联想终极笔记本叫板苹果

    过度曝光的所谓“超极本”已经不再是什么新鲜事。如今，这种纤薄质轻的笔记本鱼龙混杂，层出不穷。“超极本”的叫法也被滥用，很难再激起消费者的兴趣。既然如此，联想（Lenovo）ThinkPad X1 Carbon超极本问世后还能受到热捧，应该有它的道理。

    来自中国的PC巨头联想集团在这款笔记本上煞费苦心。这款笔记本并没有采用更重的铝制材料，而是使用了常在法拉利跑车中使用的碳纤维，这在普通商品中极为少见，而X1 Carbon也是唯一一款使用碳纤维的超极本。这款笔记本近距离看上去非常普通，但这款配有14寸屏的笔记本只有3磅重，与苹果公司（Apple）的13寸Macbook Air相当。（超极本的概念最初由英特尔提出，目的就是为了与热销的苹果Air系列产品对抗。）

    就像行驶在曼哈顿市中心的林肯城市汽车，看起来并无亮点，同样，之前的ThinkPad笔记本在外型上一直以求稳著称。而X1 Carbon采取圆形边缘设计，超薄的外形更胜之前的产品。该款超极本保持了许多ThinkPad的独有特色——全黑色的外壳，配以精妙的红色与淡蓝色。虽然它算不上万众瞩目，但确实比之前的ThinkPad系列更加精致。

    亲身体验X1之后便能体会到它的与众不同之处。这款笔记本更加轻巧。大部分超极本均采用13寸屏，分辨率通常为1366 X 768，而X1则配备了14寸屏，屏幕分辨率则提升至1600 x 900。在同时运行多个应用和窗口时，这一配置的优势便凸显出来。虽然屏幕的亮度仍有提升空间，但通过无光表面处理，即便在当地咖啡厅中工作时，也能有效减少反光。

    与最近上市的多款笔记本类似，X1也搭载了英特尔最新款Ivy Bridge芯片。我们手中的X1属于标准型号，售价1,329美元，配置1.7 GHz i5处理器，4GB RAM，128GB固态硬盘，并预装微软Windows 8操作系统高级版。我们模拟普通商务旅行者的情况，连续几天对这款笔记本进行了测试，打开了多款应用，数十个窗口，欣赏音乐、观看视频，设备运行并未受到太大影响，运行依然十分顺畅。唯一的缺点是，在登陆网飞（Netflix）或Hulu观看视频时，笔记本的风扇会发出轻微的响声。但即便如此，键盘和周围区域并未出现过热的现象，这在笔记本中并不多见。

    这款ThinkPad的键盘或许是有史以来最舒服的一款键盘。X1键盘更大，配以波形按键，让手指的触感更加清晰，按键距离适中，因此只需轻轻敲击便可完成输入。而其触摸板，应该是我们在PC上见过响应效果最佳的多点触控触摸板。多年以来，PC制造商一直寻求设计一款能够与苹果笔记本触摸板相媲美的同类产品。结果却以失败而告终。但在X1上，不论是滚动、放大还是捏动等动作，表现都非常出色，没有任何延迟。（ThinkPad老用户也可以根据个人爱好，选择使用红帽指点杆。）

    So-called Ultrabooks risk overexposure. The selection of these thin, lightweight notebooks is so varied now, the moniker used so loosely, it's hard to muster much excitement. So when an Ultrabook like Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon comes along and generates real buzz, it's probably for good reason…right?

    The Chinese PC giant, for one, has made a big deal out of this particular laptop. it's the only Ultrabook that uses carbon fiber -- a material more commonly found in Ferraris than plebeian gizmos -- instead of heavier aluminum. Up close result is understated, but impressive: a laptop with a 14-inch screen that comes in at a hair under 3 lbs., similar to Apple (AAPL) 13-inch MacBook Air. (The entire category of Ultrabooks was created in part by Intel (INTC) to counter the popularity of the Air line of products.)

    In the same way a Lincoln Town Car might cut an innocuous profile whizzing across the streets of Midtown Manhattan, previous ThinkPad notebooks have made a virtue of playing it safe looks-wise. The X1 Carbon is somewhat more appealing, however, with rounded edges and a much thinner profile than its predecessors. It carries many ThinkPad hallmarks -- the stark black case and subtle red and light blue accents. It's not exactly a head-turner, but certainly more refined than ThinkPads past.

    Picking up the X1 really exhibits the difference. This laptop is lighter than it should be. Most ultrabooks stick with a 13-inch screen and a 1,366 by 768 resolution, but the X1 packs a 14-inch display with a higher 1,600 x 900 resolution. That is a welcome feature that pays off when multiple applications and windows compete for limited real estate. And although the screen could have been brighter, its matte finished reduces glare even when working outside at a local café.

    Like many recent laptops, the X1 packs one Intel's latest Ivy Bridge chips. Ours was the standard base $1,329 model with a 1.7 GHz i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 128 GB solid state drive, and Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8 Premium. We put the laptop through its paces over several days -- use cases the average business traveler might go through -- with multiple apps open, tens of windows going, music and video streaming, and the machine zipped along unfazed. The only giveaway was a fan that quietly hummed when watching Netflix (NFLX) or Hulu. Even then, the keyboard and its surrounding area was never hot to the touch, something that can't be said of many other laptops.

    This ThinkPad may have one of the most comfortable keyboards ever made. The X1's keyboard is spacious, with keys gently contoured to conform to your fingers and just the right amount of "travel," so keys press down with a soft, satisfying click. As for the trackpad, it's probably the most responsive multitouch trackpad we've ever tried on a PC. PC makers have struggled over the years to design a trackpad that rivals the ones Apple includes in its laptops. The results have often fallen short. But scrolling, zooming, and pinching worked just fine on the X1 with no delay. (ThinkPad veterans can, of course, revert to using the red nub if they prefer.)