Lenovo ThinkPad X230 Review: Road Warrior Perfection

Overview

Lenovo probably pre-announced more notebooks at the Consumer Electronics Show in January than any other manufacturer, but the latest update to the X-series of ThinkPad business notebooks rises above the competition. The all-new ThinkPad X230 promises to be the ultimate 12-inch business laptop but in an age when the business market is being flooded with aluminum-clad MacBook look-alikes is there room for a traditional business ultraportable? ThinkPads have long been regarded as some of the best business laptops thanks to a trusted combination of cutting-edge performance, solid build quality, excellent keyboards, precision TrackPoints (that red dot in the middle of the keyboard) and fantastic warranty support. The previous generation ThinkPad X220 was widely regarded as the best 12-inch business notebook on the market.

The big question: Is the new ThinkPad X230 even better than the popular X220?

Build and Design

At first glance, the ThinkPad X230 has only a few minor changes from the X220. The location of several ports has been shuffled around, but you've still got the same tried and true boxy design combined with durable magnesium alloy and plastic construction covered in matte black rubberized paint. Lenovo continues to provide essentially a full-size keyboard on a 12-inch ultraportable notebook, but that larger keyboard comes at the expense of space for the palm rests. Although typing is very comfortable on the X230, your wrists don't have abundant space with your fingers in the traditional typing position.

The X230 continues Lenovo's trend of "business rugged" laptops even with its Lilliputian proportions. This ThinkPad is Milspec tested (physical shock, thermal shock, altitude, dust, vibration, humidity, heat and cold) for proven durability. Bottom line: you can toss the X230 in your car or let the flight attendant jam it into an overhead compartment without worrying something will break. Like most ThinkPads, the X230 will take the beating and keep working.

While the majority of Lenovo's business clients order their notebooks pre-configured exactly the way they want them it's important to mention that the X230 is still very easy for IT staff to upgrade and service in the field. The hard drive is easily replaced by removing the single screw on the side access panel. As far as RAM is concerned, there are two slots located under the main access plate on the bottom of the notebook. Our review unit came with a single 4GB memory module installed, so it would be quite easy to upgrade to 8GB of memory or drop in two 8GB modules for a total of 16GB of RAM.

Ports and Features
Last year we said "The ThinkPad X220 has what can only be described as the most robust port layout we've seen on any current-gneration 12-inch notebook." Well, Lenovo engineers found a way to pack even more into the X230 this year. You get two "SuperSpeed" USB 3.0 ports for rapid data transfers and one "always on" USB 2.0 port (for charging USB devices when the notebook is powered off). The X230 also comes with a traditional VGA port for those legacy business and school projectors, a mini DisplayPort connection, Gigabit Ethernet and a SDHC card reader. Oh, and Lenovo even managed to squeeze in a full size 54mm ExpressCard slot for accessories and port expansion. If that isn't enough ports, there is a docking station connection on the bottom of the notebook so you can turn this 12-inch laptop into a desktop replacement.

Front: Speaker grills	Back: Battery, AC power jack and heat exhaust
Left: Heat exhaust, USB 3.0, VGA, Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, ExpressCard slot and wireless on/off switch	Right: SD/SDHC card slot, "always on" USB 2.0 port, Ethernet, headset jack and security lock slot

Screen and Speakers
The 12.5-inch screen on our review unit of the ThinkPad X230 is an optional IPS panel with LED backlighting. The screen features the same 1366 x 768 resolution as the standard display, but the IPS panel provides greater screen brightness, more contrast and wider viewing angles. Our lab test results show this screen has a 780:1 contrast ratio and a peak brightness of 300 nit. Horizontal and vertical viewing angles are quite simply superb; we barely noticed any color distortion even out to extreme viewing angles.

Speaker quality is average as the maximum volume output is loud enough to fill a large meeting room with relatively clear sound. The audio performance is good enough for a basic video conference or webcast and Lenovo makes the best of a less than ideal situation by using Dolby Home Theater software to digitally enhance the audio output from both the built-in speakers and headphones connected to the headset jack. As with most modern ultraportable notebooks, the speakers are located on the bottom front edge of the X230. This means sound is directed down and away from you rather than up toward your ears. If you use the X230 like a "laptop", then the sound is often muffled against your clothing or your legs.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the ThinkPad X230 is Lenovo's new "Precision Keyboard" with LED backlighting. Although there will certainly be some diehard fans of the traditional Lenovo keyboard, the X230 uses a Chiclet-style key design not unlike what we've seen on most consumer laptops over the last decade. The main key sizes are still 100% of normal but know there is additional space between each key to help prevent typos.  The typing surface has excellent support with barely any flex under heavy pressure. The tactile feel from each key is great with soft clicks emitting very little noise when fully pressed. You can type for hours at a time without much discomfort.

