Lenovo goes space age with the carbon fibre X1 Ultrabook

Computer makers have been looking for ways to make laptops slimmer, lighter, and stronger for some time now, and while we’re used to seeing metal casings, Lenovo is introducing something just a little different.

With the latest incarnation of its X1 notebook, the company is looking to carbon fibre, a material normally used in constructing Formula One cars, high-end camera tripods, and expensive bicycles.

Lighter than aluminium while still being just as strong, using carbon fibre in a laptop design means the computer can be insanely light and very sturdy, though we’re not sure if you’ll be able to stand on the laptop in quite the same way as with previous X-series laptops.

That said, Lenovo has said that the new X1 – called the “X1 Carbon” – has passed the military spec tests for heat, cold, and dust, and is very robust.

While the laptop still accommodates a 13 inch footprint, Lenovo has thrown in a 14 inch screen with 1600×900 resolution (900p) with anti-glare coating. Intel’s latest third-generation Core i5 and i7 processors are offered here, with up to 8GB RAM, between 128 and 256GB solid state storage, one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, and optional 3G built-in.

The battery is one area where an Ultrabook has to do pretty well, and Lenovo says the X1 Carbon should manage 6.5 hours of life, with a faster recharge using the company’s own RapidCharge technology.

It should be noted that carbon fibre doesn’t generally come cheap, and the Lenovo X1 Carbon costs a little more than most other Ultrabooks, grabbing a $1,999 starting price, but arriving with a three year warranty, a fair bit longer than most other laptops.