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Lenovo: News & Discussion

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Old 02-12-2013, 07:17 AM
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Lightbulb Lenovo: News & Discussion

I just got a new Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 from work. Still setting it up so not much to say yet but I am very impressed that it has that new car smell.




The good: The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 looks as good as any 13-inch ultrabook, with the added attraction of a 360-degree screen and a laptop body that can fold into a tent, stand, or slate.

The bad: Tablet mode leaves the keyboard exposed, and the Yoga 13 costs more than standard ultrabooks with similar components.

The bottom line: The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a convertible touch-screen laptop/tablet that most importantly doesn't compromise the traditional laptop experience.

MSRP: $1,099.00 Low Price: $1,149.00
The biggest hardware trend marking the launch of Windows 8 is the proliferation of touch-screen laptop/tablet hybrids. Some have screens that pull apart to become separate tablets, while others have screens that flip, twist, or rotate to give you a tabletlike shape to hold. We call those latter models convertible laptops, and 1 of the best examples to date is the new Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13.

The name Yoga is suggestive of the system's big selling point, that the display flips fully over to become a tablet. In fact, it has 4 basic usable positions -- clamshell laptop, tablet, stand, and tent.

The reason the Yoga stands out from the suddenly crowded touch-screen laptop scene is that it does something other convertible or hybrid laptops do not. When set up as a traditional laptop, the 13.3-inch Yoga doesn't compromise the all-important clamshell experience. The excellent double-hinge design means that it looks and works the same as any other ultrabook laptop, unlike the complex and often clunky mechanisms in systems such as the HP Envy x2, Sony Vaio Duo 11, or Dell XPS 12.


The Yoga works best as a full-time laptop and part-time tablet, because when it's folded back into a slate, you still have the keyboard pointing out from the back of the system. Although the keyboard and touch pad are deactivated in this mode, it's still not ideal. Plus, despite the hype, Windows 8 is still not a 100-percent tablet-friendly OS, and there are some frustrations that span all the Windows 8 tablet-style devices we've tested.

The Yoga certainly seems to be everyone's choice for a great Windows 8 ambassador -- both Microsoft and Intel have touted it as a best-in-class example, and Best Buy is currently featuring it in a television ad. At $1,099, you're paying a bit of a premium, but not outrageously so, for an Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/128GB solid-state drive (SSD) configuration (note that our early review unit had only 4GB of RAM installed), but a less expensive Core i3 version starts at $999. If I had to pick a single 1st-wave Windows 8 convertible touch-screen laptop, the Yoga would be at the top of my list.

PHP Code:
Price as reviewed starting price     $1,099 / $999
Processor     1.7GHz Intel Core i5
-3317U
Memory     4GB
1,600MHz DDR3
Hard drive     500GB 5
,400rpm
Chipset     Intel HM77
Graphics     Intel HD 4000
Operating system     Windows 8
Dimensions 
(WD)     13.1x8.9 inches
Height     0.67 inch
Screen size 
(diagonal)     13.3 inches
Category     13
-inch 
Design, features, and display
Despite its reputation as a maker of buttoned-down business laptops, Lenovo can always be counted on to produce intriguing designs. Most of those end up, like the Yoga, as part of the company's consumer-targeted IdeaPad line of products.

We've seen similar attempts at laptops that can double as tablets over the years, usually with a rotating center hinge that swivels around to let the device change forms (or more recently with a screen that slides down over the keyboard). Before Windows 8, most of these experiments weren't particularly successful, thanks to a combination of poor design, underpowered components, and an operating system that wasn't touch-friendly.

The other problem with those traditional convertibles has been that the single rotating center hinge was a potential weak point in the design. Lenovo says the Yoga's full-length hinge has been rigorously tested and is stronger than the older rotating convertible design, and in practice that definitely seems to be the case.

When opened into its clamshell position, the Yoga would be tough to pick out of a lineup of recent ultrabooks. The minimalist interior is dominated by a large buttonless clickpad, along with a island-style Lenovo keyboard, which means the flat-topped keys have a small curve along their bottom edges for easier typing.

As good as Lenovo's reputation is for excellent keyboards, I had a surprising amount of trouble with the Yoga's keyboard. I narrowed most of my issues down to the half-size right Shift key, which meant I often hit the up arrow when aiming for Shift. The end result was a lot of frustration and retyping, but after a few days 1 would naturally adjust to this specific layout. The touch pad is the same as you'd find in other clickpad Lenovos, including the recent high-end X1 Carbon. It offers plenty of space for multifinger gestures, but isn't as effective for manipulating the touch-centric Windows 8 UI as a finger would be.

