X1 Carbon Touch

Mine just changed status to "released to manufacturing“. Still has MT in the specs.

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Well I'm still crossing my fingers on the touchscreen. According to the order page I should still be getting the i5-3427 processor and that is only in the Touch model. So maybe it would make sense that a laptop with a Touch system would be in the same assembly line which would get the touch display. It's not likely someone would have to walk over to the non-Touch assembly line just to swap the displays?
Anyways, here's hoping they don't

 

I'm still crossing my fingers about ips but not too optimistic. I almost cancelled but I'm going to give it a shot. Finding the "perfect“ laptop is mind numbing.

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I agree.. I almost went with the Yoga 13. But then I began to read all the problems with paint chipping and poor wireless performance depending on where you rest your palms, so I scrappd that idea.
I like the thin form factor of Yoga though.

 

I don't think so, or at least they're not quite so consistent. From the X1 Carbon ( non-touch) technical specifications sheet, the screen is listed as "14.0" HD+ Anti-Glare (1600 x 900) (300 NITS) Wide Viewing." The X1 Carbon Touch is listed with "14" HD+ (1600 x 900) (300 nit) wide viewing, 10-finger touch screen."

My guess is that it's the same screen (TN, with above-average viewing angles, as some X1C reviews noted).

 

If that's true then people are really being fleeced paying an extra ~$250 just for touch capability alone. Hope to be proven wrong.

...adding, I'm going to laugh (and cry) at the first owner's thread post complaining about screen door effect.

 

If anyone runs into some ACTUAL photos of the unit, let me know. I've only managed to see a few. Otherwise blogs get it confused with the original model, which doesn't help us. Also, the production shots are often misleading.



Then there's this one an owner sent me. Original X1C on the left, and X1C Touch on right. Said the displays were very similar.

I had the X1C and never noticed that problem. Also, it's more than just for the touch capability. It wasn't possible to get an i7 CPU with the 8GB ram before. On top of that, the display is all a flush glass now. Before, the plastic trim had problems not adhering to the display.

 

Yea, but surely you wouldn't pay $250 for a 4GB ram upgrade, nor would you (or should you have to) pay that premium to have proper display manufacturing/housing on a $1,000+ product. If people really look at either of these things as a benefit worth paying for then Lenovo buyers are suckers.

Edit: Just to clarify, not saying people should get ram upgrades for free, just that you shouldn't/wouldn't pay for the right to upgrade ram.

 

Fyi win 8 pro option gone on the i5 version now. Looks like they found out. Let's see what happens.

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We'll see what happens; I hope to be soundly proven wrong.

 

I hear ya!

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Well it's THAT in addition to having a touch panel. Also, I was saying you're getting the better combination now....i7/8GB over the i5/8GB or i7/4GB. I'm sure we could agree that they should have had the option from the get go, but they didn't and people were still buying this model like crazy. So there is obviously a demand for them where they're justified to charge these costs. It just sucks that we have to pay them.

But your disappointment is in the fact that there isn't an IPS display offered? Just curious if you've seen the X1 Carbon in person. It's actually pretty impressive! So while I agree that we're paying a lot, it's worth it for me since I haven't seen many other machines that offer the same full package.

 

I also think it is a TN screen.

 

I haven't seen either the X1C or the X1CT so I'm not in a position to be disappointed, nor am I claiming to be. I'm just saying that for an additional $250 the Touch display should be better -- that touch capability alone isn't worth that premium. I hope it is a better display.

I understand you like the X1C display. Others claim it has imperfections. I think it's indisputable that there are better displays in it's class. I'm not willing to spend $1,200 and up for a product that doesn't have a best-in-class display, let alone $1,500 and up for a display with no discernible improvement.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lead_org/8270377751/in/photostream

here is what someone from Lenovo has given me, look at what is said for the LCD part.

