New 2014 X1 Carbon Touch - 1 Week Review

Question

I've had the New 2014 Carbon X1 for about a week now, so I thought I'd post a review about my experiences thus far.
The version I received was the high end model, i7 4th gen, 8gb ram, IPS 2560x1440 touch display. This is the first Lenovo device I have purchased, and I did so at the recommendation of my brother who has owned a T series for the last 3 years. I am a film student, so my intention is to do some light video editing (not rendering) and lightroom/ photoshop work on this device (in addition to daily use of OneNote). I was looking for a powerful ultrabook with good build quality, battery life, and cooling when I purchased this laptop.
Hardware:
The hardware on this device has highly conservative look, which I appreciate. The laptop doesn't draw attention, but is pleasing to the eye when viewed up close. I like the fact that there are not as many creases or lines that run through the body of the device (when compared to other devices), which results in a more free flowing but unified appearance.
The matte plastic on the top of the lid has a slightly rubberized texture, making the device easy to grip. My hands get hot and moist consistently, so the lid does occasionally pick up some faint moisture streaks if I carry it without a case. The slightly rubberized texture is pleasant to the touch and is easy to wipe down with a damp cloth. The inside of the device has a similar plastic around the keys and palm rests, but does not attain as much of a rubber (soft) feel as the lid. The texture on the palm rests is good, and stays cool under extended typing conditions.
At first I was having issues with the keyboard whereby I would press the spacebar too early in a word. This is due to not pressing the letter keys down firmly enough. After adjusting my finger pressure while typing, I have been able to avoid this problem for the most part. The pressure I am applying to the keys is just a hair more than I am used to, but it is something that doesn't cause a major inconvenience. The backlight on the keyboard is excellent, not too bright or too dim at any one moment.
The fingerprint reader took several tries to set up, mostly because there is a discrepancy between the lenovo fingerprint software and the integrated Windows 8 security fingerprint setting. By installing my index finger for login on both programs, I was able to successfully unlock the computer from sleep with a swipe of my finger. I am really impressed by the integration of a light on the sensor. When my print isn't accepted the first time, an amber color light flashes on site. Its easier to just look at the light than have to switch my glance back to the monitor after every swipe (like my previous HP laptop). Upon a successful swipe, a lime color light flashes on the reader.
The screen on the device meets my expectations in every way. The display is IPS which is required for accurate photo editing, and it is LED which makes it very power efficient. Viewing angles are fine, but they could be a little better. Brightness is excellent, but the initial settings have Auto Brightness enabled. On this setting, pumping the brightness up to "100%" really means 100% of what the Auto Brightness function deems appropriate for the current ambient light. To have full manual control, Auto Brightness must be disabled. This results in a much brighter screen with beautiful whites, deep blacks, etc. This is a 300nit display so brightness is very well addressed. As a side note, the laptop was shipped with what appears to be an installed screen protector. There are several holes around the microphones and camera, and a tiny seam along the edge of the screen. The protector is virtually unnoticeable, so I'm leaving it on for the time being. It is much cleaner than any other factory installed laptop screen protector (or film) than I've ever seen (no bubbles, peel-off tabs, or misalignment).
Cooling on the device is good, but it did not exceed my expectations. On power saver mode, the bottom of the laptop is cool to the touch except the back right corner. To the touch the corner feels as warm as something that's been in the sun for 5 minutes or so which is excellent. I have a temp gun so I'll have to check specifics later. On high performance mode, heat significantly increases. Most of the bottom of the laptop heats up even if no intensive tasks are being run. If the laptop is on my lap, I prefer it to be in power saver mode for this reason.
Battery life is good for such a small laptop. I have 8 hours of back to back classes and I type notes basically the whole time. With this laptop, it is entirely possible to go that full period without a charger. So far I have done this twice. The settings I use are Wifi off, low brightness, and I enable high contrast mode in accessibility center so the glaring white of OneNote doesn't blind me during the film screenings.
Webcam looks great for google hangouts, and the microphones are the most sensitive I've ever used. They can pick up the voice of someone to the side and across the room with great clarity.
Overall the weight and feel of the laptop is very pleasing. Such a light weight for its size, and it feels solid to the touch and doesn't flex the slightest when handled different ways (carbon fiber ++). When compared to a macbook air, it is nearly identical in size and weight. However, I find typing on the lenovo is much more pleasant because the front edge of the palm rest isn't sharp enough to dig into my hands.
Software
The Lenovo Solution software (pinned to taskbar upon installation) is easy to use and responsive (unlike similar HP suites). I am actually going to rely on this software for updates instead of disabling it.
For the first few days of use, there was a touch keyboard toolbar button pinned to my start bar that would appear again even after disabling it. I researched the problem and it was permanently removed from the taskbar by uninstalling the touchpad driver and reinstalling it. Odd.
The adaptive row of keys is a good idea, but it is not as responsive as I'd like. When using the visual gestures or dragon voice control, there is significant lag between pressing the adaptive key and the program actually running. Each time, a lenovo window appears and it takes several mouse clicks to get to a functioning state for each button. One thing I am VERY disappointed about is the lack of any play/pause/stop/next/previous buttons for the adaptive row to use with a media player. These buttons are necessary, and not having them is unacceptable in my opinion.
Touch responsiveness is liquid smooth in both power saver and high performance modes. Zooming in on bing maps, drawing with all ten fingers, swiping through metro - all a delightfully lag-free experience.
Windows 8 - ahhhhhh. This is my first device to run windows 8, and it's alright. It'll take some getting used to, but from my experience so far it is responsive and useful in its design. I really want to be able to pin a firefox link to my start screen, but it seems like all I can do is pin the firefox app instead.
As mentioned in a previous post, there are several issues with programs that aren't adapted to the ultra high res display. That discussion can be found here.
The sleeve I purchased for this machine was the "V7 Ultra Protective Sleeve for 13.3-Inch Ultrabook and Notebook". The fit is great (the slightest bit loose on the ends) and the quality is above par for such a low price. I spilled a significant amount of apple juice on the case just yesterday (shakes head) and it protected the notebook well.
Overall Experience:
I'm pleased with my purchase. High price point? YES. For that amount I think the RAM should be at least 16gb and the SSD could be 500gb. Overall it is a pleasure to use and look at. Honestly so many things are right about this machine, it just allows me to focus on my work and stop worrying about my battery level or my trackpad glitching or the CPU overheating or lag or other petty issues that other notebooks make you deal with. That's what I like - its a smooth connection between me and getting things done while away from my desktop.
I haven't edited video on it yet, so that will come in a few weeks. I'm planning on buying an external drive to hold the files while I edit, then just plug it into my desktop when I get home ready to render.
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Answer 1

ColonelONeill wrote:
How's the new clickpad?
Does the keyboard flex under reasonable pressure?
Is the adaptive bar actually a pixel-based LCD or just a series of predefined patterns like the really old LCD displays?
The "new" clickpad is very slick. The texture is good but just a little too rubbery for my taste. In comparison with my brother's old T series, I prefer the X1.
Under reasonable pressure, absolutely not. The amount of force it takes for me to flex it is something I'd never do under normal use. It feels very solid in my opinion.
Upon a close inspection, the adaptive touch bar appears to be the old LCD type. I really want those media keys.