Our friends over at Lenovo have sent us the ThinkPad X1 Carbon for us to review and I first saw the device at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. When you compare the 2014 X1 Carbon to the original Carbon, there have been big improvements over the different models. This year, we see a more portable design, an update on specifications, and a few new features. Lenovo has been moving in the direction of portability with many of their products, the 2014 X1 Carbon continues this path. You are immediately greeted with these improvements from when you first pick the device up and feel the lightness and then from the first boot you notice the speed. Let’s dive into the full review of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and see if it truly is an ultra-portable ultrabook.
Design
The X1 Carbon has carbon in the name, which of course makes you think of carbon fiber. A material that is very sleek and light, yet it brings durability to the table as well. The touchscreen variant of the 2012 X1 Carbon came in at a light 3.25 pounds and the 2014 variant comes in at an even light 3.15 pounds. The lightness infused with durability, makes for a unique design. The heritage of the ThinkPad brand is still there, from the red dot for mouse control, to the silver ThinkPad logo, with the red dot on the “i”; all of this is still here. It looks like a machine that is stylish yet protective, it is one that won’t break easily, to say the least. In terms of usability, it is very comfortable to type on when using it at a desk or on your lap. It is light enough in that you can take it with you where ever you might going. It could certainly fit into a backpack and would add to much weight to the device.
On the lid of the X1 Carbon you will find a Lenovo and a ThinkPad logo, this is where some of the heritage of the brand is found. The entire build of the laptop is mostly carbon fiber and it makes for a strong build that has the distinctive black color. On the right hand side you will find a USB 3.0 port and an Ethernet port via an adapter. The left hand side has a few more ports including another USB 3.0 port, a headphone jack, an HDMI port, a mini DP port, and a Power + OneLink Connector. The OneLink connector is a unique accessory from Lenovo, that one will act as a charger for the X1 Carbon, but it does more. And by more we mean you give you plenty of more ports. On the inside of the device you will find the 14-inch display, a 720p webcam, that keyboard with the adaptive function row, a power button, an updated trackpad, a ThinkPad logo, a X1 Carbon logo, a Lenovo logo, and more.
Display, Performance, And Battery Life
One thing that suck out about the X1 Carbon at CES was the display and how nice it was. You have two choices for a display on the device, either way it will be 14-inches, you can get a HD+ 1600 X 900 or a WQHD IPS 2560 X 1440 display. These are the two different configurations you can choose for the X1 Carbon, my unit for testing was with the WQHD IPS display. From the first moment we took it out of the box, it worked great and show colors very correctly. To get into detail, we have a 14-inch WQHD IPS display with a resolution of 2560 X 1440, 300 nit, and multi-touch. As I’ve said before, Windows 8 is a better experience with a touch screen enabled device. Throughout my testing it has been a joy to watch videos and to a stream movies from Netflix or Hulu. Brightness wise it can really light up a dark room and I was very impressed with the brightness of the display. Lenovo did a really fantastic job with making colors accurate and overall a great display to view and use.
Overall the X1 Carbon performs well and is on par with other ultra books on the market. For the sector of the market, which in this case is business, it can easily get the job done. It is power by Intel’s latest 4th generation processors, inside the X1 Carbon is a 1.9GHz Intel Core i5 processor paired with 4GB of RAM. For all business applications, this will let you easily get the job done and get it done fast. From creating power points, to joining video conferences, to responding to email, all at the same time, the X1 can handle it. An Intel HD 4400 provides the graphics as well and it works great with the 14-inch display.
Battery life is a big concern for anyone getting a laptop, they want to know if it will last enough of the day or in some cases for the whole day. This is one of the few areas were I would have like to seen something better on the X1 Carbon. It features a 8 Cell 45 Watt battery inside, which Lenovo says can last around 8 hours. I got around six and a half to seven and a half of batter life out of the device, with a much larger amount with stand by time. While it will last most of the day, there were times where I found myself looking for the charge. And luckily the simple fix for the small problem, would be to bring the charger with you.
Keyboard; Adaptive Function Row
Lenovo makes awesome keyboard, no doubt about it, over the years I have really enjoyed using the accutype keyboards that they make so well. When the first announced the X1 Carbon and mentioned how its changing up the keyboard, I was quite interested to see what they would be doing. In the end they got rid of the traditional 6 row setup, it is now 5 rows with an adaptive function row, so in total 6. In reality it does clean up the overall look of the keyboard and does eliminate the need for some keyboard shortcuts, something I enjoyed. This new function row, is essentially another touch screen component. Deepening on what you are using the computer for and what application is open, the function keys presented to you will change. And of course you can manually cycle through the different options. It uses a unique technology to present and it is protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass, it almost looks like a e-ink display. One thing for sure, it that it is a very welcomed addition and if you want the old function keys back, you can cycle through to an option that offers the F1 keys.
Software With A Voice And Motion Control Twist
Building off the new Adaptive Function Keyboard, Lenovo has built-in some other ways to inexact with the X1 Carbon. It is still running Windows 8.1 and it runs it really well. Let’s start off with Motion Control, if you are into consuming media, these might come in handy for you. Using the 720p webcam, you can use hand gestures to control the computer. For instance, put a finger up to your mouth and you can mute your device or turn the sound back on. If you make a fist and move it up or down, you can raise or lower the volume. If you like Angry Birds and a few other games, you can use the motion control with these as well. While it isn’t integrated with the entire software experience, Lenovo is moving in the right direction and is experimenting with new ways to interact with computers. Going along with Motion Control is Voice Control which uses Nuance’s Dragon Assistant. You will go through a tutorial to set this up and it works pretty well. You can use the voice control to search the web, post to Twitter and Facebook, use it for computer help, and more. It continues Lenovo’s movement to further the way we interact with our computers.
Bottom Line
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a welcomed upgrade that brings many enhancements and new feature to the X1 Carbon line. Lenovo really focused on pushing how we interact with the device further and they did a great job with this. They also brought along an awesome display that presents color very accurately and has a great amount of brightness. A solid processors brings some nice performance to the X1 Carbon and it can easily handle business tasks and multimedia content. A great design is something Lenovo focused on as well, making the 2014 variant of the device both slimmer and lighter, it is an ultra-portable ultra book to put it simply. The adaptive function key is a great new feature, while it may take some time to get used too, it brings new ways to interact with the device. By suggesting and predicting the function keys that you will need to use for what application or part of the operating system you are in. Voice control and Motion control provide new ways to interact with your computer as well. The one area, where I wish they did something different was with battery life, but a simple fix is to bring the charger with you. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon continues to move this line of ultra-portable ultra books along and brings new features and enhancements along with it. If you have been with Lenovo for a while and continue to love and enjoy their products, you should definitely consider the X1 Carbon and even if you are looking for an ultra book and have never used a Lenovo before, you should take a look at the X1 Carbon and you might just make it your next computer. For More Information On The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Please Click Here. We would like to thank Lenovo for providing us with a copy of the “Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon”.
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