 

Okay, fair enough. I can't argue with that. In my honest opinion, I've done a lot of research and found that the Samsung Series 9 (13") and Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A had slightly better displays. But the S9 is just as expensive and doesn't offer 8GB of ram, as good of a keyboard, or a touchscreen. I wasn't totally impressed with Asus' build quality when they first launched, but they may have improved and II hear there's a touchscreen model now. So you might want to consider that. The point is, they're all premium machines with drawbacks in some for or another.

I'm a sucker for carbon fiber, dark/soft finish, prefer the slightly larger screen, the i7/256GB/8GB combo, fingerprint reader, superior keyboard/trackpad, good webcam, and capacitive touch. I also got the top of the line X1CT for $1350 so the whole package was a no brainer for me.


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If you read my last post you'll see that this was an old promo banner which they have now altered to NOT say IPS.

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Lenovo's X1C Touch site shows the display as "HD+ Display." Where as before it did mention IPS.

So I guess no IPS... :-(

 

100% agree. I went to a shop to see X1C before buying, I didn't care if shop price is higher than online, I like to pay premium for choosing the perfect unit... I was really looking forward to buy X1C to replace my beloved 6-years old T60 1024x768... While machine looks awesome, I was very disappointed with screen, it has obvious screen-door-effect, in light and white background (you can clearly see it's like fine tiny dark net covering white background), completely unacceptable for people who are willing to pay USD1500-2000 (I'm in HongKong) working in white backgrounds like office & email & internet.

Sales guy said he don't see anything wrong, yea right... Then I went to used laptops market, bought like-new T60 1400x1050 for ~120eur (10x cheaper than that X1C) and bring it to that same shop and put next to X1C, then sales guy finally got surprised and admitted obvious SDEffect on X1C (difference between these two displays, and technologies, is 6 years!).

That's my sad story about buying new laptop after 6 years, went to a shop to buy new X1C, then ended up in used laptops market buying my new/old T60 with higher res. screen than my old one...
I understand that some people don't care about SDE, but I hate to see Lenovo is calling it 'premium display' on their elite 20y anniversary model, and even lying about new X1CT having IPS (later they deleted it, after lots of people bought it already, thinking it's really IPS, that's called cheating), if you call it and charge it 'premium', then make it premium for God's sake.

I love Thinkpads, I'll never buy Apple (unless they make same keyboard), so I have no choice for 14" business aptop than staying with dinosaur T60 and waiting for X2C next year, for maybe better screen, for a change... Sorry for big post, guys.

Cheers,
Alex

 

" I also got the top of the line X1CT for $1350 so the whole package was a no brainer for me. "

How did you get the top of the line X1CT for $1350? I can't even get that with my student discount. Did you get charge tax?

 

Basically, I purchased the original X1C right at launch with an employee discount, through a friends/family plan. There was delay after delay on the shipping dates which were misleading. So I called a few times and got some compensation for my patience. I finally received it after more than a month (where I then sold my then-current notebook). It was really great until I noticed the adhesion on the screen bezel was very poor. I could see the wiring under it and I wasn't sure if it would hold up over time. The comma key also wasn't easy to press / register because there was a screw clearly underneath it.

I drove out a good distance to the nearest "Lenovo authorized technician" who told me they would not repair it since it's "cosmetic" and Lenovo might not reimburse the shop. So I then shipped it to Lenovo for repairs, knowing I would probably have to wait a long time with the delays going on. From what was supposed to take about a week, my laptop was with Lenovo for more than a month waiting on a keyboard replacement that was backordered. It's as if it got lost in the system. So they escalated me to a manager somewhere that allowed me to get a replacement. I was afraid the replacement would take another few weeks to a month.

By this time I saw the touch model in slides and was given the choice of waiting while I was credited towards that. The rep I was dealing with was really nice and issued me a X1C Touch replacement with an even higher spec model than my original X1C (i7 vs i5) at no additional cost. He even called me back after to confirm that a coworker's X1C Touch is in fact an anti-glare display. Oh and I should mention that it was $1,350 before tax, and I believe about $1,445 after. Still pricey, but not bad for a $2,000 machine.

