Lenovo ThinkPad X260 Review: Could Have Been Better

Thinkpad X260

The Lenovo stables have been turning in one good laptop after the other over the years now. They have established clear mastery over notebooks and convertible ultrabooks. Today we take a closer look at the Lenovo ThinkPad X260

Thinkpad X260

The ultraportable X260 weighs in at less than 3 lbs, yet is rugged enough to meet exacting MIL-SPEC standards for durability under brutal conditions. Its profile is a mere 0.8” (20.3mm) at its thickest point, yet there’s plenty of power inside and lots of ports outside, including an HDMI port and three USB 3.0 ports. It’s everything you expect in a do-it-all machine.

Optimized for Windows 10 and later versions, Lenovo’s legendary, full-size ThinkPad ergonomic keyboard is backlit and has LED status indicators for ease in working in low-light conditions, with convenient multimedia hotkeys, provides excellent feel, and includes our famous TrackPoint® pointing device. Configure your laptop with a 1920×1080 FHD anti-glare display with In-Plane Switching (IPS), and enjoy a premium visual experience. IPS technology allows for vivid colors and nearly 180-degree viewing angles.

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Equipped with an Intel® 6th Gen Core™ processor along with a number of memory and storage options, the X260 can be optimized to meet your needs. What’s more, Power Bridge Technology combines an internal battery with an external hot-swappable battery. This provides flexibility, allowing you to swap batteries without powering down, maximizing time between charges. Optional Intel vPro technology lets you manage, protect, repair, or locate your deployed laptops from anywhere in the world.

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Military-specification testing validates the ruggedness, durability, and quality of this laptop by testing against 11 grueling parameters: high pressure, humidity, vibration, high temperature, temperature shock, low pressure (15,000 ft), low temperature, solar radiation, fungus, salt fog, and dust.

The ThinkPad X260 has a typical ThinkPad aesthetic, with a raven-black chassis that’s accented only by the red TrackPoint nub on the keyboard and status lights on the lid and deck. Made of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic, the X260 can take a bit of a beating. Lenovo says that the laptop passed MIL-SPEC 810G durability tests for extreme temperatures, shocks and vibrations.

The screen registered just 184 nits, a measure of brightness, on our light meter, which is just a bit more than half of the category average (307) and at least 30 percent dimmer than its nearest competitor, the Portege A30t. However, the matte panel seemed more than luminous enough while I was using it, and it provided wide viewing angles, with colors fading only slightly at 90 degrees to the left and right.

The ThinkPad X260’s bottom-facing speakers provide audio output that’s mostly accurate, if not overly rich. When I played Deep Purple’s guitar-heavy “Smoke on the Water” and Chic’s bass-centric “Dance, Dance, Dance,” the percussion was a little tinny but vocals and other instruments were clear, though a little flat. At maximum volume, sound was loud enough to fill a medium-size living room, but putting the system on my lap muffled the audio a bit.

Overall, the laptop technically falls into the ultra-portable class and has a tough exterior that confirms to military standards. This means that it is small enough to carry around easily and performs well  under pressure. But the display is a little bit of a let-down and the version we got has a HDD and not an SSD. That took away a lot of performance and the constant whirring was a major distraction. At a price of Rs 60,000/- it is good but then it could have definitely been better. We have seen better work from Lenovo

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

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