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The Lenovo ThinkPad X250 is unsurprisingly the successor to the ThinkPad X240. This is a business Ultrabook with a 12.5" display and it runs on Intel Broadwell 5th generation ULV CPUs with Intel HD 5500 integrated graphics. Unlike many consumer Ultrabooks, it's built to handle the bumps of travel and it is relatively serviceable and upgradeable.
The ThinkPad X line has always been the ultraportable among Lenovo laptops, but the boundary has blurred thanks to the also compact and slim Lenovo T series "s" models like the ThinkPad T450s we recently reviewed, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (the ultra-slim 14" Lenovo ThinkPad) and even the Lenovo Yoga series, both consumer and ThinkPad families. Though the X250 may share nearly its entire DNA with the T450s, it remains the one of the smallest footprint ThinkPads you can buy (an honor it shares with the ThinkPad Yoga 12.5").
The machine is sturdy, built to withstand MIL-SPEC tests for moisture, vibration and dust and it has an easy to clean matte black carbon fiber casing with a metal roll cage. Yes, it has Lenovo's signature ThinkPad look: it's an understated black rectangle that's kinda cool in its no-nonsense minimalism. At 0.80" thick, it's not terribly skinny, but it's not chunky either. That thickness allows for a deeper keyboard with more travel--a more than welcome tradeoff for those who write often and at length. In fact, the X250 is up there with the best keyboards available on a ThinkPad, and that puts it in good company since ThinkPad deeper travel keyboards are the best. That lack of extreme thinness also allows room for more ports, and that's what sets the ThinkPad X250 apart from most Ultrabooks- it has a wide selection of ports including the rare RJ45 gigabit Ethernet port. It has a traditional ThinkPad docking station connector on the bottom, and businesses that have a collection of ThinkPad docking stations will appreciate the cost savings.
Standard features include a backlit keyboard, fingerprint scanner, dual band Intel 7265 WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. A 4G LTE module (it fits in the available M.2 slot) with SIM card slot is available for $149.
Performance
Since this is an Ultrabook with ULV 15 watt Intel Broadwell 5th generation CPUs and the usual Intel HD 5500 integrated graphics, it generally is quiet and doesn't get hot. Once again that thickness helps since the CPU and hotter components need not be right against the casing. Carbon fiber doesn't conduct heat as uncomfortably as chic aluminum either. The X250 is an all-rounder in terms of market; you can get the base model for $800 with a Core i3, 4 gigs of RAM and a 500 gig HDD. Or you can go for a higher end model like ours with a Core i5, 8 gigs of RAM and a 180 gig Intel SSD plus the top 1080p with touch display for $1500. An Intel Core i7 is also available, as are higher capacity SSDs.
Performance is typical of Intel Haswell and Broadwell ULV Ultrabooks in terms of benchmarks and experiential performance (Haswell and Broadwell perform similarly, Broadwell improves battery life and slightly speeds up integrated graphics). This is a good all purpose laptop that has enough power to be a main machine, and it can tackle software development, productivity, photo editing and moderate video editing.
If you remove the Phillips head screws that affix the bottom cover, you gain access to the internal battery, single RAM slot, SATA SSD/HDD bay (it has a 2.5" slim drive), the WiFi/Bluetooth card and open M.2 slot that Lenovo intends for the optional Sierra Wireless LTE module. Since RAM modules generally max out at 8 gigs, that's the max the laptop can hold. Intelligent Memory does make 16 gig modules, but so far they're the only company doing so. Given the CPU and integrated GPU, 8 gigs is a fairly good match for the capabilities of this laptop. If you're running multiple VMs, editing long 1080p videos professionally or doing advanced CAD and 3D rendering work, you'd be better served with a 15" quad core laptop designed for heavy lifting.
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