So I'm really satisfied with the eventual outcome, but there was a lot of patience and frustration involved. Not to mention using my girlfriend's old bottom-line Sony Vaio for my graphics/development work the last few months. :/

 

Exactly. I'm simply not willing to accept significant drawbacks on products in this price range, so I recently ordered a T430u for $599 and I'll re-evaluate top end options in a year or two. Yea, it has a low res screen, but it's relatively light at 4lbs, good battery life and is half the price of the X1C -- and $900 less than the X1CT right now. My needs and 50 year old eyes don't benefit from 1600x900, so unless a high res screen is visually top notch there's limited benefit to me.

 

The 1600x900 is great for me when doing graphics so that I can fit more content on the screen without distortion. But I see what you're saying. Best of luck and hope you enjoy the T430u. I'm sure you'll find a beast of a machine in the next year or two!

 

@urbanglowcam Thanks. The X1C really is a beautiful machine and it's disappointing having to walk away from it. I was really hoping the Touch would include a top level IPS display. I'd cancel the 430u in a heartbeat if it did. I hope they get you one soon that you can actually keep and use!

 

I decided to go with the non-touch X1 Carbon due to the additional half pound of weight and non-IPS (likely) screen.

With an IPS screen, I would have given in on the weight, but if it's the same screen there is no point for me to spend and carry more.

 

Hmmm. Why would you laugh?

 

Irony.....

 

In the "For what it's worth" department: I ordered my X1CT yesterday. I expect to be quite satisfied regardless of IPS or not. At the close of our conversation (after confirming my order number), my sales rep asked if she could assist with anything else. So, I asked "does this X1 Carbon Touch have an IPS screen or not?". She responded without any hesitation and very confidently "Yes, the Touch does have an IPS screen." I explained that there is much confusion on the forums about this because it used to say IPS on the website but now it does not. She explained that Lenovo is trying to push their "Premium Screen" badging on their systems and any "Premium" screen means that it is IPS "and very nice" she added. So, given that I asked this after completing my order, I do not feel it was any "trick" to get me to place the order. Just thought I'd share my order experience since the IPS issue is a major concern for many.

 

Lenovo sale reps are not known to be very knowledge about the new products.

 

Either this sales rep has no idea what she's talking about or the Lenovo web marketing people are entirely incompetent, because the opening info page for the X1CT and the tech specs page do not have the word "premium" anywhere on them. #fail

...adding, there isn't any other word on those pages that could be seen as badging or branding for IPS/premium screen either.

 

I have no interest in defending a Lenovo rep as I've been a long time Dell guy and this is my first Lenovo experience. However, the tech specs do, indeed, list "Premium" display:
Display Type

14.0" MultiTouch Premium HD+ (1600x900) LED Backlit Display, 720p HD Camera. No WWAN

 

The non-touch customization screen has the display as being:

"14.0" Premium HD+ (1600x900) LED Backlit Display, 720p HD Camera"

and we all know how Premium that ended up being.

 

Hmm, good point. It'll be interesting to see what shows up. Mine is supposed to ship 12/23...but who knows on that too? I understand shipping delays are common too.

 

Look at it this way: We know the non-touch X1C has a middle-of-the-road, non-IPS screen. Other than telling us the X1CT has a touch capable screen, Lenovo has gone out of their way to not tell us about any other improvements or differences in the new screen. Based on that, you'd have to be a Kremlinologist to conclude Lenovo has an IPS or IPS-like addition to this screen if you just know how to interpret some double-secret, cryptic, wink-wink words or inferences that appear elsewhere on their website without that meaning, but do so this time. Yea, right....

 

Anyone seen a review with a production unit yet? I don't think we'll know the IPS answer until real people receive the production units. I sure as hell don't believe the Lenovo sales reps.

