Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Review Discussion

Although the ThinkPad line of notebooks from Lenovo is synonymous with business laptops, there hasn't been a 13-inch ThinkPad since the old X301. The all new ThinkPad X1 promises to deliver all the features and dependability you expect from a ThinkPad inside a thin and lightweight 13-inch laptop.

Read the full content of this Article: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Review

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• Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Review
• Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Review
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I don't see the point of Gorilla glass on a screen that you're not supposed to touch. Especially when it adds weight.

And a glossy screen? That's a complete non-starter for me.

 

Wait is this an IPS display or TN? Because Lenovo's website says it has an IPS display, but maybe they meant to say its optional like the X220? Plus, I don't get why they made this almost have the same footprint as the T420, that is a no dice for me since I want a a 13in machine, not 14in body with a 13in screen.
Lenovo - Lenovo ThinkPad laptops -- X Series -- Compare - Singapore(SG)

 

If they get an IPS screen on this, they have my money. (Assuming they won't charge an arm and a leg.)

 

Hmm...would you guys recommend this or the X220?

 

x220 allows IPS screen(maybe x1 does), and battery

similar weight, x1 only thinner....

so i would say save some moeny and go for the x220

 

it is not slim as i thought to be...

 

I'm having a hard time understanding something. What is the point of the X1 versus say, an X220 or a T410? The name X1 implies to me it's supposed to be something special and sets itself apart from the rest of the already cluttered line-up, but I fail to see it.

 

Thanks for the informative review. Having not kept in touch w/ laptop news for a while, I am truly amazed at the power of such a system given its form factor.

My "workstation" Lenovo T61p is outpaced by the X1's CPU and is almost edged out in terms of graphics. The 3700 3DMark06 score, with the integrated card nonetheless, nearly edges out my dedicated Nvidia Quadro card w/ 256MB of RAM. Truly inconceivable only a couple of years ago. Were it not for that glossy screen and buttonless touch-pad, I'd be pre-ordering ASAP.

 

I look at it as a piece of resistance, its a concept in the actual world. there are rumors that its going to sport a quad gpu in the future, thus separating it from the other products.

 

For those with the X220 vs. X1 questions, I hear you. Like I mentioned in the conclusion, I suspect more than a couple of potential X1 buyers will look at the X1 and X220 and try to decide between these two.

After using the X1 for a short time during our loan period and taking a look at Lenovo's marketing message, I think the X1 is trying to target business execs and the road warriors who have regular face-to-face meetings with clients. These business professionals want something that looks very modern with what we typically consider "consumer" styling cues, thin and light appearance, and some cool tech that makes a good first impression.

That's not to say that the X220 doesn't do those things, but the chassis design of the X220 is more of the traditional (old school) box shape. The X220 doesn't have the glossy screen that is popular with consumer laptops today (even though many of us like matte screens since they produce less reflections, glossy screens do have better contrast and color saturation in most cases and consumer feedback shows many people like the "pop" from glossy screens). The X220 also doesn't have the speakers that are quite as impressive or a backlit Chiclet keyboard (again, part of the whole "modern style" approach).

Bottom line, I think the X1 is for people who want a slightly larger laptop and care about style as much as performance. I love the X220, but I'm sure it isn't as appealing as the X1 from a style standpoint.

More and more IT managers have to balance the need for dependable business notebooks with "attractive" products for the workforce. If you don't supply the workforce with the tech they want (cool tablets, multimedia laptops, smartphones, etc.) then often they bring it in themselves and disrupt the company's IT infrastructure.

As nice as it is for a sales rep to have her fancy HP Pavilion multimedia laptop at a client meeting, it might create serious headaches for her IT department if she runs into problems connecting her personal laptop with the network in the office. There are more and more IT buyers who are trying to find powerful, well-built business notebooks that also appeal to the end users (most of whom are used to attractive consumer notebooks).

In short, although the technical specs of the X220 and X1 overlap/compete in many ways I see the target audience as being different.

X220 = Business professional who needs to travel light who prefers substance over style.

X1 = Business professional who needs to travel with a powerful notebook but also wants the style/flash of a modern consumer notebook.

 

Perhaps a X1 vs x220 review is in order? I'd settle for some side by side and stacked comparison shots of the two.

 

Dimensions are huge. Even bigger than the Sony SB that some people said is quite large for a 13".

Lots of ports though which is good: eSATA, USB3.0, Displayport, and HDMI!

Personally I want something a little smaller that has a good mix of style and substance. Edge E220S with standard voltage processors and upgradable memory would have been perfect for me.

Shall wait another month to see what else comes along from other manufacturers.

 

Yes, I would agree there is some nice ports there, specially the standard USB 3.0(really makes you wonder why you have to get the i7 on the X220 to get it), and the HDMI, which is really useful.

 

the talk about SB being quite large are made by Z owners, actually most of the trash talk about the SB was made by the Z owners

 

Thanks for this interesting review. The X1's weight is almost identical to the weight of my T420s if I take out the optical drive but I get a lot more display real estate. It also reminds me of the Dell Adamo that I nearly bought because that thin doesn't necessarily mean light. No standard VGA port may prove a drawback to the executive wanting to connect to the projector in the conference room.

