS display? Very disappointed... same as many of us who spent days & nights on this thread waiting for the news.

I'll keep my T60 and wait ~1year for next X2C to see will they do the right thing... if not, then I'll be leaving like many others did.

(thanks for 1st reviewers, you guys were great)