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Lenovo unveils convertible Yoga Chromebooks

by Mark Tyson on 31 January 2014, 13:30

Tags: Lenovo, Chrome OS, Windows 8

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Soon after the announcement of its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Lenovo has unveiled a new notebook line-up: the ThinkPad 11e family of laptops which are ruggedized and designed for the education market.

Four models in total have been released, all with an 11.6-inch HD LED anti-glare screen. However it is the convertible Chromebook within the line-up which is what caught our attention - with a Yoga convertible system which allows the device to operate in four modes including; laptop, tablet, tent and stand.

How the Yoga system works, not a picture of the ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook

Although other systems builders have released Chromebooks with touch screens, the current range are still not far evolved from the Netbooks of yore, besides perhaps the very expensive Chromebook Pixel from Google.

Dubbed the ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook, the device is probably the first Chromebook to offer a tablet mode. Lenovo says that its Yoga multimode devices "offer students a system that can adapt to their needs based on the application or the content they are working with." The Yoga mode in Lenovo Settings will recognise when the user switches modes and allows apps to adapt in order to gain the best experience.

Other laptop/convertible models Lenovo also introduced include; the ThinkPad 11e Chromebook, a conventional Google-powered clamshell and the ThinkPad 11e Yoga and ThinkPad 11e which run Windows. As a reminder, all these four computers are ruggedized for the education market. To earn their rugged status all four models in the family feature "rubber bumpers, reinforced ports, and stronger hinges… to protect the system from the hustle and bustle of the classroom," Lenovo says.

Lenovo ThinkPad 11e Chromebook

At the launch Jerry Paradise, executive director of product marketing, ThinkPad Product Group said that he was "very excited that Lenovo is able to offer a device that’s not only rugged enough for the classroom but also flexible enough to adapt to the many ways technology can be incorporated into the overall learning experience.”

Prices for the Chromebooks will start at $349 whilst the Windows-powered machines will start at $449. The series will become available this spring from Lenovo business partners and from its website.

In other Lenovo device news the ThinkPad 8 went on sale via the official website yesterday at $429. This 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet has a higher resolution screen and faster processor than many other similar sized Win-Tabs released recently.



HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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I'll never get the concept of a convertible where the keyboard is uncovered when using it as a tablet. Strikes me as an ideal way to make sure the keyboard gets knocked/damaged so you can sell replacement keyboards ;)
Actually i have a Yoga and it works really well. The keyboard thing is a complete none-issue in practice. The problems with it are much deeper than that.
Please elaborate Biscuit :)

The Yoga has interested me since it was first demoed a couple of years ago. I don't think I would go for one now, not with some of the other 2-in-1 options out there, but my wife has started asking about it. I think she wants a new laptop.
that thinkpad 11e chromebook looks a bit like a 20 year old ibm laptop, hardly modern
Funkstar
Please elaborate Biscuit :)

The Yoga has interested me since it was first demoed a couple of years ago. I don't think I would go for one now, not with some of the other 2-in-1 options out there, but my wife has started asking about it. I think she wants a new laptop.

Have a read through my thread. The stuff about my experiences is mostly towards the end. FYI its the thinkpad Yoga, not the Ideapad which was the original.

To summarise, I have had some inconsistencies in the build quality, the WIFI can be a bit sketchy and the OneLink docking port just flat out doesn't work properly. found a new problem the other day actually as it has a rattle :rolleyes:.

Lenovo customer service has been alright but there is a thread over on the official Lenovo forums about this with loads of people complaining about the docking issue and instead of just admitting there is a problem and letting the customers know they are working on it, they just keep sending us all in circles.

The form factor is brilliant though and its such a shame that i have had lodge a formal complaint and escalate it using the sales of goods act :(

I'm going to see what they say about it all when they respond to my complaint but i might settle for an exchange to a T440s or X1 carbon rather than a full refund return.