The previously mentioned LED backlighting has four settings; off, low, high, and high with the addition of the traditional "ThinkLight" located next to the webcam which casts light down onto the keyboard. This gives ThinkPad users "the best of both worlds" if they aren't sure about the new backlit keyboard.

The classic red TrackPoint and buttonless touchpad are Synaptics models that provide an excellent sensitivity and responsiveness as you move your cursor in various applications. The buttonless touchpad provides the same surface area as the X220 (45 percent larger surface than the old X201).

As with all the recent Synaptics clickpads we've tested, the lack of separate dedicated left and right buttons beneath the touchpad only presents a problem with the default settings because it's very difficult to trigger a right click. You might have to press the bottom right corner of the touchpad several times to register a right click. Thankfully, you can adjust the touchpad settings using the included UltraNav software. Alternatively, you can just use the TrackPoint and the dedicated left and right mouse buttons located above the touchpad.

HP Ultrabooks, Sleekbooks Hands On: Wait, What's a Sleekbook?

When Apple launched the updated MacBook Airs back in late 2010, the whole industry sat up and took note. That line was impressively thin before, but it came at a cost - the computers were overly expensive and too slow by far, with mediocre build quality and heating and battery life issues. The update changed all of that - a $999 introductory price, solid build quality, a new 11-inch model and, despite the aging processors, reasonable performance (thanks in no small part to the use of modern flash memory).

Apple's 11-inch MacBook Air sitting on top of HP's new Spectre XT Ultrabook

Intel was especially interested. They saw this new notebook form factor as a means to reinvigorate the struggling PC industry, and the Ultrabook category was born. The PC maker shoved $300 million into a special fund available to PC makers in order to help with Ultrabook initiatives, marketing, and so on. Intel retained rights to the Ultrabook name, however, and if someone like HP, Dell, or ASUS wanted access, they had to cede an unprecedented amount of control over their product design to the processor giant.

 

It's very similar to the way Microsoft has pushed phone makers to adopt a stringent set of standards if they want access to the company's Windows Phone OS - pushed by Apple, too, it's worth noting, but in an entirely different product market. In this case, for an OEM to call their notebook an Ultrabook, they have to abide by specific guidelines: 

• 18mm or thinner for notebooks with 13.3-inch and smaller displays
• 21mm or thinner for notebooks with 14-inch and larger displays
• 5 hour minimum battery life
• CULV Intel processors
• Flash storage - if not completely solid state, then at least in a hybrid format
• 7 second resumption from hibernation

The figures aren't public, and manufacturers aren't always willing to disclose them to consumers or press - still, some Ultrabooks can actually be much thicker than the above, if they offer specific characteristics, like optical drives or convertible tablet options. 

 

All of this adds up to the fact that the Ultrabook message has quickly become muddled and mixed - they're really just the new premium notebook, with thicker models relegated to either the gaming or budget markets. HP is looking to dilute that ideal even more, for better or for worse - enter the Sleekbook.

A whatbook?

The Sleekbook, unlike the Ultrabook, has no specific characteristics required to receive the Sleekbook name. In HP's words, the new Sleekbook lineup will basically be "Ultrabook-like" models that, for one reason or another, can't qualify as Ultrabooks under the Intel guidelines. 

So what sort of things would disqualify a computer from being an Intel-branded Ultrabook? The new laptop might be thin, but slightly too thick. It might use exclusively hard drive storage (Ultrabooks need flash memory / SSDs, remember).

 

Of course, the real ringer is that Ultrabooks CAN NOT employ AMD processors. Depending on how successful the Ultrabook marketing push is, that could be a real problem for AMD; if consumers go into a store and ask for an Ultrabook, they will by definition not see an AMD computer. HP's Sleekbooks, however, could meet every one of Ultrabook qualifications, and use cheaper AMD CPUs - meaning they get an Ultrabook experience at a reduced price.

What HP really should do is approach AMD about a joint Sleekbook partnership - HP gets exclusive rights to the name for the next 6 months to a year or so, and AMD agrees to funnel some money into R&D and/or marketing. Then, AMD would have a Sleekbook platform ready to compete against Intel for the next notebook war - a war that AMD, which hasn't made any serious efforts to get its chips into tablets or smartphones - absolutely cannot afford to lose.