When you flip the Yoga's screen back, the physical keyboard doesn't disappear from view, as it does on most other convertible laptop/tablet combos, but it does get automatically disabled. A slightly raised layer of leather over the wrist rest and keyboard tray lets you rest the tablet on a table, keyboard-side down, without worrying too much about damaging the keys. Some buttons have been moved to the sides so they can be accessed no matter how the system is folded, and the outer shell has a soft-touch coating for easy gripping. While the Yoga isn't particularly comfortable to hold in tablet form, as your fingers are pressing up against the exposed keyboard and the touch pad, you do get easy access to a volume rocker along 1 edge and a rotation lock button along the other.

Beyond the slate mode, I especially liked the stand or sharing mode, where the screen is folded back 270 degrees or more, turning the system into something like a small touch-screen kiosk. It's great for sharing video or presentations in a group setting, or for just getting closer to the screen while keeping the keyboard out of the way.


Its 4th position is standing upright like a tent, but I can't think of too many reasons you'd want that.

In any of these positions, the Yoga is well-served by its 13.3-inch display, which has a native resolution of 1,600x900 pixels. That's arguably the perfect resolution for a 13-inch laptop, giving you plenty of screen real estate without making onscreen text appear too small, as can happen with 1,920x1,080-pixel resolutions on smaller systems. Off-axis viewing angles are great, and unlike with some Windows 8 convertibles stuck with 1,366x768-pixel screen resolutions, you don't feel like you're paying a premium price for a substandard feature.

PHP Code:
    Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13     Average for category [13-inch]
Video     HDMI     HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio     Stereo speakers
combo headphone/microphone jack     Stereo speakersheadphone/microphone jacks
Data     1 USB 3.0
1 USB 2.0SD card reader     2 USB 3.01 USB 2.0SD card reader
Networking     Ethernet
802.11n Wi-FiBluetooth     Ethernet802.11n Wi-FiBluetooth
Optical drive     None     DVD burner 
Connectivity, performance, and battery life
Even for an ultrabook, this is not among the most connected laptops you'll find. There's a pair of USB ports, 1 3.0, 1 2.0, and it has an HDMI port, a combo audio jack, and an SD card slot. The lack of built-in Ethernet is understandable, but this is the 1st laptop in a long while I've seen with only 1 USB 3.0 port.

There are 3 base configurations for the Yoga 13. For $999, you get an Intel Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Even with a folding touch screen, that seems pricey for a Core i3. But, for only $100 more, our review unit trades up to a Core i5 CPU and doubles the RAM. Finally, for $1,299, the CPU gets a bump to a Core i7 model. Of the 3, the middle-ground $1,099 version certainly seems to be the best bet.

The 1.7GHz Core i5-3317U we tested performed as expected in our CNET Labs benchmark tests. It matched up closely in most cases with other Windows 8 convertibles, many of which had exactly the same CPU. Another recent high-end 13-inch laptop, the much-more-expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, was markedly faster, but it also has a full-voltage Core i5 CPU, rather than the low-voltage models in our Windows 8 laptops.

In practical terms, all of these systems are more than powerful enough for everyday tasks, from Web surfing to HD video viewing to running Photoshop. 1 area in which the Yoga (and other ultrabooklike Windows 8 laptops) can't compete is gaming. With only Intel's built-in HD 4000 graphics, it can only run current games with the settings or resolution turned way down. In our Just Cause 2 test, at mid-to-high settings and 1,600x900-pixel resolution, the game ran at only 6.7 frames per second.


For any 13-inch laptop, battery life is key, and even more so for an ultrabook, which is specifically designed for use on the go. Add a tablet experience to that -- tablets being basically never used while connected to a power outlet -- and any Windows 8 hybrid or convertible needs to have excellent battery life to be taken seriously. Most of the current wave of Windows 8 systems we've seen have done a decent job on this front, despite powering touch screens and accelerometers.

The Yoga 13 ran for 5 hours and 30 minutes in our video playback battery drain test. That's an above-average time, and with some smart use of sleep mode when you're not actively using it, could stretch to last a full workday. At the same time, pure tablets, such as Apple's iPad or Microsoft's Surface RT, can run much longer, and full Windows systems are not quite in that ballpark yet, absent gigantic snap-on secondary batteries.

Lenovo includes a standard 1-year mail-in warranty with the Yoga, and several upgrades are available. As of this writing, extended warranty plans are being discounted, and you can add in-home service and accidental damage protection for your 1-year term for $51, or extend that higher level of coverage to 3 years for $148.

More importantly, Lenovo has excellent Web-based support features that are easy to find and navigate, and the system includes a Windows 8 support app from Lenovo that provides easy access to support tools and documentation.

