That X1 touch strip sucked enough that they took it out of the very next model I was holding off buying my X1 until I confirmed it didn't have that strip. Not being able to tell where the keys are without looking is bad for professional users - it splits your attention from the screen where your work is, and the tool you use to do your work.

Function-key shennanigans reminds me of an apple laptop from years and years ago, well before the unibodies came out, where the function keys were hard up against the screen - hit a function key, and you bang your fingers against the screen (well, most of the time).