It's interesting to note that while the CPU performance is a match for my T420s with the same CPU, the graphics performance is lower. HWiNFO32 reports that my GPU clock is 650MHz. Does the X1 have a lower clock or is it throttling under load? Or is the RAM a single 4GB module with only single channel access speed?

Somehow, and I would like to know how, the X1 seems to be better on battery than my T420 where 5 hours seems to be the upper limit from a larger 44Whr battery.

John

 

Is that second photo correct? It looks like the X220 in that photo.

 

Is there a reason that you guys omitted mention of the mSATA drive in your review unit? (Just wondering... was it disabled?)

Other than that, great review as always!

 

Good eyes! You win the rep prize!

That's called, "Jerry is trying to deliver subliminal messages to people again."



I just updated the review with the correct lid shot for those who want to see the new X1's pretty exterior.

 

Hmm... Great looking laptop. Too bad it's 1366x768, where can you go from there? I'm really looking for something like this (dare I say, a MacBook Air clone), but not with that resolution and screen. I hope Lenovo considers a better screen sometime in the future – it's the one thing they always seem to come up short on. The T420s' screen isn't too good either based on reviews, and while the X220 has an IPS option, it's still 1366x768 only.

Are there any reliable after-market places that offer quality screen replacements?

 

If you can find a 12.5in IPS display with higher res than 1366x768 res, I'd like to see it. As it stands the X220 is still the only 12.5in machine with an IPS display.

 

Great review. Excited about the trickle down effect of the technology from the X1 to future X series laptops. X221 anyone? =)

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention ... I think the LCD is the single biggest point of failure for most corporate "road warriors."

Heck, I regularly travel for work and I often see business travelers in airports typing on laptops that have damaged screens.

I'm sure Lenovo is responding to that real-world issue with Gorilla Glass ... which is good from a durability standpoint but not so good when you consider screen reflection. If you can live with the glossy screen on a MacBook or an iPad you can probably live with the glossy screen on the X1, but many business travelers appreciate matte screens.

It's a tough trade off. I wish there was a way to give business travelers the extra protection that Gorilla Glass offers without all that gloss.

 

They could add some AR layers a la the X tablet series, and keep its glossiness while reducing reflections.

Although it would probably jack up the price a little bit.

 

Why cann't they make screen right?

They better start offering matt and high resolution screen as option or a lot of people will be really disappointed.

A lot of people (include me) will rather go for high-res non-Gorilla glass than this shinny piece, with resolution just silightly higher than iPhone (1366*768 vs 960*640). Damn they even used to offer 1440*900 for X200.

And the bezel is WIDE, wihch made the machine BIG.
Look at old school X serials, their bezels are all AIR THIN, the machine size=screen size, this ended at X301.
Look at the photos, I'm guess a 15" screen might fit!
I'm really courious how does it look sitting on a T420/520?

 

Looks like the MBA will be getting SB ULV CPUs and thunderbolt this month. More competirion for the X1 that it doesn't need, considering its flaws.

Bronsky

 

I think the only thing that the MBA has going for it, is it's screen resolution of 1440x900. Otherwise, everything else on the thinkpad x1 is far superior. Especially that it is using the standard voltage cpu in comparison to the MBA ULV.

If only Lenovo offered an option for a higher resolution on this thing I would get it in an instant. I sure hope they do.

 

Hmm ... interesting review.

So the main "selling point" for this machine over the x220 would be the looks and style of it?

On a separate note I still do not like the idea of an integrated battery on laptops.... Just personal taste I guess.

 

Hmmm, interesting.

Excellent review !

Although, I will NOT be trading in my X301 for this new X1 anytime soon. I'm one of those "Traditional Thinkpad Loyalists" that DO like the old style keyboard, matte screen, etc.

I know it has the roll cage, and many other Thinkpad qualities, but this STILL to me looks too much like an Edge on steroids. Not what I had in mind when I went out looking for something to replace my X301 with.

Now, the new X220 with the IPS screen, that is something to write home to mama about !

 

Hmm... it looks nice, but, I'm not sure why I would really pick this over the X220.

That said, I do want to try out the chiclet keyboard. Mixed feelings about the screen. The times when I'll be looking at a screen from an angle are nearly nonexistent, and I surely do not want anyone to my side to be able to see what I'm working on, especially on a business laptop.

 

Hi Jerry,

Great review! Thank you! I just wanted to mention that I saw a small typo on the last page and line/paragraph of the review where it states:

"I personally can't overlook the great build quality, excellent performance and numerous ports that Lenovo packed into the X1, but I'm worried these fantastic features might be overlooked by shoppers who are trying to deside between a thin and stylish laptop like a MacBook Air and a full-featured business ultraportable like the ThinkPad X220."

Thank you again for the great and informative review!

 

Those machines were the exception rather than the rule.

Case in point.