The Best of CES: Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga

This Best of CES award goes to Lenovo for taking an old idea and delivering a great product.

We love it when an old tech idea finally comes to fruition—even if it takes 10 years. We remember Microsoft talking about convertible tablets nearly a decade ago, and Tablet PCs with interchangeable designs often made it to market but fizzled on impact. We think the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga (formerly known as IdeaCentre A720) is the first real, well-designed, sensible Tablet PC. We’re surprised that we needed to wait until the age of Windows 8 and the Ultrabook to see it.

At only .67-inches thick and 3.1 pounds, the Yoga has slimmed down the convertible form factor enough to make arm fatigue a non-issue. And with the ability to contain 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD storage, there’s no chance that this product will be confused with a mere tablet. Lenovo didn’t skimp on the design, either: there’s lots of leather trim, and the two-point hinge for the lid doesn’t make us nervous about its ruggedness.

Tom's Guide at CES 2012: Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga Ultrabook

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jacobdrj , January 12, 2012 4:06 AM

Excellent! However, for this to be a true WIN, they have to keep this affordable... No 2500 dollar quazi-tablet... This needs to be in th 1k territory...
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stm1185 , January 12, 2012 4:19 AM

jacobdrjExcellent! However, for this to be a true WIN, they have to keep this affordable... No 2500 dollar quazi-tablet... This needs to be in th 1k territory...

Yeah but It shouldn't have to be. If they just used the standard ultrabook setup and added an extra $100 for the hinged case, they could get them out for $1100.
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classzero , January 12, 2012 4:41 AM

jacobdrjExcellent! However, for this to be a true WIN, they have to keep this affordable... No 2500 dollar quazi-tablet... This needs to be in th 1k territory...

Exactly, the super high price point of previous PC tablets is one of the biggest reasons they didn't take off in the first place.
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BWMerlin , January 12, 2012 5:50 AM

Would love to know what specifications they expect to have it on launch date. I really hope it has a nice high resolution screen 1xxx x 1200 at least and that you can get a full days work use out of it, if that is the case then this will be a very competitive device compared to tablets.
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winterblade , January 12, 2012 5:59 AM

Sounds good, BUT 3 pounds is not even close to be "arm-fatigue-free", 1 pound is, seriously, even a 1.6lbs Xoom can cause arm fatigue, and this thing is double that weight so, we're going in the right direction definitely, but we're not there just yet.
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JohnnyLucky , January 12, 2012 6:25 AM

I just can't picture myself holding it for long periods of time while using it.
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Pyree , January 12, 2012 7:11 AM

winterbladeSounds good, BUT 3 pounds is not even close to be "arm-fatigue-free", 1 pound is, seriously, even a 1.6lbs Xoom can cause arm fatigue, and this thing is double that weight so, we're going in the right direction definitely, but we're not there just yet.

It's a Lenovo and their construction is sturdy. I am not surprised that their metal yoga hinge can hold it in place.
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southernshark , January 12, 2012 7:45 AM

Well it does more than a tablet, but it is also bigger (total mass) and weighs more. So for sure you don't to walk around with it all day. At the same time, it is convenient in that it can be used tablet style for when you want to do that sort of thing. Its cool and I like it. I would buy it over an otherwise similar ultra pc since I see more use from it.

So it is a good thing.
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southernshark , January 12, 2012 7:46 AM

I can certainly see myself at the coffee shop with this in its folded/ tablet formation, with me sipping coffee and using this to brows the internet. So in that sense it is all win.
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msgun98 , January 12, 2012 9:07 AM

No Wacom digitizer it seems. That is really a tragedy because this could be the greatest little content creation device for a creative. Oh well, guess I'll have to wait at least another year before companies realize that pen input should not be taboo, contrary to Apple's position.
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anonymous@guest , January 12, 2012 12:46 PM

lol dont moan and bitch at the price, lenovo never overchargees unlike a certain company we all know. and that technology is quite compact and well designed, i dont expect it to cost the same as a tablet.

infact i expect it to be 2-3 times more expensive.
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kikireeki , January 12, 2012 1:04 PM

In love already!
And hopefully it is going to be tough enough to sustain drops and misuse.
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BruceOTB , January 12, 2012 4:29 PM

This is nice. I hope they price it accordingly. I'm just a little concerned about the touch pad and keyboard getting damaged when you smack them against uneven surfaces(there are a lot of uneven table surfaces around) also that "leathery" material supporting the notebook when upside down? I think they're gonna have durability issues.
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freggo , January 13, 2012 2:23 AM

Hope to see a THG review soon. This looks like a quite interesting product.

The Best of CES: Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga

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