Monday, April 21, 2014

Review: Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro


Having previously reviewed the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S, I already knew I was going to love the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. One of my favorite features is the unique 360-Degree Flip-and-Fold Design, easily changing between the four different modes - Laptop, Stand, Tablet and Tent. The 13.3" QHD+ 3200 x1800 (versus 11.6 HD, 1366 x 768 on the IdeaPad Yoga 11S) IPS widescreen with 10-point multi-touch has the best display I've ever seen on an ultrabook. Whether I am catching up on the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries, editing video footage or pictures, the images are incredibly crisp and sharp. 

This ultrabook also has great portability - 1.39 kg, 15.5 mm thin with a 9 hour battery life to get you through the whole day, versus the 1.4 kg, 17.2 mm thin, 6 hour battery on the IdeaPad Yoga 11S. Like the IdeaPad Yoga 11S, there are two USB ports and a 2-in-1 card reader.It also has up to 4th gen Intel® Core™ i7 processor with integrated Intel graphics,  up to 8GB DDR3L memory, up to 512 GB SDD storage and stereo speakers with Dolby® Home Theatre® for immersive sound. 

Lenovo motion control allows you to browse and select files with simple hand gestures. This is perfect for navigating through recipes hands-free. With voice control technology, you can just speak to open programs and websites. The Yoga Picks custom software detects and recommends the most suitable apps for any given mode. Some of the preloaded apps include Phone Companion, Camera Man, Photo Touch, and Yoga Chef. Yoga Chef has some easy-to-follow recipes I definitely want to try, with vivid photos that make me instantly hungry.

All these enhancements and features are user-friendly and interesting to explore, but for the most part I've been using the Yoga 2 Pro for watching tv shows, blogging and editing photos and videos. My main laptop is currently a MacBook Air but I despise editing videos with iMovie. I still prefer Windows Movie Maker, so I feel like I'll always need a Windows-friendly ultrabook just for that reason. During February and March, the Yoga 2 Pro came in handy specifically for editing fashion week videos, uploading them to YouTube and downloading photos from my Nokia 1020 (which is incompatible with my MacBook). Since I do a lot of blogging late night, the backlit keyboard really helps. This function can be turned on and off by pressing the Fn key and space bar. The touch screen capability comes in handy as well. It's so much easier to swipe through pictures when deciding which ones to use and edit. Every now and then I'm reminded of how my MacBook isn't touchscreen when I tap the screen out of habit. 

The Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro is available at lenovo.com with a list price starting at $1199.00.




 


- Kim Weling

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