Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Ultrabook Review

When you pick up the IdeaPad Yoga 13, you'll notice it has a slightly boxy design without a lot of curves. This makes sense, especially for an ultrabook that is also designed to be used as a tablet. From front to back, the IdeaPad Yoga 13 has a uniform thickness that measures 0.67 inches.

When you rotate the IdeaPad Yoga 13's display into tablet mode, you'll notice the screen aligns perfectly with the rest of the ultrabook. We like this design and think anything other than perfect alignment and straight edges would make the IdeaPad Yoga 13 feel awkward in the hand.

The IdeaPad Yoga 13 features a 13.3-inch HD+ IPS LED display with a resolution of 1600 x 900. During our time with the IdeaPad Yoga 13, we found the display to be very vibrant and crisp with excellent viewing angles. Using the touchscreen on the IdeaPad Yoga 13, we appreciated its flush bezel which again sells the tablet experience that much more. This makes it easier to swipe your finger from the edge to the display.

Lenovo included their AccuType keyboard with the IdeaPad Yoga 13. This keyboard has a clean layout with rounded keys. Typing on the IdeaPad Yoga 13's keyboard felt very comfortable. The IdeaPad Yoga 13 also has a large touchpad that features palm rejection so you won't accidentally move the cursor while typing. This touchpad also supports Windows 8 navigation actions, scrolling, zoom, and rotate functions.

A webcam is centered above the display. Directly below the screen, you'll find a Windows button that lets you toggle between the current view and the Start screen. This button can also be used to wake the computer from sleep mode.

The shell of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 has a smooth, silver finish while the edges of the machine are matte black. On the left side of the machine, you'll find an HDMI port, USB 3.0 port, audio jack, microphone, and volume controls. Looking at the right edge of the IdeaPad Yoga 13, you'll find the screen rotation lock button, memory card slot, USB port, and the power adapter jack.

The front edge of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 houses the Novo button, power button, and a battery status indicator. The Novo button can be used to activate Lenovo's OneKey Recovery system, the BIOS setup utility, and to enter the boot menu.

You'll notice the IdeaPad Yoga 13 doesn't have a LAN port. In order to facilitate a thin, uncluttered design, it's not uncommon for ultrabooks to skip a LAN port, optical drive, and other extras. While some ultrabooks such as the Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD come with an adapter, you'll have to purchase an adapter for the IdeaPad Yoga 13 if a LAN port is important to you.