Lenovo ThinkPad X230

Although ultrabooks have been getting all the attention lately, Lenovo knows a thing or two about putting together a solid business ultraportable. The ThinkPad X230 ($1,164.00 direct), like the Lenovo ThinkPad X220 before it, is a compact laptop that provides a full range of business-grade performance and features without the excess bulk you'll find in traditional mainstream or desktop replacement machines.

Design
Measuring 1.05 by 12.01 by 8.13 inches (HWD) and weighing only 3.39 pounds, the X230 is light enough to tuck under your arm or into a laptop bag, whether for a quick meeting out of the office or a convention requiring a cross-country flight. The rigid magnesium-alloy chassis is covered with soft-touch rubberized paint, giving the ultraportable the black, boxy look you expect of a Lenovo business system while keeping things lightweight and easy to grip. Despite having portability to spare, it still feels a little clunky when compared to a 13-inch ultrabook like the HP Folio 13-1020us.

Compared with the 13-inch displays seen on the HP ProBook 6360b and Toshiba Portege R835-P88, the X230's 12.5-inch screen feels a little small, despite having the same 1,366-by-768 resolution as the others. The display is bright, however, with wide viewing angles and no glare thanks to a matte display with Inter-Plane Switching (IPS) technology. Lenovo also adds Dolby enhanced audio, providing robust sound from the diminutive package.

The X230 uses Lenovo's Precision keyboard, which has the spacing of a chiclet keyboard, but with scalloped keys, and the familiar red TrackPoint nub in the center. Backlighting adds usability in the dark, and an overhead light situated next to the 720p webcam above the screen lets you also read documents in low light. Just below the spacebar are three thumb buttons (right and left click, and a scrolling button between them) for use with the TrackPoint.

Features
On either side of the laptop, you'll find a full complement of business-ready features, like two USB 3.0 ports, an always-on USB 2.0 port (for powering peripherals or charging gadget batteries), a card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC), Gigabit Ethernet port, both VGA and Mini DisplayPort outputs (the later with audio), and an ExpressCard slot. Internally, the X230 is equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 and Intel's Wireless Display technology (WiDi 2.0), which lets you stream HD video through an adapter, like the Netgear Push2TV ($99 list). Security is also taken into consideration, with an integrated fingerprint reader on the palm rest, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and an optional SmartCard reader on the front of the laptop.

Our ThinkPad X230 review unit offered 320GB of storage space, but can be alternately configured with either a 500GB hard drive or 256GB solid-state drive (SSD). Lenovo doesn't clutter the desktop with a lot of special deals and links to websites, but you will find that the hard drive has a few programs preinstalled on it. In addition to Lenovo's ThinkVantage suite of apps and utilities, you'll find generally useful programs and services, like Google Chrome, Evernote, Skype, Microsoft Office 2010 Starter, and a 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security. SugarSync provides the foundation for Lenovo's branded cloud storage solution. Lenovo's warranty is for one year, with extended warranties (two to five years) available for purchase.

Performance
Lenovo outfitted the ThinkPad X230 with Intel's third-generation Core i5-3320M processor, a 2.6GHz dual-core CPU paired with 4GB of RAM?although, like the hard drive, this varies by configuration. Intel's new processor line boasts better performance and power efficiency, so it wasn't a huge surprise to see the ThinkPad X230 top other ultraportables in processor-intensive tasks. It scored 3.09 in CineBench R11.5, and took 1 minute 35 seconds to convert a video in Handbrake and 3:37 to apply 12 filters in Adobe Photoshop CS5. This beats out the competing HP ProBook 6360b (CineBench 2.85, Handbrake 1:45, Photoshop 3:48) and the consumer-focused Editors' Choice Toshiba Portege R835-P88 (CineBench 2.75, Handbrake 1:46, Photoshop 3:55). Because it uses a low-voltage CPU instead of a full-fledged laptop processor, the Folio 13-1020us took 5:24 to finish our Photoshop test.

The ThinkPad X230 also promises improved graphics capabilities over the X220, thanks to Intel's HD Graphics 4000, the integrated graphics solution included with the new processor platform. In 3DMark 06, the X230 scored 5,118 at 1,024 by 768 (with no anti-aliasing) and 2,791 at its native resolution of 1,366 by 768 (with 4x anti-aliasing enabled). The performance was ahead of that of most competitors, but the Lenovo actually fell ever so slightly behind the Toshiba Portege R835-P88, which scored 5,142 and 2,827, respectively.

With a 63Wh battery, the ThinkPad X230 lasted 7 hours 45 minutes in MobileMark at 50 percent screen brightness, making this the one test where the X230 didn't meet expectations. It fell nearly an hour short of the times of ultraportable and ultrabook competitors like the Portege R835-P88 (8:40), the Lenovo ThinkPad X220 (8:40) and the HP Folio 13-1020us (8:47).

As a laptop for on-the-go productivity, the Lenovo ThinkPad X230 is an excellent performer, with the best productive capability we've seen in a business ultraportable. If your use scenarios don't demand high performance, you might benefit more from a business ultrabook like the HP Folio 13-1020us. But because of its processing power and its fine collection of features, the new Lenovo ThinkPad X230 replaces the X220 as our Editors' Choice for business ultraportables.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Lenovo ThinkPad X230 with several other laptops side by side.

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