Lenovo ThinkPad X1 ultra-portable – can it outmatch MacBook Air?

Fans of the ThinkPad series will be happy to hear that Lenovo will release on May 17th a new entry in the family, the ThinkPad X1.

This 13.3 inch laptop doesn’t just want to offer that routined and confirmed ThinkPad experience, with the red dot and all, but tries to attract another section of the audience, namely those crazy after ultra thin laptops.

If you thought that Samsung’s 9 Series and Apple’s Macbook Air are all alone and anorexic, think again, as the X1 is right there with them. The carbon fiber built notebook is only 21.5 mm thick, being in very close proximity of the aforementioned niche champions.

It’s hard to say who’s the target audience for this laptop; the best answer would probably be everybody. This is not exactly a no brainer, as Lenovo usually splits audiences pretty clearly, as they deliver both professional and casual computers.

The display comes with a Gorilla Glass treatment for extreme durability

But with the X1, Lenovo tries to hook professionals looking for a highly portable working machine and also tech enthusiasts, looking for the next big thing. As other Thinkpad entries, this one looks rather damp, but does that in a way that gathered a large fan base over the years. You have a simple, black plastic finish on the back, and on the side is the already iconic ThinkPad logo.

The 13.3 inch screen has a 1366 x 768 resolution and Gorilla Glass finish, which is something we usually get on tablets. The screen is not touch sensitive, but it’s one of the toughest displays out there right now and will be able to take some damage before feeling dizzy. The same can be said about the keyboard, which you can use as a glass if you want. The water will not slip through gaps and to the internals; instead you can turn the laptop and just pour all the water or other liquids out of the computer.

As a bonus, the keyboard benefits from LED illumination, so you can use the computer even in the dark, and not counting only on the monitor’s radiation. The X1 builders were able to squeeze in a dual core, Core i5, 2.5 GHZ processor, showing they don’t want to compromise performance. As you might imagine, the storage is SSD and the maximum capacity is 160 GB. There’s also a maximum of 8 GB of RAM, but considering how thin the notebook is, you probably have only one or maximum two memory slots.

The 21.5 mm thin profile is right there in Air territory

There aren’t too many ports on the X1, but rest assured that you’ll find a couple of USB 3.0 slots and a SD card reader. Battery life is a feature as impressive as the thinness of the machine; the built in juice maker is said to run for about 8 hours on a single charge, that being kind of double than most notebooks can offer these days. Also, the module is said to charge to 80% in only half an hour, so you won’t have to modify your daily routine for plugging the notebook in when it runs out of gas.

As with many Lenovo products, you should expect the X1 to be more expensive than most computers out there. In the US the ultra thin laptop will have a starting price of over $2.000, while in Europe the machine was listed on Amazon.co.uk for a little under 1.300 pounds. For that kind of money you get one of the thinnest laptops out there, packing more processing power than any other computer in the skinny niche, as Core i5 beats Core2Duo at any time. Plus, there’s a Gorilla Glass screen, waterproof keyboard and that Thinkpad experience everyone seems to love.d