The Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook Stands up to the Competition

 

Criticisms against the Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook have centered on the price compared to other laptops in its class. The performance of this machine, however, does seem to validate its price when compared to other13" and 14" ultrabooks, such as the Asus VivoBook S400CA which offers similar features for a much lower price. Examining key elements of the laptops can assist in assessing whether consumers get value for money.

 

Design

Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook, combines a sleek, thin, lightweight business machine with high performance. Also in the arena of business computers is the Asus VivoBook S400CA.  Heavier that the X1, this cheaper alternative carries a larger 14" display and sleek, modern brushed metal, aluminum casing. Further, while the X1 has a sturdy rugged feel when being handled, the Asus S400CA, has a slightly stiff center hinge. It does bend back rather far, but cannot accommodate the 180° bend of the X1 Carbon Touch. The X1 also has island-style keys and these make for easier typing. This model also has backlighting. By contrast, the Asus S400CA keyboard does not have backlighting, except for the power button. It also features small keys that feel spongy when tapped compared to the sturdiness of the X1. The Asus keyboard also does not feature integration of the volume/screen brightness buttons with the F1-12 function keys. The Fn button must be used simultaneously. This is very inconvenient when compared with the X1 where there is full integration and function keys can be reversed.

Features

Both the Asus S400CA and Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch feature 14" HD touch displays. In the case of the Asus, the resolution reaches a maximum of  1366 x 768 pixels while the Lenovo reaches a max of 1600 x 900 pixels. The Asus standard is at the lower end of similar displays in its size, however, the touch screen works well. The Windows 8 OS works for both laptops and the Lenovo 10-finger gesture control adds simplicity to its operation. The X1 has HD face-tracking camera and dual microphone for video/audio conferencing. The Asus machine has no camera. Neither computers have an optical drive, which tends to be standard in laptops of this size.

Connectivity is limited to one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0 with SD card reader in the X1 Carbon Touch. The Asus has one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 with SD card reader. They both also carry Ethernet, 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. The Lenovo laptop goes further with mobile broadband and has 'plane mode' switch (IPS) that turns off the system's radios while in flight.

Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook vs. Asus S400CA

Brand/Model	Avg. Rating 1-5	Screen Size	Weight (lbs)	Processor Type	CPU Speed (Min GHz)	Installed Ram	Hard Drive Size	OS	Graphics Processor	Avg. List price
Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook	4	13.3"	3.4	I5-3427U	1.7	4 GB	128 GB SSD	Windows 8	Intel HD 4000	$1000.00
Asus S400CA	3.5	14"	4.4	I5-3317U	1.7	4 GB	500 GB HDD	Windows 8	Intel HD 4000	$700.00

 

Performance

Both the Asus S400CA and Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch use the Intel Core i5 processor. They  produce very similar results on tests for everyday business duties, HD, video and audio, streaming  and web surfing. The X1 battery got 5hrs and 24 mins in the drain test. It could reach up to 8hrs if the sleep mode is used when idle. On the other hand, the Asus barely managed 4hrs 45min on a similar test.

In the end, though, the higher sticker price for the X1 Carbon Touch gives pause as the level of performance may not necessarily justify the expense.