How To Improve Laptop Battery Life

Most of this guide will focus on modern notebooks running Windows 7, but much of the advice below holds true even if you're running Windows XP or planning to move to Windows 8.

Don't Overwork Your Laptop

In the simplest terms, anything your laptop does requires power. Therefore, your laptop is wasting power every time it does something that you don't "need" it to do. One simple solution is to close applications you aren't using rather than leaving programs running in the background or minimized in the Windows taskbar. However, you can go one step further.

Every laptop running a modern version of Windows has the ability change power profiles using the Windows Power Management. Click on that battery icon on the bottom of your screen, and make sure your notebook is set to "Balanced" or "Power Saver" if you want a quick and simple way to limit unnecessary power consumption.

The "High Performance" setting is great if you are encoding video or playing games but it makes your processor and hard drive(s) work harder than they have to, using more power and throwing out more heat. Most notebooks also include power regulation software from the laptop manufacturer (HP Power Advisor, Toshiba Power Saver, etc.) which can be used to help reduce overall power consumption.

Being Wireless Will Eventually Leave You Powerless

We usually need our laptops to be connected to a wireless network of some kind; Wi-Fi, 3G broadband, your 4G USB modem, or even your Bluetooth external keyboard and mouse at the office. The problem is that constantly sending and receiving wireless signals drains a significant portion of your notebook's battery. The solution is simple: If you're not actively using a wireless connection then make sure you turn it off. You can disable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on your laptop either by clicking on the wireless network icon on the bottom right corner of your Windows desktop or by pressing the Wireless on/off switch on laptops that have such switches.

Another Bright Idea: Turn Down The Display

The single component that consumes the most amount of power on your notebook is the screen backlight. This is particularly true for "desktop replacement" notebooks with large screens (15-inch and 17-inch laptops). Yes, displays usually look better when the backlight is nice and bright but when you're away from a power outlet you need to balance your desire for a vivid screen with your desire to keep your laptop running. Start by lowering the screen brightness to the lowest setting and increase it slowly until you reach the dimmest setting you find bearable. Of course, this will vary depending on the room you are in ... you'll have to increase the screen brightness if you're working outdoors under direct sunlight but you might be able to use the absolute lowest brightness setting when you're working on a plane with the cabin lights off.

DVDs Will Leave Your Laptop DEAD

Sooner or later most people find themselves stuck on a flight or in a car without Wi-Fi and nothing better to do but watch a movie to pass the time. Pulling out that DVD or Blu-ray collection sounds like fun but it's one of the fastest ways to drain your laptop's battery. The motor that spins the optical drive and the laser used to read the discs create a huge power draw while the disc is spinning. In addition to the drive, your laptop's processor (and the GPU) has to work hard to decode the audio and video. This usually translates into more than a 30% increase in power consumption compared to when your notebook is basically just sitting idle while you type a document in Microsoft Word. If you must watch movies, try to stick with digital content that you previously downloaded such as iTunes or Amazon Instant Video that has been saved to your computer. You can also stream online from Netflix.com or Hulu.com but, as previously mentioned, Wi-Fi power consumption is something to keep in mind.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 Review: A Solid Mobile Entertainment PC

Overview

Build & Design
One of the first things you'll notice about the design of the IdeaPad Y480 is its simple, almost "old fashioned" lines and durable brushed aluminum lid with gunmetal black finish. The display lid and palmrest area sports the same brushed metal construction and black (dark gray) finish but the lower half of the chassis is made of thick, matte black plastic. The Y480 isn't the thinnest or lightest kid on the block with a thickness of 1.3 inches and a weight of almost five pounds. Still, what this notebook lacks in slimness it more than makes up for in terms of overall performance, durable design, and upgradeability.

Build quality is good but not up to the standards of Lenovo's ThinkPad business notebooks. The metal lid will protect the screen from the average bump or drop but the metal isn't very thick and you can create distortions on the screen if you press on the lid while the laptop is turned on. The metal palmrest and plastic lower half of the notebook feels reasonably solid with no squeaks or creaks when you pinch the palmrest or try to twist the notebook in your hands.

Bottom line, this laptop should survive typical student usage as long as the student in question isn't too abusive to electronics. 

