It may come as no surprise that I have been in the market for a new laptop for some time, especially because I mention my antiquated Dell Vostro any chance I get. Anyone who has to wait seven minutes for their computer to start up can empathize. The thing is, every time I start looking at options, I’m just amazed at the kind of innovation I’m seeing, including the new increasingly viable tablet-laptop hybrids. (Which is even more reminder of how old my sputtering machine is).
Now? I really want it.
Dubbed as an Ultrabook and tablet combo that weighs just over 3
pounds, the Yoga takes you from full-on working-at-the-desk mode to
walking-around-with-a-tablet mode with one easy turn of the screen–in
fact the screen actually rotates a full 360 degrees and offers four
different modes of usage. Kind of took me a second to grasp how cool the
completely rotational screen is.
platform which gives it an even more futuristic feel. And start-up
doesn’t take seven minutes. (Ha.) The constantly updating live tiles of
Microsoft’s new operating system make the desktop seem fluid and modern.
And it comes with everything you’d expect a laptop to have, like maps,
mail, messaging, photo/video/music player, webcam, USB ports, even
popular Windows 8 apps like Evernote and Skype. And of course, you can download more at the Windows App Store.
To
navigate the screen, you can either use the traditional trackpad on the
bottom of the keyboard (which is a little temperamental, I must say),
or simply take advantage of the touchscreen when you’re working in
traditional laptop mode.
multimedia on the Yoga is fun, because you can prop up the screen in so
many ways. But here’s where the “convertible” tablet/PC novelty gets a
little iffy–in tablet mode, it feels weird for the backside of the
“tablet” to be a keyboard with buttons that you’re constantly pressing
against (even though they’re disabled). And when the unit is in stand
mode and the keyboard is face down on the desk, same thing. You just
feel like you’re squishing the keys.
the Yoga 13 as a tablet will feel a bit big and heavy in comparison,
especially if you want to hold it with one hand or use it as an
e-reader. But even with these limitations, the fact that you can have an
instant
tablet from your PC is pretty neat.
While I’d probably still
stick with
my smaller tablets for things like browsing and reading on the go,
having a bigger tablet with a screen this large could come in really
handy for when the kids want to watch a movie or play a game, making it a
nice option if what you really want is something you can travel with
that’s more than a regular tablet. With all the tablets out there that
are trying to take
the place of PCs, it’s nice to see a unit that does it the other way
around. -Jeana
