"... but then there weren’t any major issues with the old X1 Carbon."
Really? Please read the shitty reviews of the keyboard LCD strip and the unusable trackpad... the two most sought after functions. I can't tell from your pictures, but seems they have now included a dedicated function key strip at the top?
Note the word "major". ThinkPad users can be quite resistant to change, but the core design is basically the same as before -- but I updated the text to specifically call out the function key and touchpad "updates" (or rather, return to the old way).
And maybe this year's model won't have LCD burn-in issues on the top-end ~2500E model. I mean at a certain point you stop caring about the CPU, RAM and Fn buttons and that point is the one when you can see you browser's address bar burned into the LCD for a couple of hours after just 30 minutes of being displayed. And it's not an isolated case.
As a developer or professional user the productivity difference in having real f-buttons and real mouse buttons are VERY substantial. Your statement of it boiling down to "resistance to change" is quite ignorant. The core problem was that lenovo was trying to push consumer style gimmicks to a professional user base, which meant that they either did not know their target market, or they were trying to shift it towards regular joes. Both of which were disturbing, hence the outrage. This new version gives me hope that it was an honest mistake and that all is not lost at lenovo.
I definitely will agree that the function key "dynamic strip" was a mistake, but the lack of physical buttons is only an issue if you use the TrackPoint. TrackPoint of course ends up being very much a personal preference sort of thing. Some people need it, of course, but I've never been much of a fan. (Cue the flames....) I'd much rather have a good touchpad so for me the lack of physical buttons for the TrackPoint wasn't at all a deal breaker.
At the same time, one of the few things that separates "business" laptops from consumer models these days is the presence of TrackPoint and similar pointing devices. So if you're one of those users that buys a business laptop specifically because you like TrackPoint, obviously it's a huge problem.
But again speaking for myself, I have no issue whatsoever with a business laptop not including a pointing stick by default. Heck, I've had more than a few cases where the little foam/rubber nub has gone missing, which isn't something that happens to my touchpads. A good touchpad in my book trumps the pointing stick every time... unless you're trying to control the mouse pointer while wearing gloves, which is something that does occur for a few niche use cases.
After reviewing all those awful ergonomic keyboard contraptions, one would think that you of all people would see the benefit of not leaving home row :)
Back in the day, there were two sets of buttons, one for trackpoint, one for trackpad. In the last generation, the number dropped to zero. Now we are back to one. You are wrong that it only matters for trackpoint, though, because now that there are no dedicated buttons for the trackpad, I use the trackpoint ones as my dedicated buttons (God I hate tapping or trying to click a trackpad).
Apparently the clickpad was quite bad on these models. Going back to a better one is an enhancement. The trackpad manufacturers tries to push a lot of really bad clickpads with bad drivers. If they where decent with good drivers then it might not be a big deal.
I don't. Win10 is currently scheduled for a back to schoolish release date; broadwell U is scheduled for 2015q1; so waiting for win10 would be about half a year of extra delay.
Anandtech might be under NDA and not permitted to disclose Broadwell-U specs yet; but via a leak somewhere they've been added to wikipedia under the i3/i5/i7 processor lists. For 15W models I3's will be 2.0/2.1 ghz vs 1.7-2.0 for haswell; i5's will be 1.8-2.3/2-7-2.9 (turbo) vs 1.6-2.0/2.6-3.0; i7's 2.0-2.6/3.0-3.2 vs 1.5-2.1/3.0-3.3. The i7's seem to be the biggest winners; but all 3 families are seeing some jump in non-turbo speeds. The upper half of the haswell speeds are all from haswell-refresh chips that came out about a year after the 1st generation. Assuming Intel is still planning on a truncated broadwell lifespan to keep skylake's launch on time, we probably won't see a faster refresh for broadwell.
Also: really poor Internet speeds make it a pain to fact check before posting. Grrr.... These were all supposed to post at 7PM, but connection issues meant about 15-20 minutes for each posting to finish uploading. Gotta love CES and Vegas....
if the Alienware 13 is anything to go by, the Broadwell-U is an absolute purchase-killer. ridiculously underpowered for the astronomical price these things will no doubt carry.
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sciwizam - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
Thank God they ditched the zero-button trackpad and went with dedicated TrackPoint buttonsTrackSmart - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
And thankfully ditched the adaptive function keys. I think the lack of real function keys was problematic for a sizable subset of business users.Oyster - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
"... but then there weren’t any major issues with the old X1 Carbon."Really? Please read the shitty reviews of the keyboard LCD strip and the unusable trackpad... the two most sought after functions. I can't tell from your pictures, but seems they have now included a dedicated function key strip at the top?
