Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga, New Tablets, CES 2012

In addition to a number of new laptops, smartphones, and a TV, Lenovo announced the IdeaPad Yoga Ultrabook today. This new multi-mode notebook meets the specifications for an ultrabook and also has a 360-degree flip-and-fold design. As you can see from this demo video below, this ultrabook also meets the 10-finger touch requirement.

What’s really cool about this ultrabook is the number of positions it supports thanks to its dual-hinge flip design. Not only can you use the IdeaPad Yoga in traditional notebook form, but you can also open the display to full tablet mode or use the IdeaPad Yoga in stand or tent mode.

Yoga measures 0.67inches thick and weighs approximately 3.1 pounds. Yoga will run on Windows 8 and offer up to eight hours of battery life. Other key specs include a 13.1-inch HD+ (1600 x 900) display, up to 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. A full copy of the press release can be found below.

Check out the Yoga in action here, before the break...

Lenovo Stretches Innovation with New IdeaPad Yoga Flip and Fold Device
IdeaPad YOGA: Fusing the Ultrabook and Tablet for Four-in-One Personal Computing

CES 2012, Las Vegas – January 9, 2012: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced IdeaPad YOGA, the industry's first multi-mode notebook with a 360 degree flip-and-fold design. Combining the tablet's ease-of-use with the ultrabook's functionality, IdeaPad YOGA gives consumers four-in-one personal computing, with four separate usage modes in one PC. Lenovo also announced today its new IdeaCentre A720, the slimmest 27-inch all-in-one (AIO) PC in the industry.

IdeaPad YOGA is the union of a stylish, powerful ultrabook and a portable 13.3" multi-touch tablet. YOGA's patented dual-hinge design is engineered to enable content consumption and creation spanning four intuitive usage positions -- notebook, tablet, stand, and tent -- in one computer, while offering higher durability1 and stability than conventional convertible form factors.

Not to be outdone, the IdeaCentre A720 all-in-one features a pioneering 27-inch screen that allows a more widely adjustable angle from -- -5o to 90o. An innovative screen hinge allows for a more comfortable use in any position and combines with a frameless display that supports 10-point multi-touch capabilities for a greatly enhanced multi-user experience.

"It is clear to us that consumers want their four screens: mobile devices, tablets, notebooks and smart TVs and they want them to work together seamlessly, anytime, anywhere. Whether a notebook that bends and folds, or an all-in-one that puts the 'wide' into wide-angle, today's announcements reflect our focus on delivering the inspirational innovations that consumers are looking for," said Yang Yuanqing, Chairman and CEO, Lenovo. "The IdeaPad YOGA multi-mode notebook redefines the convergence and convertible user experience by bringing together the best of traditional PCs, with the best of tablets and more."

IdeaPad YOGA Notebook: Four Experience Modes to Create and Consume

Created for the convergence of professional and personal lifestyles, the IdeaPad YOGA multi-mode notebook introduces an intuitive design that optimizes the user experience of both an ultrabook and tablet across four different usage modes – notebook, tablet, stand and tent. Compared with conventional convertible form factors, YOGA's patented 360 degree dual- hinge flip design is more stable and durable,1 and enables an overall thinner and lighter hardware design. YOGA is the industry's thinnest convertible ultrabook measuring 0.67" (16.9mm) thin at 3.1 lbs (1.47kg). Powered by the Intel Core Processor family with a Windows 8 operating system, YOGA supports eight hours of battery life with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. As a full-size notebook, YOGA's svelte design includes small but meaningful details such as soft touch rubber paint on the exterior for strong grip, a leather cover on the palm rest, and side buttons designed for easier access for all usage modes.

As a multi-mode notebook, IdeaPad YOGA delivers a comfortable and natural user interaction when using it in any position. To enjoy multi-player touch-based gaming and social media on-the-go, the user simply folds back YOGA's screen for a portable 13.1" HD+ (1600 x 900) tablet with 10-point capacitive touch. For entertainment, reading, and web browsing, users can flip the YOGA's screen panel into a convenient stand or tent mode that saves space and brings the screen closer to the user. YOGA's versatile multi-mode form factor strikes an ideal balance between creating and consuming content, while at the same time, offering consumers an optimal experience of a notebook and tablet in a single device.

IdeaCentre A720 All-in-One: Taking Touch Experience in the Home to the Next Level

As the industry's slimmest 27" all-in-one and sporting a sleek metal exterior, the IdeaCentre A720 measures less than an inch (24.5mm)2 and combines a frameless display supporting 10-point multi-touch. The A720 continues Lenovo's heritage of svelte designs for the AIO by smartly positioning the PC at the base on the unit. Improving AIO design even further, the A720 is engineered to optimize the touch experience in the 'digital' home. The A720's widely adjustable hinge allows the screen to be pulled towards the user at an angle of -5o and folded back to an angle of up to 90o, making touch applications more comfortable over longer periods in any position.

To optimize the touch experience on the AIO, the A720's 10-point multi-touch display supports multi-user scenarios with greater accuracy. Powered by the Intel Core Processor family and NVIDIA® GeForce® graphics with up to 1TB HDD and 64 GB SSD storage, the A720 delivers an impressive home multimedia experience on a frameless high definition 16:9 wide-screen. With integrated entertainment features, such as room-shaking Dolby Home Theatre V4 audio, Lenovo High-Sense (720p HD) Webcam, and Lenovo IdeaTouch (a suite of touch-optimized applications and games), the A720 is an ultra stylish and fun addition for the modern home entertainment center.

Pricing and Availability

The IdeaPad YOGA multimode notebook will be available in the second half of 2012 with an estimated starting retail price of $1,199. The IdeaCentre A720 all-in-one will be available in the first half of 2012 with an estimated starting retail price of $1,299.

While at the Lenovo trailer today, we also took a look at the new ThinkPad T430u. This is the first 14-inch ultrabook in the line. As you can see from the video below, the ThinkPad T430u is quite thin, measuring less than 22mm thick. It also weighs less than four pounds. Some of the options for this ultrabook include up to 1TB of storage as well as NVIDIA’s next-generation graphics processor. This ultrabook is scheduled to be available in the second half of this year. It will start at $849.

In the latter half of the video, you’ll see the X1 Hybrid which is coming in the early part of the second quarter with a starting price of $1,599. What sets the X1 Hybrid apart from the original X1 is the second system that runs a low-power media mode. It’s a system on a miniPCIe card and we see no reason that Lenovo couldn't use it in other notebooks as well. When you’re in this media mode, you’ll be able watch videos, look at pictures, listen to music, check your email, and browse the web while also doubling your battery life. When you’re in instant media mode, you’ll also get an additional 16GB of flash storage. The X1 Hybrid’s media mode runs on a separate Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz processor.

Lenovo also showed us the SmartTV K91 connected TV. This is a 55-inch LED TV with an IPS display. It features a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm SoC with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and a built-in 5MP camera on the front. You’ll find 100 apps preloaded on this TV.

  
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Last, but certainly not least, we have a hands-on look at Lenovo’s new IdeaTab S2110 which features a 1.5Ghz dual core Krait processor from Qualcomm. It runs Android 4.0 and features built-in wireless, GPS, and a multi-touch display. As you can see from the video, it can be docked with a keyboard. Although this tablet is available in China now, it will be coming to the U.S.

You’ll also see 7-inch and 5-inch tablets from Lenovo that are also available in china. There’s no word if these other tablets or the additional smartphones in the video are coming to the U.S. anytime soon. As you can see, Lenovo offers a few smartphone models that offer screen sizes that range from 3.7-inches with the S760 all the way up to a 4.3-inch screen in the K2.

  
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