Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Super Thin Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Has Sandy Bridge

By - Source: Tom's Hardware US | B 19 comments

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 laptop caught our eye even before it was officially announced due to its very slim form factor. Today Lenovo is selling this new Thinkpad starting at $1,399.

As the thinnest ThinkPad, the ThinkPad X1 laptop measures less than 17 mm at its smallest point, approximately the width of a U.S. penny. Like other ultra-thin laptops, however, the shape is tapered so there is definitely a fatter rear-end.

What the Thinkpad X1 does better than the other thin laptops is that it packs a decent CPU punch with choices of second generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. The graphics come from the integrated part in the processor, which can output to an HDMI port or Intel Wireless Display technology for streaming 1080p wirelessly.

Starting at 3.7 pounds, the ThinkPad X1 still features design trademarks such as the interior roll cage and magnesium chassis. Making it even sturdier is a Corning Gorilla Glass over the 13-inch IPS LCD for extra durability, rigidity and scratch resistance. Lenovo claims that the ThinkPad X1 passes eight military specifications.

The ThinkPad X1 laptop debuts Lenovo's new RapidCharge battery technology that charges up to 80 percent in just 30 minutes, making it charge 2.5 times faster than a typical ThinkPad battery. RapidCharge combines fast charge cells with a 1,000 cycle battery designed to last three years. Users can also opt to purchase a RapidCharge external slice battery for the ThinkPad X1 laptop to double their battery life to 10 hours.

Lenovo changed the keyboard by eliminating some legacy keys like SysRq while adding dedicated multimedia and voice calling controls. Instead of the old Thinkpad keyboard light, the X1's keys are backlit while also being spill resistant.

It's also girlfriend-proof.

Lenovo Shows Off Its Razor-thin Thinkpad X1

Discuss
Ask a Category Expert

Create a new thread in the News comments forum about this subject

Example: Notebook, Android, SSD hard drive

This thread is closed for comments
  • 1 Hide
    nebun , May 18, 2011 12:10 PM
    i want :) 
  • 1 Hide
    molo9000 , May 18, 2011 12:20 PM
    Great piece of kit. (kind of what u expect from Lenovo)

    More battery life from the internal battery would be nice. "up to 5.2hours" isn't all that much for a 3.7pound ultra portable...

    btw: a buttonless touchpad just like on MacBooks? Awesome!!
    Want it. NOW!
  • 1 Hide
    eddieroolz , May 18, 2011 1:28 PM
    When I saw Sandy Bridge, I immediately resigned to the fact that this will also be crippled by what Intel calls "graphics".
  • Display all 19 comments.
  • 0 Hide
    Anonymous , May 18, 2011 3:33 PM
    High use, on the road, rugged machine, this fits the bill perfectly, with tons of ooh and wow!

    Its not for Gaming, but work!
  • 0 Hide
    macewrox , May 18, 2011 3:35 PM
    This notebook is the sex. I can't wait to get my three year bonus from the military to buy one.
  • 2 Hide
    burnley14 , May 18, 2011 4:05 PM
    eddieroolzWhen I saw Sandy Bridge, I immediately resigned to the fact that this will also be crippled by what Intel calls "graphics".

    You really expect to grind out some decent framerates from an ultra-slim factor notebook? I think you have a very skewed perspective of this machine's target demographic.
  • 2 Hide
    zzz_b , May 18, 2011 4:31 PM
    Starting at 3.7 lbs.??? That is very heavy.

    17mm the height of a penny??? Maybe the diameter.
  • 0 Hide
    reggieray , May 18, 2011 5:34 PM
    Would love to have one with Ubuntu on it.
  • 0 Hide
    crisan_tiberiu , May 18, 2011 6:25 PM
    Liano will crush the laptop/notebook market. Radeon 6k series on the same die with the CPU?? i think it will crush the "graphics" from Intel
  • 1 Hide
    Marcus Yam , May 18, 2011 7:17 PM
    zzz_bStarting at 3.7 lbs.??? That is very heavy.17mm the height of a penny??? Maybe the diameter.

    Whoops! Fixed.
  • 0 Hide
    sundragon , May 18, 2011 7:44 PM
    It's a fantastic Windows Laptop. The battery technology has been in use by Apple since the introduction of their unibody macbook pros. I would love to see how with the same options it matches the about to be released Macbook Air which will compete with it directly.
  • 0 Hide
    nadavp3 , May 18, 2011 8:26 PM
    I know what you are all going to say about target audience but I want this with a radeon hf6650 1gb, toss in a FN key to swap the two and I'll but this laptop right now.

    .. I wonder if AMD really is going to pull off a fight on this, radeon HD6k as the GPU core of the cpu will put the intel HD3000 to shame
  • 1 Hide
    DigitalKilla_FL , May 19, 2011 5:07 PM
    I use the Lenovo X120e for worm and love it. I get almost 8 hours of battery life when using the battery stretch feature and the keyboard rocks. The build quality is phenomenal.

    If would buy the X1 but if the price is a little steep go for the X120e and install and SSD or order it with an SSD and you are good to go.
  • 0 Hide
    Djhg2000 , May 20, 2011 7:54 AM
    I just hate it when they pull legacy keys from the keyboard, like SysRq which is used for emergency kernel commands in Linux, or the Scroll Lock key which is used to pause kernel output.

    I'm not supposed to need an external keyboard for a 17" computer.
  • 0 Hide
    Djhg2000 , May 20, 2011 7:57 AM
    djhg2000I just hate it when they pull legacy keys from the keyboard, like SysRq which is used for emergency kernel commands in Linux, or the Scroll Lock key which is used to pause kernel output.I'm not supposed to need an external keyboard for a 17" computer.


    Actually I misread the article, it's a 17 mm thin laptop with a 13 inch screen size.

    Anyway my 17" HP still lacks those keys, so the point still makes some sense.
  • 0 Hide
    fir_ser , May 20, 2011 12:20 PM
    Cool laptop from Lenovo, it should be a better alternative than Macbook Air.
  • 0 Hide
    fir_ser , May 20, 2011 1:12 PM
    Good to see i5 and i7 in these thin laptops.
  • 0 Hide
    livebriand , June 10, 2011 4:18 AM
    Aren't thinkpads supposed to be no-nonsense computers that are plain and high quality? This isn't exactly no-nonsense. I prefer my 11.6" x120e, thank you very much. If I needed more power, I'd get the 12.5" x220, which also uses 2nd gen Intel i series processors.
  • 0 Hide
    livebriand , June 10, 2011 4:20 AM
    Oh, and it uses a glossy screen. I buy business systems specifically to avoid crap like gloss. Putting a glossy screen on a thinkpad is just ruining the brand name. I want MATTE. That's why I buy business systems, duh!