Lenovo Debuts Multimode Yoga Tablet, Form Factor Experiments Persist
Few companies are exploring different takes on tablet form factors the way Lenovo has, and the latest from the company--the multimode Yoga Tablets 8 and 10--are no exception. And frankly, these look like winners, at least in terms of design.
The key design feature of the Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10 (8- and 10-inch tablets, respectively) turns a problem into a solution. To offer longer battery life, Lenovo used a thick, cylindrical battery that offers up to 18 hours of juice, and that cylinder is also a pivoting hinge that, paired with a unobtrusive kickstand, lets you use the device in three positions.
You can hold it like a normally would a tablet, with the battery offering a comfortable grip in portrait mode, or you can use the kickstand to either lay it nearly flat for convenient hands-free use or stand it up to view it like you would any desktop or laptop display.
The Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10 feature Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and run on a quad-core MT8125 (1.2GHz) processor with 1280x800-res displays, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, a microSD card slot, 5MP rear and 1.6MP HD front cameras, and 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. They sport dual front-facing speakers and a microphone with noise reduction as well as micro USB, micro SIM, and 3.5mm audio ports.
These are rather affordable tablets, too, especially considering their respective sizes: The 10-inch version is just $299, while the 8-inch model is $249. The 8-incher will be available October 30th in Best Buy stores, and the Yoga Tablet 10 will be widely available from a number of retailers soon.
The key design feature of the Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10 (8- and 10-inch tablets, respectively) turns a problem into a solution. To offer longer battery life, Lenovo used a thick, cylindrical battery that offers up to 18 hours of juice, and that cylinder is also a pivoting hinge that, paired with a unobtrusive kickstand, lets you use the device in three positions.
You can hold it like a normally would a tablet, with the battery offering a comfortable grip in portrait mode, or you can use the kickstand to either lay it nearly flat for convenient hands-free use or stand it up to view it like you would any desktop or laptop display.
The Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10 feature Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and run on a quad-core MT8125 (1.2GHz) processor with 1280x800-res displays, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, a microSD card slot, 5MP rear and 1.6MP HD front cameras, and 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. They sport dual front-facing speakers and a microphone with noise reduction as well as micro USB, micro SIM, and 3.5mm audio ports.
These are rather affordable tablets, too, especially considering their respective sizes: The 10-inch version is just $299, while the 8-inch model is $249. The 8-incher will be available October 30th in Best Buy stores, and the Yoga Tablet 10 will be widely available from a number of retailers soon.
