Lenovo’s New Windows 8 Devices!
Oct 11, 2012 tech
The other night I went to an event put on by Lenovo, highlighting their new Windows 8 devices. I checked out 3 rather unique PCs and two tablets. (I have no idea in the pictures below of the Yoga computers which is the 11 and which is the 13 – without comparing them to each other I can’t tell. Sorry!)
My absolute favorite was the Yoga 11. This PC has a 360-degree hinge that allows you to use it like a regular laptop, or one of three screen-only modes: stand, tent, and tablet. Plus, thirteen hours of battery life!
It’s light (under 3lbs), thin (under 2/3 of an inch), and the touchscreen is very responsive (five-point multi touch, meaning if you drag four fingers and a thumb on the screen, they’ll all register).
My next favorite was the Yoga 11’s big sister, the Yoga 13. But the 13 isn’t just bigger: it’s in a completely different power category – more of an Ultrabook than a pc. It runs on an i5 or i7 Intel processor, has up to 8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of SSD storage. It also can be used in the same four positions as the Yoga 11, and has ten-point multi touch. The only reason this one isn’t the one I’m drooling over is that I’m typing this post on my almost-new Sony Vaio Z, an Ultrabook in the same category as the Yoga 13 – I wouldn’t need another. If I were looking for a new Ultrabook, this would be at or near the top of my list.
The Twist seems like a good machine, and is just a tiny bit thicker and heavier than the Yoga 13. But it’s nowhere near as sleek as the Yogas, and the twisting motion that can convert it from a laptop to a tablet just doesn’t appeal to me as much as the Yoga hinge. But if you’re looking for a laptop that’s geared towards business, and you need a PC that has disc drives, you should give the Twist a look.
The Lynx is an interesting machine. It’s a tablet with a dual-core Atom processor, and it’s very light and thin: .37 inches, and less than a pound and a half. But you can also buy a keyboard dock for it. This isn’t some kind of flimsy afterthought of a keyboard, either: once you snap the tablet into the dock, it feels like a solid laptop – you get the best of both worlds. Plus, with the dock you double the battery life from 8 hours to 16. And it can run up to Windows 8 Pro.
Last I checked out the Thinkpad Tablet 2. At 1/3 of an inch and 1.3 pounds, it felt great in my hands. It has everything you’d expect from a good tablet: dual cameras, stereo speakers, and Gorilla Glass. As the only stand-alone tablet I checked out last night, I felt like it was missing something – a dock, a weird hinge hiding a keyboard, something – but it’s just a tablet, which many people seem to like. I think I just do too much typing to ever buy something without any kind of physical keyboard. But if you’re looking for a Windows 8 tablet, this was fast and responsive, and the Windows 8 tiles looked gorgeous on it.
I was very impressed with the selection – there seems to be something for everyone. I especially can’t wait to see how they hold up against the Windows Surface tablets. These products are all coming soon, with the release of Windows 8.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Win a Lenovo U300s, just in time for Christmas!
Dec 13, 2011 Contest/Giveaway
UPDATE: I’d like to congratulate the winner, kim/reluctant renovator, comment #16! Thanks to all who entered.
*****
I’m going to be making one of my readers very happy next week. Microsoft Windows and Lenovo are giving away the brand-new, just available today IdeaPad U300s, in a strikingly gorgeous tangerine color.
This is the computer that can boot up in as little as 10.5 seconds, and they proved it by dropping it from an airplane attached to a parachute that would only deploy once the computer successfully booted:
And if you’re tempted to call shenanigans or assume that they used some kind of digital trickery to simply make it look like they dropped it out of a plane:
Pretty cool, huh?
From the Lenovo website’s description of the U300s:
- Slim, Ultrabook™ design for easy mobility, from just 0.6” thin
- Minimalist, one-piece aluminum shell, available in Graphite Gray or Clementine Orange (coming soon)
- Long battery life* with up to 30 days standby time
- Lenovo RapidCharge brings battery charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes
- Boot in as little as 10.5 seconds with RapidDrive SSD technology**
- Breathable keyboard uses Intel® Advanced Cooling Technology to improve airflow so PC can run cooler on your lap
- Cool-touch palmrest and intelligent glass touchpad with easy scroll, zoom and rotate functions
- HD graphics and stereo speakers with SRS® Premium Surround Sound™
- USB 3.0 port, HDMI output and 1.3M (720p HD) webcam
- Intel® Wireless Display (WiDi): wirelessly stream content from your laptop onto a big screen (requires TV adapter)
- BIOS-embedded anti-theft protection
This computer is light, super-thin, gorgeous, fast, and packed with features. I had the opportunity to keep it for myself and review it, or give it away, and the Christmas spirit smacked the sense right out of me.
So enter to win by leaving a comment on this post telling me what you would do with this computer if you won. Would you keep it? Would you give it away? Don’t worry – I’m not judging the entries. The winner will be chosen by random.org. So go ahead and be selfish if you want. :-)
For a second entry, you may tweet about this contest with a link back to this page. Or, you can copy and tweet the following:
Want 2 win a super thin, light, fast, & gorgeous #Lenovo IdeaPad U300s laptop? Head over to @SelfishMom’s site & enter: http://slf.sh/sSEIT2
Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count (instructions on how to find and post the url of your tweet can be found here).
So, that’s a maximum of two entries per household please! This contest will close at noon-ish on Tuesday, December 20th. The winner will be chosen by random.org. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Prize may be shipped within the continental United States only. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 9. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Tags: Lenovo, Microsoft Windows, tech
