LENOVO IDEAPAD YOGA 13 Tablet/Laptop Review

LENOVO GOT A HEAD start generating interest in the IdeaPad Yoga 13 when it demo’d the device at last year’s CES. At that time, its unique ability to be both an Ultrabook and a tablet seemed like a far-out concept, today its “convertible” design is the perfect justification for Windows 8 - and just one example of a whole new category of portable devices. As the name implies, the Yoga 13 is unusually flexible, able to assume four different positions of functionality, thanks to its special patented double-hinge. In notebook mode it’s your standard clamshell; in stand mode the keyboard is rotated back and out of the way, forming a base for the screen; in tent mode the hinge is at the apex, with the screen in front and the keyboard serving as a kickstand; and in tablet mode the screen is flattened against the back of the keyboard. In all instances where the physical keyboard isn’t intended for use, it’s automatically disabled, with an onscreen keyboard taking its place.

The Yoga’s screen is a 13.3-inch 10-point multitouch panel with 1600x900 resolution and the slimmest of bezels, so there’s nothing getting in the way of your “swiping” in from the edges in Windows 8 fashion. Regardless of your opinion on touchscreens, you gotta love the fact that IPS panels seem to be the norm here, as opposed to the inferior TN panels that have been typical of standard, non-touch Ultrabooks. It makes sense - a device that’s meant to be flipped and turned and viewed from a variety of orientations needs the better image fidelity of IPS. Yay for that.

The screen not only looks good but is very responsive. Even in desktop mode, our touches to the relatively small file/folder names, menu items, and commands were registered with pretty consistent accuracy.

Still, we were more inclined to perform desktop chores the old fashioned way, and fortunately, the Yoga accommodates with a nice, comfortable keyboard and buttery-smooth touchpad that itself supports Windows 8 gestures. Indeed, as an Ultrabook, the Yoga 13 is pretty nice for the price. We might have been even more impressed if we hadn’t just reviewed CyberPower’s $850 Zeus M2 last month, which had nearly the same specs but performed 10–20 percent faster than the Yoga in all tests, except Quake III, where the Zeus M2 was 75 percent faster (the Yoga can thank its single-channel RAM for that defeat). Why such disparity between two Core i5-3317Us? The Yoga has a tendency to throttle down under load, presumably to maintain thermal levels.

Be that as it may, you’re buying the Yoga 13 for more than just an Ultrabook experience. While a 13.3-inch, three-and-a-half-pound notebook folded back upon itself is pushing the limits of a tablet (as is the sensation of a keyboard on the back), the flexibility offered by the Yoga 13’s form factor and touch capabilities has definite uses, not the least of which is giving Windows 8’s split personality meaning.

	SPECIFICATIONS
CPU	1.7GHz Core i5-3317U
RAM	4GB DDR3/1600 single-channel
Display	13-inch 1600x900 IPS LCD
Storage	Samsung 128GB SSD
Connectivity	HDMI, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, 2-in-1 card reader, 802.11n, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, headphone/mic, 720p webcam, USB-to-Ethernet dongle
Lap / Carry	3 lbs, 6.5 oz / 4 lbs, 0.6 oz

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