Lenovo has announced a new (and previously leaked) touchscreen version of its ThinkPad X1 Carbon ultrabook. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch is much the same as its predecessor, but comes with Windows 8 pre-loaded along with a touchscreen to navigate Microsoft's new finger-friendly OS. Both seem like natural additions to the laptop — in our review of the previous ThinkPad X1 Carbon, we noted the unusual touch-optimized software that Lenovo had pre-installed. It also launched at a time when many will have been holding off on new hardware purchases until Microsoft launched Windows 8.
You will, however, have to deal with a nearly 3mm thickness increase to 20.8mm on the new model, and a bump in weight from 3 to 3.4 pounds. That's still pretty light by laptop standards, especially if Lenovo's claim of 8 hours battery life holds true, but there's one more catch — it'll sell for around $1,399, representing a $150 increase over the prior model. If none of these sound like deal-breakers, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch is available from today.
Update: While a Lenovo press release now says that the ThinkPad X1 Carbon starts at $1,499, the company has confirmed to us that the ultrabook will be priced from $1,399 through partners.
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