Get excited, people. While this will be only one of many Windows 8-based hybrid tablet devices announced this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), it's one of the few I knew about ahead of time and one that I am personally quite excited about: It's called the IdeaPad Yoga Flip, and since it comes from ThinkPad maker Lenovo, it's going to be a very interesting Windows 8 device indeed.
Lenovo describes the Yoga Flip as a the industry's first multi-mode notebook. It features a 360-degree, flip-and-fold screen design which takes the "convertible laptop" form factor of past Tablet PCs and takes it to its logical conclusion. That is, the Yoga Flip can function as a normal laptop computer, of course, but the screen can also be flipped around, a la a convertible laptop. Or, it can be used in a unique new tent mode in which the the device acts as its own stand in multi-touch tablet form. All in all, Lenovo says the Yoga Flip supports four separate usage modes.
"IdeaPad Yoga is the union of a stylish, powerful ultrabook and a portable 13.3" multi-touch tablet," a Lenovo press release will read when it's issued tonight. "Yoga's patented dual-hinge design is engineered to enable content consumption and creation spanning four intuitive usage positions--notebook, tablet, stand, and tent--in one computer, while offering higher durability and stability than conventional convertible form factors."
Here are some tech specs and then what you're really waiting for: Some beautiful hero shots of the device itself.
- 360 degree dual- hinge flip design
- At 0.67" (16.9mm) thin and 3.1 lbs (1.47kg), the Yoga is the industry's thinnest convertible Ultrabook
- Powered by the next generation ("Ivy Bridge") Intel Core processor family and a Windows 8 operating system
- 8 hours of battery life
- Up to 8 GB of RAM
- Up to 256 GB SSD storage
- 13.3" screen with 1600 x 900 resolution and 10-point capacitive touch
- Design: Soft touch rubber paint on the exterior for strong grip, a leather cover on the palm rest, and side buttons designed for easier access for all usage modes
