Usage, Bombardment Life and Endmost Thoughts

Ane key feature missing from the X1 that we liked about the X220 is the IPS display. While the Corning Gorilla drinking glass and "infinity" screen are nice features, the display can't hold a candle to the IPS display in terms of viewing angles. Observed independently, the horizontal angles are actually pretty skillful, but the vertical angles are bad in comparison. Thankfully it's easy to adjust the angle of the display, so this isn't every bit large of an event as it could be. Aside from viewing angles, colors looked overnice and text was well-baked cheers to the 1366 x 768 resolution.

The keyboard on the X1 is one of the best I've seen on a ThinkPad. Information technology starts with the chiclet keys that feel great as you type. Lenovo has managed to work in a backlit keyboard in addition to the spill-resistant blueprint carried over from previous iterations. Key layout is good equally well with Lenovo implementing their "legacy reduced" key delete and typical Fn / Ctrl placement.

I can also written report that the touchpad is much improved over the X220's implementation. The problem I found on the X220 is that Lenovo integrated the mouse click buttons into the touchpad. The implementation was pretty bad and difficult to employ. Lenovo has corrected that event with on the X1 and although it'southward nonetheless non equally good as dedicated click buttons, you can use information technology without becoming frustrated.

For those looking to forego the touchpad completely, the TrackPoint and its dedicated click buttons are a viable option, particularly for ThinkPad veterans.

Intel'due south Core i5-2520M performed as predictable. We had an idea of what to expect from the X1 since our X220 sample came equipped with the same processor, retention and hard drive. 1080p full screen videos on YouTube simply taxed the CPU around 15%. The 4k resolution video that we tested with on the X220 likewise taxed the X1 for roughly the same amount of cycles, around 80% CPU utilization.

The downward-firing speakers are up to the task as well. Audio can exist played pretty loud and sounds just fine when billowy off of a hard surface. Playing music with the organization on a bed or sofa will effect in less noise as the absorber below information technology volition undoubtedly absorb some of the sound.

Oestrus generation and fan noise are both kept to a minimum even under full load. The organisation is very tranquillity at idle and only marginally louder nether full load. At full load, the bottom back and left side practise get warm only over again, not overly so. The cooling fan seems to practise a respectable job and keeping things under control, while office of the credit also goes to Sandy Bridge and its 32nm ability-conscious architecture.

Connectivity options have also been improved on the ThinkPad X1. Noticeable additions include a USB iii.0 port, eSATA port and HDMI out. This is one of the few notebooks I accept used that doesn't have a VGA port, however.

I conducted a few unlike battery tests using the internal 6-cell battery. Our video playback examination consists of looping a 720p rip of one of my favorite movies (Inception) in Windows Media Thespian at full screen with max screen effulgence and Wi-Fi disabled. This is a taxing exam that resulted in 2 hours and 43 minutes of usage with the unmarried bombardment.

Our endurance test is run with five Firefox windows open with the Reload Every add-on refreshing each page every v minutes to simulate real-world browsing. Max screen brightness is used and Wi-Fi is enabled. This test resulted in 3 hours and 23 minutes of life. We anticipate that decreasing the screen effulgence to the default setting will likely see the 5 hours Lenovo claims the X1 is capable of on normal employ. The X1 besides has the external slice battery option similar to the X220'southward, just nosotros had issues testing our unit with it. If it'south anything like to the X220, this volition result in doubling the battery life at the expense of additional weight and thickness.

Lenovo advertises that the X1'south RapidCharge feature can accuse the laptop'southward bombardment up to 80% in 30 minutes. In the unmarried test we performed we had a completely dead system in hibernation when we started, then unplugged at 30 minutes and booted up to find 85% battery life. Seems spot on with their claims. This can be handy if y'all need a quick refill between connecting flights or while waiting between classes or during lunch.

If y'all can live without the fabled IPS brandish constitute on the X220, the new ThinkPad X1 is a cracking notebook. The hardware under the hood is plenty powerful to keep the system relevant for some fourth dimension to come. The sparse frame, infinity display, backlit keyboard, Trackpoint and trackpad are all positives on this system. An SSD upgrade on the X1 would really wake the system upwardly and ensure a snappy reckoner for the long haul, granted you tin can afford the upgrade toll and sacrifice disk infinite. Battery life, still, was lower than expected.

Outstanding product: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 ultraportable

Our price as reviewed is $1400, which seems to be carrying a modest premium over like machines. When compared directly with the X220, y'all are paying $100 extra for the same internal hardware, a larger but lower quality not-IPS display, a ameliorate keyboard and touchpad and a thinner (yet heavier) chassis. A similarly spec'ed Sony VAIO Due south can be had for around $200 cheaper, simply the Sony adds a congenital-in optical bulldoze and a bones discrete GPU. Meanwhile, the MacBook Air is similarly priced, is lighter and comes stock with a SSD, but still relies on the older Core ii Duo processor series.