Impressions on Thinkpad X1 Carbon after 1 month of heavy use

[markiemarksf2]

The bad:

1. As you may have read, the LED screen does have a strange pixelization affect. It is like the images on the screen are ever so slightly posterized/rasterized. I've gotten used to this and switching between several laptops, LCD monitors I haven't noticed the difference but it was a little funky at first. The hi-rez is great and is the principle reason I got the machine.
2. Build quality: not so great. the "deck" of the laptop (where the keyboard is) or rather the palm rest is not firmly fastened to the chassis. I can actually take my thumb and, with very little effort, lift the corners of the palm rest a millimeter or two up from the chassis. This is very lame and probably the biggest shocker about this machine. I can actually hear the palm rest "snap" against the chassis when I grab the laptop from a certain angle.
3. The hinges/lid seem a bit on the flimsy side. I am used to opening and closing my laptop lid from the side corner. There is considerable flex at the hinge and lid. Is the carbon only in the chassis? Compared to my X61 with magnesium lid and the GF's Mac Air with aluminum lid the plastic lid is downright chinsy. My last machine was an X301 and I don't seem to remember any problems with the lid on that either.
4. New a/c adapter is incompatible with previous Lenovo adapters. Instead of a round adapter it is now a clunky rectangular adapter. A little harder to plug in, especially when it is dark. And if you are the type who has stocked up on Lenovo a/c adapters, well, get ready to plunk down some more money for a new style adapter. (It's too bad that Apple invented the Magsafe charger. That is one brilliant piece of engineering.)
5. Very minor complaint but the physical volume mute, up and down controls intermittently do not work. I experienced this on my X301 but thought it was related to a bloated OS or some driver issue. It didn't bother me enough to dig deeper into finding a solution. On a brand spanking new machine with a factory-installed OS, it is a little more annoying. Sometimes the volume buttons work, sometimes they don't.

The good:

1. Keyboard is wonderful. I was hesitant to go with this machine as I've loved all the keyboards of Thinkpads in the past. The chiclet style keyboard is a departure from a traditional Thinkpad keyboard and for a day or two it took some getting used to. However, now that I've settled in, I can type just as fast as on a regular Thinkpad. There is also good feedback and feel.
2. Aside from the flimsy lid and unfastened palm rest, the chassis is very rigid. I have a habit of grabbing my Thinkpads by the corner (while the screen is open). On a T41 this would cause eventual problems as it was very flexy. The T61 didn't seem to have problems without although that laptop was a bit of tanker so I probably was a tad more careful. T400 seemed very rigid. My X301 was pretty good too. My X61 deals with it ok though there is a touch of flex now after all these years. The X1 Carbon is the clear winner for the corner grab. I feel as if I could pick up this laptop by the corner and wing it like a boomerang! Very very rigid. Again, it's too bad about the flimsy screen and palmrest.
3. Very minimal heat issues. My X301 roasted my leg to a nice medium rare temperature. Even after having the cooling fan replaced twice and with judicious use of TPFan Control, the X301 was a cooker. There is a bit of warmth from the X1C but nothing too unbearable. Only time will tell if this will worsen.

Overall, a pretty decent laptop. Full disclosure, I am a vendor and participate in the Lenovo Partner program so this machine will be significantly cheaper for me after I receive my quarterly rebate check.

Had I paid full price for the machine I think I would have serious issues with the flimsy lid and questionable build quality.

[ThinkRob]

> Is the carbon only in the chassis? Compared to my X61 with magnesium lid and the GF's Mac Air with aluminum lid the plastic lid is downright chinsy. My last machine was an X301 and I don't seem to remember any problems with the lid on that either.

No, the lid should be CFRP too.

I remember being startled by how "flexy" the X200s lid seemed. But I never had any issues with durability; flexibility is not always an indication of weakness.