Lenovo Yoga 13 Review
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Lenovo Yoga 13 Review
The IdeaPad Yoga 13 was one of the first hybrid Windows 8 systems
that consumers got a look at. Lenovo unveiled a near-finished prototype
at CES nearly a year ago – well before Windows 8 was finished and ready
for prime time. Since that time we’ve learned a great deal about
Lenovo’s flagship touchscreen convertible but perhaps the biggest
question was whether or not a convertible notebook/tablet makes sense at
a time when dedicated tablets are arguably the hottest trend in
consumer electronics.
Despite multiple attempts from manufacturers over the past several years, hybrids never gained much traction, not necessarily because of hardware issues but simply because the software to support such an environment hasn’t existed until just recently. Previous iterations of Windows did support touch in a limited capacity but the UI was never built with touch in mind.
Evidently that has all changed with Windows 8
which adds a touch friendly environment front and center (but not
everywhere) and Lenovo looks to capitalize early and often with the
do-it-all Yoga 13. Priced from $999,
this system was one of the first portable systems to launch alongside
Windows 8. I’ve spent the past several weeks learning the ins and outs
of this hybrid Ultrabook and without jumping right to the conclusion
from the get-go, I will let you know that it’s a very capable all-around
system that doesn’t compromise on that it is first and foremost: a
notebook.
Our evaluation unit arrived with a third generation Intel Core
i5-3317U processor clocked at 1.7GHz, 4GB of RAM (systems in this class
now ship with 8GB of memory), Intel HD Graphics 4000 and a 128GB solid
state drive. True to its name, the Yoga 13 utilizes a 13.3-inch HD+ LED
Multitouch display operating at 1,600 x 900 resolution – a bit sharper
than many other 13-inch panels in its class. The price for the system
price as tested here today (with 8GB RAM) is $1,099.
On the front edge of the Yoga is a backlit power button, battery indicator and a tiny recessed reset button that admittedly didn’t do anything when pressed. On the right edge we find a button to lock the screen rotation when in tablet mode, an SD card reader, a USB 2.0 port and a unique looking charging port that more resembles another USB port than anything else.
The back edge of the Yoga is lined with discrete ventilation slots between the two sturdy screen hinges. On the left side of the Ultrabook is an HDMI-out port, a USB 3.0 port and a combination headphone / microphone jack. Closer to the front of the left edge is a volume rocker and what appears to be a tiny hole for a microphone.
There’s not much to see on the underside of the Yoga 13 aside from
four small rubber feet. Upgrading internal components will take some
work as there are eight tiny six-sided screws that look to hold the
bottom cover in place. You’d certainly need some sort of special
screwdriver to remove them so if you are planning to add more memory to
the system, it might be best to let Lenovo handle that when you place
your order.
Raising the lid reveals a screen that other manufactures would call an Infinity display. That is, the screen and the bezel are covered with a single piece of glass to give the illusion that the two flow together seamlessly. With the display powered on, however, you can see that the bezel around the screen is a little on the thick side. Normally this would be frowned upon but given the fact that the Yoga doubles as a tablet, this actually is good because it gives you some room to hold the system.
A 720p webcam sits centered atop the display and below it is a
finger-sized button with the Windows logo in it. Pressing this button
performs the same task as pressing the Start button which in Windows 8,
switches you between Metro-style view the traditional Desktop UI. Its
placement is especially handy in when using the system as a tablet.
The island-style keyboard sits slightly lower than the surrounding area / palm rest. This is done on purpose as to minimize key presses when using the system in tablet mode (more on that in a bit). The keyboard itself has a nice overall feel albeit a few of the keys (the right Shift key and to a lesser extent, the Backspace key) are a bit shorter than usual. Neither of these bugged me at all as I realized I never use the right Shift key and the Backspace key wasn’t short enough to cause any problems.
