The ThinkPad is a workhorse used by university's, NASA and military personal. The MacBook is some kind of a life style product used by people who have no idea how a computer works.
Daniil Nguen Thinkpad is standard laptop for pretty much all kind of enterprises since decades. ( n I still using such one ) . MacBook is so sexy but I bet for most of us ( by most I guess around 90% ) prefer Windows over MacOs for productivity. I would love to have Iphone with android os and Mac Book with windows
i can't exist without a trackpoint, especially when working in photoshop, illustrator and flash. Yes folks I use my thinkpad for "artsy" stuff even though according to mac commercials that's unheard of?? One thing I will mention tho, my W520 has dual graphics and I have frozen the machine working on large adobe illustrator files running the intel onboard graphics. Switched to the Quadro 2000m and no more probs. That's the problem with these ultrabooks, no dedicated graphics, not to mention no optical drive...
I'll try to but it may be a week or so as I'm a little busy right now. I can tell you that the performance is going to be pretty even, battery life on the X1 Carbon is 5 hours 43 minutes in my usage with screen brightness set to 5/15 and wireless on and browsing with Chrome. The 13" MacBook Air I can get around 6 hours 30 minutes so it wins there. Thanks for your comments and feeback!
Thanks for the feedback. Haswell should be a giant leap forward next year, at least let's hope the hype becomes reality. Can't wait to see what manufacturers come up with.
The hinges are very tight, at least even with the MacBook Air. There was no noticeable lid play while "furiously typing" and while I haven't taken it on a train/plane it feels to me like the hinges are on par with the ThinkPad X220 I have which has no wobble issues when traveling.
Excellent review. Thank you. Nice to see both devices actually equal each other very, very similarly. Nice to have the cellular data option on the X1, although that is one of the 2 reasons to pay more for when compared to the MacBook Air. The X1's higher resolution is great, but only is much of a difference when doing 16:9 jobs - especially video. both have 900 pixels in height and the macbook air seems to have slightly larger pixels so you'd have a larger display of the same content.
It's the same for me, but a lot of people are so accustomed to the touchpad that they feel the same way about that versus the track point! It's like the Dvorak keyboard, we all know it's a faster key layout for typing but we're all so used to QWERTY that it's very hard to retrain on.
Great, glad the video helped you, IPS is a nice screen option but it isn't actually perfect as many assume. It has a higher power requirement so actually reduces battery life for instance.
That's true right now, but Lenovo intends to have supplies, I just talked to folks there last week and they said there have been major supply issues for them on the X1 Carbon due to demand but that should be changing soon.
Great review! Next time be sure to mention the military specs the X1 goes through that includes spill resistant keyboard and drop test. Also don't forget the X1 is built out of Carbon Fiber which is strong than aluminum and will not dent like aluminum if dropped. Overall, great vid!
Andrew, great video comparing the 2 laptops. Lenovo has done a remarkable job with the X1 Carbon. I am almost sold. Will you please post another video commenting on benchmarks and battery life performance between the MBA and X1C? Thank you!
there are a few exceptions. i believe i saw an ultrabook reviewed in a pc magazine recently that could run bf3 actually, which was amazing. it has a 600 series nvidia chip in it.
Excellent Review. Thanks for the information on the screen and keyboard. I think I will be waiting until next year for a Haswell version of the X1 Carbon, just so I can get better battery life.
Sadly no, it's soldered onto the motherboard during the manufacturing process and there's no way to upgrade after purchase :( The price is very high to upgrade, indeed.
The problem is not moving the mouse cursor; that I quickly learned with the Trackpad. The problem is that one has to move the hand from the home row and get into an awkward position (Trackpad in front of keyboard), ultimately resulting in shoulder and back pain.
I know, but it's convenient to say it's in the same class as Ultrabooks for the sake of comparison. It's a convenient marketing term, maybe I should say ultraportables instead but not many understand that as well.
Yet another exhaustive review ! And a very informative one at that ! With weight comparison included. Though, this time the temperature comparison is missing. One question though: does X1 have powered USB 2.0 port ? Thank you and keep doing interesting reviews !!!
Lovely review, well done! Can you please compare the Macbook Air & Thinkpad X1's screen as far as flexing & fragility goes.Quite a few MBA owner's have reported their screens to crack-some claim it happened during routine use & others claim its mysterious but since the price for an LCD is pretty hefty, it would be nice if you could let us know which screen is more sturdier, has the lest amount of flex(when closed) & is least likely to crack during travel.Thanks a ton!
I don't know about that, so many people still have never heard of the company Lenovo in the U.S., they think it's an off label brand or IBM still makes ThinkPads. Apple on the other hand is universally known and respected even by non-techy people.
To be fair, this isn't Lenovo's first attempt at a thin and light ThinkPad. The X300 was released a few months after the first MacBook Air. And before there was ever a MacBook Air the Sony VAIO X505 way back in 2005. Sony was really the first to the ultra thin and light laptop category. I agree though, the Ultrabook category is a generic marketing term, it's really kind of annoying.
Absolutely. In fact, I bought a Unibody MacBook Pro in 2008, just when they came out. But I couldn't get accustomed to the Trackpad. It forced me into an awkward position, and soon I went back to ThinkPad.
