ThinkPad X1 Carbon: An ideal business companion

Conceptualised by IBM years ago, the ThinkPad brand still stands for the most robust business laptops, considering all conveniences thoroughly. Configure the 2018 ThinkPad X1 Carbon with the right mix of silicon and you have a highly dependable notebook with all the essentials for a price of around ` 1,52,000.

Unlike its rivals, the X1 Carbon’s form factor is subtly stylish yet highly understated. The matte finish wears out easily when exposed to rough situations, but the 15.9mm thickness and a 1.13kg weight puts it in the ultrabook category. The firm lid houses a 14- inch display with slim bezels, with an IR sensor- based facial recognition system on top( there’s also a fingerprint sensor for added security). The full HD touch panel is impressive, with vibrant colours and contrasts, and adequate brightness levels of up to 300nits. For connectivity, it offers 2 x USB- C ports, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an Ethernet dongle port and an LTE SIM card slot. Lenovo also bundles in a VGA- to- USB- C dongle as well. With a Core i7 8650u vPro processor accompanied with 16GB of LPDDR3 2133MHz RAM and 512GB OPAL2 PCIe TLC SSD, computing is lightning quick here. Productivity apps such as Excel, Word and Powerpoint open fast. The X1 Carbon scored an impressive 4041 on PCMark 10. The keyboard is one of the best in the business, with higher travel ensuring a satisfying typing experience and minimal key ghosting. The classic pointer nub is a helpful addition for finer adjustments of the cursor on the screen. Sadly, the audio department suffers like every other laptop — we suggest plugging- in external speakers.

The X1 Carbon manages up to eight hours of stamina under moderate usage. Lenovo bundles a 65W fast charger that tops- up the tank from nothing under an hour and a half.

To sum it up, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen is a great all- rounder business notebook. We recommend it for those seeking a highly practical and efficient business notebook.