Oyster - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
Wow... wasn't even done making my point: http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/04/lenovo-thinkpad...JarredWalton - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
Note the word "major". ThinkPad users can be quite resistant to change, but the core design is basically the same as before -- but I updated the text to specifically call out the function key and touchpad "updates" (or rather, return to the old way).madwolfa - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
Really? For me as a long time Thinkpad user, the shortcomings of the previous generation were glaring.close - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
And maybe this year's model won't have LCD burn-in issues on the top-end ~2500E model. I mean at a certain point you stop caring about the CPU, RAM and Fn buttons and that point is the one when you can see you browser's address bar burned into the LCD for a couple of hours after just 30 minutes of being displayed. And it's not an isolated case.MarcusMo - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
As a developer or professional user the productivity difference in having real f-buttons and real mouse buttons are VERY substantial. Your statement of it boiling down to "resistance to change" is quite ignorant. The core problem was that lenovo was trying to push consumer style gimmicks to a professional user base, which meant that they either did not know their target market, or they were trying to shift it towards regular joes. Both of which were disturbing, hence the outrage. This new version gives me hope that it was an honest mistake and that all is not lost at lenovo.JarredWalton - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
I definitely will agree that the function key "dynamic strip" was a mistake, but the lack of physical buttons is only an issue if you use the TrackPoint. TrackPoint of course ends up being very much a personal preference sort of thing. Some people need it, of course, but I've never been much of a fan. (Cue the flames....) I'd much rather have a good touchpad so for me the lack of physical buttons for the TrackPoint wasn't at all a deal breaker.At the same time, one of the few things that separates "business" laptops from consumer models these days is the presence of TrackPoint and similar pointing devices. So if you're one of those users that buys a business laptop specifically because you like TrackPoint, obviously it's a huge problem.
But again speaking for myself, I have no issue whatsoever with a business laptop not including a pointing stick by default. Heck, I've had more than a few cases where the little foam/rubber nub has gone missing, which isn't something that happens to my touchpads. A good touchpad in my book trumps the pointing stick every time... unless you're trying to control the mouse pointer while wearing gloves, which is something that does occur for a few niche use cases.
MarcusMo - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
After reviewing all those awful ergonomic keyboard contraptions, one would think that you of all people would see the benefit of not leaving home row :)adiposity - Tuesday, January 6, 2015 - link
Back in the day, there were two sets of buttons, one for trackpoint, one for trackpad. In the last generation, the number dropped to zero. Now we are back to one. You are wrong that it only matters for trackpoint, though, because now that there are no dedicated buttons for the trackpad, I use the trackpoint ones as my dedicated buttons (God I hate tapping or trying to click a trackpad).Penti - Wednesday, January 14, 2015 - link
Apparently the clickpad was quite bad on these models. Going back to a better one is an enhancement. The trackpad manufacturers tries to push a lot of really bad clickpads with bad drivers. If they where decent with good drivers then it might not be a big deal.WaitingForNehalem - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
I hope this launches with Windows 10.DanNeely - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
I don't. Win10 is currently scheduled for a back to schoolish release date; broadwell U is scheduled for 2015q1; so waiting for win10 would be about half a year of extra delay.DanNeely - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
Anandtech might be under NDA and not permitted to disclose Broadwell-U specs yet; but via a leak somewhere they've been added to wikipedia under the i3/i5/i7 processor lists. For 15W models I3's will be 2.0/2.1 ghz vs 1.7-2.0 for haswell; i5's will be 1.8-2.3/2-7-2.9 (turbo) vs 1.6-2.0/2.6-3.0; i7's 2.0-2.6/3.0-3.2 vs 1.5-2.1/3.0-3.3. The i7's seem to be the biggest winners; but all 3 families are seeing some jump in non-turbo speeds. The upper half of the haswell speeds are all from haswell-refresh chips that came out about a year after the 1st generation. Assuming Intel is still planning on a truncated broadwell lifespan to keep skylake's launch on time, we probably won't see a faster refresh for broadwell.JarredWalton - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
No comment. ;)Also: really poor Internet speeds make it a pain to fact check before posting. Grrr.... These were all supposed to post at 7PM, but connection issues meant about 15-20 minutes for each posting to finish uploading. Gotta love CES and Vegas....
recurrence - Sunday, January 4, 2015 - link
Really needs more ram. Put 16GB in it and I'll buy it on the spot.tuxRoller - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
Needs bigger battery.Make the pc a bit bigger, but allow it have a actual usage time of 12-15 hours, like the air.
ybitz - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
Does it have a SD card slot? Is the M.2 storage user replace-able?joexu - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
Still no SD card slot, I'll wait for Skylake refreshGigaplex - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
Just use a USB reader.kspirit - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
VERY glad to see the Function keys returning to this.gw74 - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
re display resolution, the UK lenovo website says "Choice of FHD or WQHD+ 14” display with optional multitouch"gw74 - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
if the Alienware 13 is anything to go by, the Broadwell-U is an absolute purchase-killer. ridiculously underpowered for the astronomical price these things will no doubt carry.Harry_Wild - Tuesday, January 6, 2015 - link
Is this the Broadwell Intel Core M - fan less CPU inside?