Oh... also, can you please comment on the hinges-are the Thinkpad X1's hinges as sturdy as the MBA? Does the screen wobble if you stimulate a situation while travelling??
I feel that way too, it looks very sleek with that matte black finish and a bit more discrete while the apple is a little too gaudy for my taste. Especially with the light up apple on the screen.
That's one reason I certainly do. I also know a lot of programmers that use Macs and companies that hand them out as the standard issue machine. Google (who employs a ton of programmers) does, or at least did the last time I visited their offices, now that they're in a battle with Apple things may have changed internally!
It's the best business ultrabook out there, so I like it as a buy. I do think the X230 is a little more practical as it offers upgrades though and costs much less.
THANK YOU ! I've been looking for a confirmation that the SIMcard slot could be used with any SIM from any carrier and couldn't find specifics on lenovo's website... Could you please tell me where you get this information from ?
The Touchpad definitely supports multi-touch, it's actually already Windows 8 enhanced for that. It'll work nicely with Win 8. Now, if it just had a touchscreen it'd be even more sweet to use with Windows 8.
SOLD on the X1 Carbon. Just as the iPhone is decreasing in market influence due to the world catching up to the technology, same thing is happening to ultrabooks as well.
great video! you covered everything I was wondering about. I think x1 carbom wins, mainly for 14 matte display and the beautiful thinkpad keyboard. At first I was concerned about a TN display but this clearly a very good TN and I suppose there are still some negatives with IPS in ultrabooks like screen bleeding. Thanks for the review, cant wait for the release!
The screen is not necessarily smaller on the mac, its a 13.3" 16:10 screen, compared the X1's 14" 16:9. I've not done the calculations but would just like to point that out.
If you can afford the ThinkPad X1 Carbon then go for that, it's superior to the U410. However, if you're on a budget then the U410 is a good option for under $1,000.
The X1 also has a rollcage, so you can drop it and it won't break. Durability involves more than just the case. Thinkpads are the best around when it comes to durability.
I know from personal experience that MacBook Air gets pretty warm. All over its chasis ! Including both sides of the mouse pad. How about Lenovo X1 ? Does it get as hot as MacBook ?
Great information. I do hope Lenovo brings the i7/8GB combination over to the North American market. Right now I can see it on the Lenovo Australia website. If they have that combo here I would have ordered right now but I'm gonna wait it out.
So, your conclusion is "it depends if you like the MacOS or the Windows OS"? Really? Wow, a 10 minute review ended up in this. Might I remind you, my friend, that you could also install MacOS or Linux onto the X1? And, don't you think that the fact that ThinkPads are heat resistant, drop resistant and water resistant (whereas the MacBook Air is NONE), is just a bit important as well?
Great Comparison, one thing missing would be Battery life, though I suspect the AIR would win in that category. But I'm still probably going to be buying an X1 Carbon when it comes out.
In general, no they cannot. Unless it's just a basic game, Minecraft would run fine for instance and maybe some EA sports games etc., but not more demanding games like BF3 or Skyrim.
You can configure a Core i7 or 8GB of RAM on the MacBook Air, I'm looking at Apple.com right now and the 13" MBA has each upgrade available for +$100. Agreed the ThinkPad will win on cost. Personally I use a ThinkPad, but not because I don't like Apple or their products. Both brands are great.
***** macs don't last forever and the x1 carbon like in its name is made out of carbon fiber which is stronger than the cheap aluminum apple puts on there laptop
The closest thing to a Ultrabook running higher end games would be the Acer Aspire M5. It's like a hybrid. Heavier end of Ultrabooks but can run descent things.
probably shouldve also mentioned durability... my lenovo x1 has gorilla glass and i use it for college... i cant tell you how many times ive dropped it and how many times its survived... does the carbon have gorilla glass?
I think both are great and yeah, I think it comes down to personal preference. I love Apple products but have also been a professional user of Thinkpads for a while (hence, used to the trackpad and the red dot!). How's the battery life comparison?
Lol, good analogy, but the average user does need training wheels and the rest of it. That's why people that know what they're doing also end up as tech support for the family.
I am a PC/Thinkpad user but whenever I see a successful company documentary, interview, etc I see many Apple logos. So I hope I get my hands on a MacBook Air.
Another BIG difference that makes the Macbook Pro have an advantage over the X1 carbon, is that currently the X1 carbon doesn't have the option for a Core i7 with 8gb RAM, and it is a unique model, the bottom is covered with no upgradable features. Once it has left manufacturing, game over. So if you want a Core i7 with 8gb RAM, the only option is Apple's.
I had a chance to see and try X1 Carbon in person. Incredibly thin ! Incredibly light ! Fantastic keyboard ! No, it wasn't hot ! Not at all. The only thing that disappointed me was the display. Colours were without punch and slightly washed out. But resolution was perfect !
hhhmm! I have touched a touchpad, with the ability to right click when tapped, and it changed where i was typing. But just moving the cursor around by accident with the thinkpoint on my thinkpad has no affect on where im typing. Just like i can move my mouse while i type if i chose too.