 

The new Dezember PSREF is now online: http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf

For the X1 Carbon Touch it says:
"14.0" (355mm) HD+ (1600x900) TFT color, anti-glare, LED backlight,
270 nits, 16:9 aspect ratio, 400:1 contrast ratio, MultiTouch screen supports ten-fi nger gesture"

For the normal X1 Carbon it says:
"14.0" (355mm) HD+ (1600x900) TFT color, anti-glare, LED backlight,
300 nits, 16:9 aspect ratio, 400:1 contrast ratio"

So I think they removed even the "Premium" and the "Wide-Viewing" labels, as the screens are not IPS (Premium = IPS). It is bad that both come without an IPS screen, but I think it is good that Lenovo has now cleared the nomenclature.

 

Actually, I think we all know it's not IPS, just a case of wishful thinking for all of us IPS die hards

 

It's a 14" ultra book, with a really good screen and Lenovo thinkpad engineering. IPS isn't a deal breaker for me. Would be nice but not something that ill even notice every time I'm zoned out in my computer focusing on the content. I don't obsessively say to myself "oh god it's not IPS. The horror! " there is a lot about it that wins the deal for me aside from IPS.

 

So assuming the screen is not IPS, is there anything about the X1 Carbon Touch that is preferable to the X1 Carbon besides the touchscreen? I can't imagine people will be using the touchscreen of their laptop that often? Can any yoga users chime in?

I so hoped this would have the Yoga screen, with the X1 keyboard......appears not.

 

Debating screen quality here ends up being a fruitless activity more times than not. I prefer high quality screens, but other people do not place as high a priority on it. They weigh their needs in some other area like GPU processing power for gaming (for example).

In the case of the X1 Carbon Touch, there is a price premium for the touch option. If the screen isn't IPS, I would never consider buying the Touch version of the Carbon because I could care less about touch in a clamshell notebook computer. I travel with a slate so I don't really need a yoga style device. If I were still developing apps, and using the X1 Carbon Touch for dev and demos, it might be different.

It's really just down to personal preference. I do like the infinity screen look on the X1 Carbon Touch, but I am not going anywhere near the purchase button until I see some credible reviews.

 

I hopefully get a goot look at the touch tomorrow during our local Lenovo Partner event. Will let you know how it turns out. Will bring my own X1C for comparison ;-)

 

Yes please post as soon as you have any details. X1C Touch is still my pick for best all around W8 ultraportable but if the screen isn't up to snuff I will have to change that. I really wish Intel hadn't scewed the pooch on Clover Trail as we would already have access to some potentially great tablet/pc's.

 

Any luck on scoring a look at the X1C Touch? We are dying to know!

 

Nope they did not bring it :-(. I did get a few other views on future concepts however that were to say the least quite promising, but unfortunately under NDA ;-)

 

I don't know if anyone caught it and I have not read this whole thread.

But in the comparison table between Touch and Non Touch they list the Non Touch as IPS !! I think it's an error and they meant to put it on the Touch.

I also noticed the Touch is an extra half a pound. Sounds like it's a whole new machine, since it supports i7 with 8GB as well. While non touch still does not.

Lenovo's options lately seem to be totally bonkers. $1649.00 for a machine with 128GB SSD drive, yeah right. Good thing because I really should wait

 

Nor honest.

 

The extra weight I'm sure is due to the Gorilla Glass on the touch screen, which is a worthy trade oiff. Yes you can get cheaper machines but is there an ultraportable with a better keyboard?, totally worth it to me as long as Lenovo doesn't skimp on the panel.

 

.5 pounds isn't a big deal to me, especially if the screen quality is stellar.

To be continued...

 

The same table also states in the hover-over pop-up for HD display: "Note: X1 Carbon Touch has wide-angle viewing but not IPS."

 

Tablet- or Notebook-concepts ? Tell us more...

 

Unbelievable... is it possible that their organization is so screwed up that nobody knows anything?
Or, maybe they do it in purpose - let's fool our dear buyers into thinking that it has IPS, and let them buy as many as possible before somebody actually opens it and see...? Either way, it's very sad.