We had hands-on time with Lenovo’s new Thinkpad X1 series at the company’s South African launch. Do these contenders out-manuever their rivals?
At Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 launch at Studio Blue in Fourways, Johannesburg, we caught some hands-on time with the Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Yoga, and Tablet. With great competition abounding, do Lenovo’s new triumvirate best what’s already out there?
Read: Lenovo X1 Family South Africa Launch Event – as it happened
Thinkpad X1 Carbon
The proverbial workhorse of the Lenovo family. According to the spec-sheet: “œThe ultimate in go-anywhere Ultrabookâ„¢“¦ now even thinner and lighter than ever! ThinkPad® X1 Carbon is your passport to productivity with stunning 14“³ IPS display. It thrives on-the-road with 11 hours of battery life, lightning-fast 4G LTE-A and tough carbon fiber durability. In the office, it connects to a full range of devices ““ even a WiGig dock to reduce desktop clutter. The X1 Carbon is effortless to carry, priceless to experience.“
Julien Pienaar unveils the Lenovo X1 Carbon! @BandwidthBlog @Lenovo_Africa #X1LaunchSA pic.twitter.com/su5jwliTJU
“” Jaco van der Walt (@Jaco_vdWalt) April 21, 2016
Specs include:
Processor: Up to Intel® Coreâ„¢ i7 vProâ„¢ Processor
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 520
Memory: Up to 16 GB DDR 3
Storage: Up to 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD
Camera / Microphone: 720p / Digital Array Microphone
Battery: Up to 11 Hours (52 WHr)
Thinkpad X1 Yoga
This one is a real beauty. The thin Yoga ultrabook can fold in half to become a functional tablet and comes with a nifty stylus. According to the spec-sheet: “œEnjoy the freedom of working the way you want, wherever you are, with the amazingly light and versatile ThinkPad® X1 YOGAâ„¢. Use it as a Laptop, Tablet, Tent or Stand mode for easy-viewing of the stunning display. The world‘s first convertible with an OLED display, it delivers the most intense
colors and stunning contrast. It‘s fully connected with super-fast 4G LTE-A and totally versatile with a convenient retractable keyboard. With integrated Stylus Pen with Lenovoâ„¢ WRITEit software, you can enjoy the lightning-fast writing experience, just 15 seconds of charging gives up to 100 minutes of use.“
Specs include:
Processor: Up to Intel® Coreâ„¢ i7 vProâ„¢ Processor
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 520
Memory: Up to 16 GB DDR3
Storage: Up to 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD
Camera / Microphone: 720p / Digital Array Microphone
Battery1: IPS : Up to 11 Hours (52 WHr)
OLED : Up to 8 Hours (56 WHr)
Thinkpad X1 Tablet:
This one you can describe as more of as an all in one laptop, tablet and projector! “œNext time you travel on business, there‘s no need to take your Tablet and Laptop, let alone a projector for presentations. ThinkPad® X1 Tablet does it all! Customize it with optional modules like presenter, 3D imaging or productivity for additional ports, docking options, battery boost, and more. Amazingly light and thin, and with a convenient magnet-attach keyboard that looks and feels like a ThinkPad®, it takes mobile productivity to a new level.“
Specs include:
Processor: Up to Intel® Coreâ„¢ m7 vProâ„¢ Processor
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Windows 10 Home: Windows 8.1 Driver Support
Graphics: Intel® HD Integrated Graphics
Memory: Up to 16 GB LPDDR3
Storage: Up to 1 TB SSD
Camera / Microphone: 2 MP or 8 MP with Flash 1080p
IR Camera, No WiGig and No NFC1 / Dual Array Microphone
Battery: Up to 15 Hours of battery life with Productivity Module 10 Hours with tablet and 5 Hours from Productivity Module
The other product also launched was the ThinkCentre X1, an all in one desktop PC and screen built into one.
Lenovo is hot! Nearly 5 devices being sold every 5 seconds. @BandwidthBlog #X1LaunchSA pic.twitter.com/7DM8OtPKku
“” Jaco van der Walt (@Jaco_vdWalt) April 21, 2016
All and all the new X1 family from Lenovo is pretty impressive. They have updated their look and feel to still be very strong and functional but less for a lack of a better word “œugly“. The X1 range is sleek, powerful and packed with the latest technology from Intel and others. I would love to own one of these as a personal device, but sadly the range is obviously not really targeted at the public at large. Their corporate partners will devour the new range, I am sure!
Should you have the dough to buy one of these babies, I would definitely keep the X1 range in mind. Hopefully we can rope in one of the models for a review in the coming months.
Follow Jaco on Twitter: @Jaco_vdWalt