Lenovo was kind enough to stick to the tried and true solution of including an access panel on the bottom of the notebook so you can easily swap out the hard drive, RAM, or wireless cards if needed. In this day and age when most consumer notebooks are racing to get thinner and lighter it would have been easy for Lenovo to make the Y480 a millimeter to two thinner by using a sealed chassis. By building the notebook this way you don't have to completely disassemble the laptop if something goes wrong.

Ports and FeaturesThe IdeaPad Y480 has a reasonably impressive selection of ports for a 14-inch laptop. Included is a 6-in-1 memory card reader, two USB 3.0 "SuperSpeed" ports, two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, HDMI and VGA ports for hooking it up to an HDTV or external monitor, and dedicated microphone and headphone jacks. Lenovo was also kind enough to include an 8X DVD SuperMulti optical drive for those who still insist on living in the previous decade.

To be honest, the only complaint we have about the ports on this notebook is a complaint we have about all current-generation notebooks: Why continue to include USB 2.0 ports? The new USB 3.0 standard is compatible with USB 2.0 (in other words, the faster USB 3.0 ports also work with older, slower USB devices) so there should be four USB 3.0 ports on this notebook instead of two of each kind.

Front: Activity lights and 6-in-1 memory card reader	Back: Hinges and battery
Left: Lock slot, exhaust vent, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI, 2x USB 3.0	Right: Headphone out/mic in, USB 2.0, 8X DVD SuperMulti optical drive, USB 2.0, A/C power

Screen and Speakers
Our review unit features the same 14.0-inch "HD Glare" display with LED backlighting that is used on all configurations of the Y480. The display resolution is a rather unimpressive 1366 x 768 (720p) and the screen is essentially unremarkable in terms of color, contrast and viewing angles. This isn't to say that the screen on the Y480 is bad ... it just lacks any type of "wow" factor. The glossy surface means you'll see reflections and glare on the screen when you use the laptop under bright indoor lights or direct sunlight. The lack of a 1080p display option means you won't get the full Blu-ray experience if you pay extra to get the Blu-ray drive option on the Y480. The fact that this is a TN panel instead of an IPS display means that the colors look washed out or inverted if you tilt the screen slightly forward or back.

All of these complaints could just as easily be leveraged against 90 percent of the 14-inch laptops on the market, but it's reasonable to expect more from a notebook with a sticker price that goes as high as $1,699.00 for a system with a 1TB 5400RPM hard drive and 32GB SSD.

One place where the Y480 exceeds expectations is the built-in speakers. Lenovo uses a pair of JBL-branded stereo speakers enhanced with Dolby Home Theater v4 software to deliver surprisingly impressive sound for a notebook that only has two small speakers. Each JBL speaker is rated at 1.5W but they produce greater than expected audio performance both in terms of maximum volume and clarity. Thankfully, Lenovo engineers placed the speakers above the keyboard so sound is directed up and toward the user unlike many budget laptops that have speakers located on the bottom of the notebook pushing sound into your lap.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Y480 has a full-sized Chiclet-style keyboard with LED backlighting to help you type in dark environments. Lenovo has earned a reputation for making some of the best laptop keyboards and at first glance the Y480 is pretty good. Unlike most Chiclet-style keyboards from other companies, the keys aren't perfectly flat but have a slightly concave surface that "hugs" your fingertip. The LED backlighting is nice and bright but there is quite a bit of backlight bleed around the keys.

Our only complaint about the keyboard on the Y480 is actually related to the keyboard surround ... the plastic trim piece that sits around and behind the keys. The keyboard surround doesn't snap firmly into place and actually "bounces" as you type with moderate or heavy pressure. This gives the false impression that the keyboard tray is flexing under pressure when in fact the keyboard support frame is very solid; it's just the plastic trim piece behind the keys that moves around and makes a less-than-perfect typing experience.

This would be an easy fix for Lenovo since the keyboard itself is great and all an engineer has to do is figure out a way to keep the plastic trim piece from moving as you type.

The Synaptics touchpad is pretty standard. This is technically a "clickpad" since the entire surface functions as a massive touchpad button and you can click anywhere to trigger a left click. As with all the Synaptics clickpads we've tested, this only presents a problem with the default settings because it's very difficult to trigger a right click. Lenovo placed a white line on the bottom edge of the clickpad to indicate where the traditional left and right clicks can be used but if your fingertip isn't perfectly positioned then you'll just make a left click when you are trying to make a right click. Thankfully, you can adjust the touchpad settings using the included Synaptics software.