About half a year ago I've received a brand new X1 Carbon. At first glance it appears to be a "black" clone of the 13" MacBook Air. It's very thin, quite light and even the shape is remarkably similar. But that's where the similarities end.
Instead of a convenient Mac OS X UNIX System I may run from day one till the day the box goes out of service it ships with a pre installed Windows 8. So before you can start using it you have to either install Linux, BSD or Windows 7 to make it usable. The latter OS may not be first choice but at least it's bearable.
Luckily a common Linux installation is done in little time. To my surprise everything worked out of the Box, even back then when it was pretty new. Even the mobile modem made no trouble whatsoever.
The first thing I really noticed is the keyboard. It's a fantastic piece of kit. It's backlight function is controlled manually without any need for OS drivers. Typing on it is really comfortable and unlike the MacBook all keys, including the functions keys, are reasonably large.
The mousepad is a bit of a pig. It's one of those new clickpads Apple introduces. It's HUGE proportions mean that you hand palms touch it constantly when typing. I am used to tap-clicking which is just impossible with this pad. It's just so annoying when I'm in the middle of typing something and all the sudden I realize that I accidentally activated a completely different window.
Since I'm completely incapable of usind the "click the entire touchpad" function I can't click on the pad. Luckily the second set of click buttons just above are easy to be used in combination. Besides they offer a lot more feel to the clicking as such. Still, A small mousepad would have done the trick just as well.
The batteries are phenomenal. Not only do they last for hours so that I actually use them, but they also recharge faster than light. I am usually quite uncomfortable with batteries, trying to keep them charged at all time for when I need them. With the X1C however I discharge them once, sometimes twice a day. They never take more than half an hour to be in top shape again.
Another marvel is the display. So far I never had a laptop that could be used in the outdoors, let alone sunshine. With the X1C however, I may sit in the brightest sunlight and I can still read the display. That benefit alone is worth having the X1C rather than an older T series model. It's just amazing how much freedom is gained once you can actually use a laptop in just about any light.
When it comes to the body of the X1C I am a bit disappointed. The bottom half is very solid, obviously it's the carbon part. That part is very good. However the other hald, housing the display, is a joke. It bends like a sail in the wind. Besides it's poorly mounted. I already managed to break the left display mounting somehow. As a result the crappy plastic opened quite a gap through which I can spot the inside. That really sucks.
Talking about poor build quality and insides. I've owned quite a few Macs in my life. All of them, even the ones in the 1990's where built to perfection. There where no gaps, no openings through which I could see LEDs, heck, there where no unnecessary LEDs as well (I really don't five a nickel about HDD activity). The X1C however has lots of those imperfections. At those high prices the build quality should be supreme but it just isn't.
In terms of roughness I have a split opinion as well. It's sturdy alright, but the fact the cheapish plastic mounts on the display broke already doesn't really convince me.
All in all I wouldn't buy it again. The only reason for me to chose it was the company policy of using Lenovos. I'd never buy a Lenovo voluntarily. I hate the fact that they come with windows pre installed and that so many things on them are made from cheap plastic. Another issue is the fact that I can only chose from OS I wouldn't want to use on a Laptop. Windows is no good for what I need and Linux desktops just annoy me. As good as this book is, I can't say I'd chose it over a MacBook.
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