What is it?
A versatile laptop/tablet hybrid.
How will it change my life? It is a topic which has divided opinion for weeks now. Sitting opposite two men on the train in recent days it was clear from their increasingly heated discussion they were in opposing camps. I'm talking about the merit of the latest raft of Apple products, in case you hadn't twigged.
I took it upon myself to rescue the wider technological world and handed the gentlemen an article I was reading on quantum computing. This seemed to fan the flames of the argument, with Apple fan boy describing the research as "pointless and with no real-world applications". "Even if it did," he averred, "it would not be in the hands of consumers for decades."
Swallowing my disbelief, I noticed he had a laptop bag by his side and was resting his palms on a tablet. Aha! Would he not prefer a hybrid to lugging both around, I asked. His look of salivating, eager curiosity assured me I'd piqued his interest.
The truth is, while other companies are busy marketing and stirring up a fanfare for yet another launch, Lenovo has been experimenting and perfecting techniques that will undoubtedly be copied by others. The Yoga 2 is a prime example of incorporating two complex devices and making it work seamlessly.
Good points? The design and build quality make you feel like you've stolen something from the future. The screen is super-sharp, while the counter-sunk keyboard keeps the keys from touching the surface underneath and is a marvel of engineering. The way it knows to instantly lock the keyboard when flipping to tent mode for viewing movies gives genuine confidence that the rest of the hardware is also top notch.
The Intel i5 64bit processor seems made for the Yoga 2, giving it more number-crunching bite than the Count on Sesame Street. Lenovo has also kept up the fight on bloatware, which is good to see. The number of devices I find pre-loaded with pointless applications is becoming tiresome.
Bad points? The price is probably beyond the budgets of the students for whom it would be perfect. And Windows 8 can still be frustrating, though that is perhaps a fight for another time with a different foe.
Best for … Those who depend on the ability to type with proper keys while having the option to tabletise without detaching pieces. Students with generous parents should start grovelling now.
Avoid if … Your budget won't stretch that far or the combined bulk of your laptops and tablets is useful for weight training.
Score: 10/10.
l Lenovo Yoga 2, £749.99 (lenovo.com)
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article