Conclusion
There's a good reason companies such as Intel and Microsoft have used the Yoga 13 as a prime example of a Windows 8 laptop done right. The folding screen opens up many possibilities for sharing and display, and the tablet mode, while not perfect, isn't really any worse in practical terms than that of any other Windows 8 convertible. The Yoga 13 has a great, premium feel at a semipremium price, and most importantly, the folding hinge design doesn't compromise either aesthetics or mechanics when it's used in clamshell laptop mode.
Old 02-12-2013, 07:39 AM
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I am a big Lenovo fan primarily of the Thinkpads though as I had two from IBM before they sold off to Lenovo. The Ideapad built quality always seemed a little lacking compared to the Thinkpad in my opinion for a while.

I have played with the Yoga a bit at BestBuy and it isn't a bad device. Definitely a little heavy for being a full time tablet but isn't the point. I see if being a good device for someone that needs to meet with clients in a 1 on 1 setting to show them things and what not.

So far I am not a huge supported of Windows 8. I have really only used the interface on Server 2012 but I feel it should be left to the tablets. I much prefer Win7.

I will be interested to read your opinion after you have had some time to use it fully.
Old 02-12-2013, 08:28 AM
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Wow that looks sweet! My company unfortunately is migrating away from Lenovo and going to HP I've never had a problem with any of my IBM/Lenovo laptops, they can be a little slower at times, but their built solid.
Old 02-12-2013, 08:30 AM
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That sucks. There is a rumor we were going to do the same thing but got confirmation a little while ago that we will be staying the Lenovo course. I was relieved.
Old 02-14-2013, 12:19 PM
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Arrow Quick Thoughts

Originally Posted by CCColtsicehockey
I will be interested to read your opinion after you have had some time to use it fully.
I have to give feedback at work so here are my initial thoughts after a few days:
A little about me: I have worked in IT in the past & have mostly used Dell Latitude laptops; have also had a ThinkPad T420 & low-end Acer Aspire. Currently using a Dell XPS that is a few years old so I am new to a lot of the latest trends like island/chicklet keyboards. Power-shopper here: love to research & compare products, especially tech, before I buy. Mostly an internet user with occasional MS Office use, definitely not a gamer. I also have a LePan Android tablet.

Out of the box it is a very nice looking ultrabook w/ solid materials. Love the new car smell - intoxicating. I do, however, wish that it came in a different or more colors. Not sure what the obsession is with upper-end laptops having to be a solid silver/metallic lid. Heavier than it looks but not heavy in general.

Altho I liked how small/light the AC adapter was, it concerned me that it would be slow to charge. Fortunately, it seems to replenish the battery at an acceptable rate.

Opening the lid would be easier if there was bit more of "lip" or some little extended piece that other laptops have to grab onto.

Wish the keyboard was backlit (especially at this price point) but I like how springy the keys are. They are also very quiet, the Lenovo ThinkPad T420 had a very loud keyboard that was always clackity-clacking even when I tried to type softly.

I like the screen a lot. This is my 1st time using a screen that wasn't 1366x768 & the difference is evident.

Lenovo claims up to 8 hour battery life but from my use of just surfing the web at a rather dim setting, 5 hours seems more realistic. Will try to do a run-down test at some point.

I have mostly used this in laptop-mode. I have played with it in tablet-mode but really do not like how the keys are exposed on the back - much prefer Dell's way of flipping the screen around on the lid & then closing it back down. I do not see me ever using the stand-mode (seems like you would scratch the keys) or the tent-mode (again, you may scratch the edges), I could use it in laptop mode and get the screen more or less in the same position.

As noted by others, the hinges are rather flimsy. A touchscreen really should not wobble. My old Acer had ridiculously strong hinges that would require 2 hands to pull open & would slam shut like a mouse trap. Something like that may be more appropriate here. This may be a place where tent-mode may come in handy as it may not move as much.

My biggest complaint: the fan activates immediately after turning it on. Altho it is not obnoxiously loud, it is audible especially if somewhere quiet like the library. Not sure if this a characteristic of ultrabooks but other laptops I have used usually go a good while before the fan kicks in. I fear how loud this thing will get after long or strenuous use (so far I have only had light period uses). Also, the vents are on the back edge & I suspect that it could make holding it in tablet mode uncomfortable (having hot air blow directly on your hands).

Those are my random initial thoughts - so far I like the Yoga 13. I am finally 1 of those cool kids on campus w/ a thin laptop!

Thanks!
Old 02-16-2018, 09:54 PM
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Recently purchased a new Lenovo X1 Yoga for work. Upgraded to basically max out the specs. Was initially considering the X1 Carbon, but the lack of a touch screen on the Carbon was a deal breaker for me.

I've used the laptop for a few weeks now, including a cross country business trip. Nothing but high marks for this machine. Incredible build quality and performance so far.

Only weird thing is that my Lenovo bluetooth mouse sometimes lose connection to the laptop. Not sure if it's because of the mouse or the laptop.
Old 02-21-2018, 09:38 AM
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How often do you use the touchscreen?
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