Lenovo bends over backwards to get your attention at IFA – launches new YOGA machines

The introduction of Windows 8 had brought a plethora of devices that flip, detach, and swivel. Lenovo feels they have captured the ultimate form factor with their patented 360 degree flip hinge and YOGA line of machines, and have this year introduced a collection of new devices at IFA 2013.

One of our previously favorite notebooks, the IdeaPad YOGA 13, will be grabbing an impressive update here at the conference. The unit will be updated with the new Intel Haswell line of Core processors and can house up to an i7 CPU. The YOGA 13 has also received a much requested feature, a backlit keyboard.

The new iteration of the YOGA 13 will be known as the YOGA 2 Pro and lands at a price point of $1,099. If that price point sounds good, we haven’t even got to the most exciting part – the updated screen resolution. The previous unit housed a 1600 x 900 screen, but this time, Lenovo has been listening to its customers and has installed a 3200 x 1800 pixel display.

If you are a fan of the ThinkPad line of laptops and have been waiting for a "ThinkPad YOGA" then you are in luck (and also a lucky guesser at naming schemes), as Lenovo has announced the brand new ThinkPad YOGA machine.

The ThinkPad YOGA is not as thin as the YOGA 2 Pro, but will come in at a lower price point of $949. The 1080p screen also isn’t as spectacular as the consumer YOGA, but on a 12.5 inch screen – it will still pack a mighty punch.

Aimed at business end users, the ThinkPad YOGA will feature Intel’s latest generation Core i7 processors, 1 TB of HDD storage, and all of the Think Vantage security features that ThinkPad fans have come to learn and love (let’s not forget about that little red TrackPoint).

One of the most amazing aspects of the new ThinkPad YOGA is it’s "Lift n’ Lock" keyboard system when the device is folded into tablet mode. Simply push the hinge back 360 degrees into a flat tablet and the unit’s keyboard becomes level with the rest of the machine. For those who have picked up the previous generation YOGA machines and have felt the awkward keyboard in tablet mode – this won’t be an issue on the ThinkPad YOGA.

Not everyone wants to shell out over a thousand dollars for a laptop though, and Lenovo understands. The company has introduced their new "Flex" machines with a new hinge that rotates 300 degrees; this means no tablet mode, but the user can put machine into “stand” mode for movie viewing and easy access to the touchscreen.

The Flex will come in both 14 inch and 15 inch variations with support for Intel Core i7 processors. The screens have a default of 1366 x 768, but can be upgraded to 1080p. Price points for the 14 inch and 15 inch models start at $629 and $829 respectively.

Source: The Verge

Michael Archambault