Unlike some other Lenovo systems I have used, the company decided to
place the left Ctrl button in what most would consider the appropriate
location – the bottom left of the keyboard. The Fn button is just beside
where, where most would expect to find it. And speaking of, the
function keys just above the number keys default to their alternate use,
meaning you have to hold down the Fn key to press F5 for a refresh,
etc.
Lenovo elected to use a glass trackpad that integrates both mouse click buttons. I’m typically not a fan of this implementation, instead preferring physical buttons like those found on the IdeaPad U260 but I must hand it to Lenovo as they have done a fine job with the all-in-one trackpad on the Yoga 13. One of my biggest complaints with similar setups is that clicking the mouse button also moves the cursor. That didn’t seem to happen very often on this system thankfully. The overall size of the trackpad seems just right too – there’s plenty of room to manipulate the cursor yet I still had enough room to type comfortably without my palms causing the cursor to go haywire.
The wrist rest and the surrounding area around the keyboard appear to
be constructed of a soft leather-like material. The overall look is
extremely classy although as I found out later, this surface is prone to
picking up smudge marks and other debris when it’s lying face down in
tablet orientation.
Despite multiple attempts from manufacturers over the past several years, hybrids never gained much traction, not necessarily because of hardware issues but simply because the software to support such an environment hasn’t existed until just recently. Previous iterations of Windows did support touch in a limited capacity but the UI was never built with touch in mind.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13" - $999
Upon first glance there’s no indication that the Yoga 13 is anything
outside of a standard Ultrabook. The outer portion of the lid is coated
with a rubber-like material that’s silver / grey in color. A Lenovo name
plate is affixed in one corner which gives the system an overall modern
and classy look from the exterior.- 13.3" 1600x900 IPS LED multi-touch display
- Intel Core i5-3317U (1.7 - 2.6GHz)
- Intel HD Graphics 4000
- 4GB of DDR3 RAM
- 128GB SSD
- SD/MMC card reader
- 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, HDMI, audio jack
- 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
- 1-megapixel webcam
- Chiclet keyboard
- Glass trackpad with integrated buttons
- 4-cell Li-Polymer battery
- 13.4 x 8.85 x 0.66 inches, 3.4 pounds
On the front edge of the Yoga is a backlit power button, battery indicator and a tiny recessed reset button that admittedly didn’t do anything when pressed. On the right edge we find a button to lock the screen rotation when in tablet mode, an SD card reader, a USB 2.0 port and a unique looking charging port that more resembles another USB port than anything else.
The back edge of the Yoga is lined with discrete ventilation slots between the two sturdy screen hinges. On the left side of the Ultrabook is an HDMI-out port, a USB 3.0 port and a combination headphone / microphone jack. Closer to the front of the left edge is a volume rocker and what appears to be a tiny hole for a microphone.
Raising the lid reveals a screen that other manufactures would call an Infinity display. That is, the screen and the bezel are covered with a single piece of glass to give the illusion that the two flow together seamlessly. With the display powered on, however, you can see that the bezel around the screen is a little on the thick side. Normally this would be frowned upon but given the fact that the Yoga doubles as a tablet, this actually is good because it gives you some room to hold the system.
The island-style keyboard sits slightly lower than the surrounding area / palm rest. This is done on purpose as to minimize key presses when using the system in tablet mode (more on that in a bit). The keyboard itself has a nice overall feel albeit a few of the keys (the right Shift key and to a lesser extent, the Backspace key) are a bit shorter than usual. Neither of these bugged me at all as I realized I never use the right Shift key and the Backspace key wasn’t short enough to cause any problems.
Lenovo elected to use a glass trackpad that integrates both mouse click buttons. I’m typically not a fan of this implementation, instead preferring physical buttons like those found on the IdeaPad U260 but I must hand it to Lenovo as they have done a fine job with the all-in-one trackpad on the Yoga 13. One of my biggest complaints with similar setups is that clicking the mouse button also moves the cursor. That didn’t seem to happen very often on this system thankfully. The overall size of the trackpad seems just right too – there’s plenty of room to manipulate the cursor yet I still had enough room to type comfortably without my palms causing the cursor to go haywire.