Those who possessed a Lenovo ThinkPad must have thought for once about slimming it down. Now turn down your imagination since the ThinkPad X1 is here. Besides the small form factor, this follow-up to the popular ThinkPad X-series laptops includes some other bonus features hitherto not present on the ThinkPad. These features include 13.3-inch display made of Gorilla Glass, buttonless trackpad and a fast-charging battery.

The USP of the ThinkPad X1 is that at just 0.65 inches, it is the slimmest ever ThinkPad. However, this thin-profile is nothing compared to that of the MacBook. In short, what we see in the new ThinkPad X1 is a modern design with the mixture of heavyweight svelte system found in original ThinkPad laptops. Let us see in this review whether or not the ThinkPad X1 has departed from its predecessor significantly.

Design

Certain changes here and there has not completely altered the original touch and feel of a ThinkPad on the ThinkPad X1. Hence, the rubbery finish of the ThinkPad X1 is familiar. However, the coating on every surface is an added advantage and lends a more seamless look to the notebook. With tapered edges, the ThinkPad X1 completely does away with the conventional box shape of its predecessor. With a weight of 3.7pounds, the notebook is quite handy. Rigidity of the chassis accounts to the RollCage construction – present in earlier ThinkPads too. However, unlike the earlier ThinkPads, the ThinkPad X1 does not have the latch enclosure. So, this might be annoying to those who want to ensure the lid is properly closed by the sound it makes. As a business machine standard, the ThinkPad X1 is covered with a 3-year warranty.

In the new ThinkPad X1, the volume controls are placed on the right side instead of above keyboard. The front lip is adorned with 3.5mm audio jack, USB 2.0 port and memory card slot. At the back edge of the laptop, there is the 20V AC port, HDMI-out, DisplayPort, USB 2.0-eSATA combo, USB 3.0 port and 3G enabled SIM card slot. The 4 rubberized feet at the back of the laptop offers it necessary support.

Camera

ThinkPad X1 sports a 720p webcam. The camera is true to colors and lends the desired vibrancy and accuracy to still images. Also, every image captured with the webcam is loyal to details. Hence minute details such as shine on hair and more were also depicted in the pictures.

Keyboard

The chiclet and spill-resistant keyboard is new here. A buttonless touchpad complements the backlit keyboard. The keys are as soft and comfy as they used to be in early ThinkPads. Besides, the sturdy panel and the concave shape of the keys remain unaltered.

Trackpad

ThinkPad X1 sports a textured pad that not only feels wonderful but also makes minimal sound on pressing. Two-finger scrolling works in almost perfect manner – a thing not found on various gesture-enabled trackpads. Based on the Synaptics technology, the trackpad behaves weird at times as in most other laptops. Sometimes the trackpad registers a right click when you want it to be a left click. However, clicks and scrolling are more or less controlled.

Opting for the pointing stick and the mouse buttons on it is a wise option. With properly raised dots on the nub, it is easy to move the fingers on it. The nub has a low rise as compared to the surrounding keys and is also placed at comfortable distance from matching buttons. All these features make clicking go the natural way. Also, the buttons render tactile feedback without making much sound. The trackpad can be disabled via the function key to the space bar’s left side.

Display

The 13.3-inch Gorilla Glass display is the distinguishing feature on ThinkPad X1. ThinkPad users were used to view an easy-to-view display but on ThinkPad X1, the display is highly reflective and glossy that might disappoint a lot many people. Also, keeping fingerprints away from the display is almost impossible. It might be that ThinkPad X1 adopted the highly reflective panel for durability. The ThinkPad X1 falls behind many notebooks in respect of resolution (1366x768pixels) and pixel count is just as much to support Web surfing.

Sound

The ThinkPad X1 sports Dolby speakers that do justice to the quality of music you are listening. The speakers are loud enough so that you might be tempted to take it out on a DJ party. Overall, for a laptop of this size, ThinkPad X1 has incredible sound quality.

Performance

The ThinkPad X1 runs on Intel Core i5-2520M processor with a clock speed of 2.5GHz and is based on Windows 7 Professional (32-bit) OS. Intel HD 3000 handles the graphics and the notebook sports 4GB RAM complemented with 320GB 7200RPM hard drive. Powered by all these, the ThinkPad X1 registers a seamless operation during Web surfing, sending e-mails, and streaming videos and on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc. The Intel HD 3000 card handles demanding games such as Angry Birds effortlessly.

Battery life

The ThinkPad X1 sports a non-removable battery that lasts up to 1000 cycles, as confirmed by Lenovo. Although the promises were as high as that of 10-hour battery life, the 38.4Wh battery of the notebook can last up to 5.2 hours in practice. On leaving the WiFi on and after playing a full-movie in 65% brightness, the standard battery lasts up to 3 and half hours.

On the other hand, when the notebook is used for Web surfing along with playing games, the battery lasts up to four and half hours. Less-intensive operations surely increase the battery life. However, the RapidCharge technology compensates for the dwindling of the battery. So, charging for 30 minutes increases the juice level to 80% from a zero level.

Software

Being designed as a purely business machine, the ThinkPad X1 has minimal pre-installed programs such as Skype 4.2, MS Office 2010 (starter edition), Windows Live Essentials and Norton Internet Security 2011. ThinkVantage suite is tucked in that monitors system problems and are easily navigable.

Conclusion

Although the ThinkPad X1 falls back in terms of battery life, software integration and battery life, it bounces back with strong speakers, thin-profile, durable nature and ergonomic design. In fact, users interact with ThinkPad X1 as a personal notebook than a typical corporate black box. So, at $1349 it surely is a good deal with this attractive slim profile.