back to article Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro Ultrabook flexes new 'Watchband' BENDO hinges

Lenovo unveiled the latest additions to its Yoga range in London yesterday, including new tablets ( ascovered earlier by El Reg, plus one with a built-in projector) – and a revamped Ultrabook, the Yoga 3 Pro. Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro Ultrabook Dilip Bhatia VP, Marketing & Design, PC Group shows off the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro The Pro …

  1. Ol' Grumpy
    Pint

    Clever as it is, I wouldn't fancy the repair bill for sorting that hinge out if it broke!

    1. Greg J Preece

      Take it to your local watch shop? ;-)

  2. Arctic fox
    Headmaster

    Clearly a droolworthy piece of kit.

    However, I am more interested in the fact that it includes Intel's latest M-series processor. It will be very interesting to see what comes onto the market in the run up to what our cousins on the other side of the pond call the "holiday season"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Clearly a droolworthy piece of kit.

      Likewise, I'm interested in performance of whatever model of CoreM they after using is delivering, how the Yoga 3 Pro compares with the Yoga 2 Pro. I like the form factor and in the market for something like this but at first glance seems very under spec for a pricy £1299 'pro' machine - happy to be proved wrong.

      1. Tapeador

        Re: Clearly a droolworthy piece of kit.

        Good point, note though that Lenovo have realeased very similar non-'Pro' versions of the 13 inch model, featuring 1080p screens, and i3-i7 processors, for £600 upwards. Most of the goodness of the Pro model without the price tag.

        I've got one - it's amazing for reading PDFs which you can resize, reposition, and highlight with your fingertip(s), and insert a note and type the content with a keyboard. Very speedy reading. Much nicer than having to do it all via the mouse or keyboard. Its basic benefit is having a third input/control method on top of the keyboard/mouse, and also for the ergonomic freedom to bend it around to whatever's most comfy. Just don't try using it one-handed on the Underground as a tablet.... your arm will ache vv much...

        1. qwarty

          Re: Clearly a droolworthy piece of kit.

          Its good to see the 4.5W TDP parts but the Core M-5Y70 (1.1Ghz) is going to offer poor performance compared with Core i5 U series processors so a step backwards for many potential customers using more demanding software than Microsoft Office and such. Not convinced this Core M generation is going to be more than a flash in the pan except where an extra hour or so battery life or a few millimetres thickness is ultra important. Unfortunate the Intel 14nm process delays have pushed OEM roadmaps into 2015 so we aren't seeing what most people would expect of a successor to the Yoga 2 etc. Nice enough machine on face of it but I'm surprised it is being priced as high, guess they are hoping customers won't be aware of the compromised performance.

          1. Arctic fox

            @qwarty "what most people would expect of a successor to the Yoga 2 etc."

            You have some good points there, which is why I was interested in what might turn up in the run up to Xmas. However, I have no problem in waiting until next year to see what might be on offer before I open my wallet and make several hundred moths homeless!

  3. frank ly

    Power and video signals

    From what I've seen of 'ordinary' laptops with two chunky hinges, there are four distinct and separate points of contact between the base and the screen unit. I've always assumed these were enough for power and video data/control and gave good insulation from each other as well as protection from dirt and grease ingress.

    This 'watchstrap' hinge looks very complicated with many possible points of shorting and places where dirt and grease could get in to affect the signal paths. Does anyone know about the techniques for getting power and signals from base to screen and the actual design of this watchstrap hinge?

    1. handle

      Re: Power and video signals

      You forgot at least two coaxial wifi (etc) aerial cables which, like the rest, simply pass through the centre of the hollow pivot points. This design has more pivot points between base and screen so I assume that the cables pass through each one, following the straight line drawn between them (almost parallel to the back of the unit), and therefore not needing to change direction significantly. There is more than twice the amount of twisting (360 degrees) but it can be spread over a significant distance. There are also more sets of hinges, so the cables can be distributed better. I'm not sure why you have concerns about dirt and grease - they are insulated cables which will stand up to this.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Power and video signals

        The mechanism means all links move equally, ensuring that the ribbon cables are never bent through too small a radius. A good image of it is at 15 seconds into https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouCmy-_OOEY Cunning.

        Normal laptops prevent the cables from being pinched simply by using larger hinges.

  4. Benchops

    All it needs

    is more of that watch band hinge and they could sell it as a smart-sleeve

  5. IHateWearingATie

    I wonder why the change of hinge...

    ... I have a Yoga 2 as my main work machine and it is really very good. The hinge seems to work fine and the laptop is pretty thin already - can't imagine this gives many extra benefits.

    1. handle

      Re: I wonder why the change of hinge...

      Marketing.

    2. AJ MacLeod

      Re: I wonder why the change of hinge...

      Hadn't you heard that thin-ness is now the only criteria by which all IT gadgets must now be judged?

      All that confusing stuff about processing power, battery life is just boring waffle - see how thin it is!

  6. djstardust

    Agreed

    I have the Yoga 2 pro i7 and it is really superb. The hinge works perfectly and the speakers are already good. Not sure if this new hinge is change for the sake of change. Note the price has also gone up £100 too....

    1. Russell Hancock

      Re: Agreed

      I have the Yoga 1 (IdeaPad) with an i7, 8GB and TWIN SSD - had it nearly 2 years now (i think) and it was £949 when i got it... Still going strong and used on a daily basis. Battery is still in the 5 hrs mark so happy there...

      I don't like the look of the new hinge, it just looks to "in your face" for my liking and not sure what the weight / size differences are but everyone who has held my yoga has been amazed by how light it is.

      Having said all that i would love to up the screen resolution of mine to match this one.

  7. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

    The problem is...

    1) It runs Windows 8.{as if I care}

    2) IMHO, it is essentially a media consumption device

    3) OOTB Bloatware will probably track every keystroke (and give you 'I see you are interested in "xyz" Do you want me to like "xyz" of ....)

    4) It runs Windows 8

    5) It is expensive. Makes the price of a Macbook Air actually pretty reasonable

    6 ) Did I say it runs Windows 8

    1. Tapeador
      FAIL

      Re: The problem is...

      1) It also runs an interface virtually identical to Windows 7 (with some actual improvements as it happens) - as do all Windows 8 computers: it's a feature built in, which can be augmented by various free and paid-for pieces of third-party software.

      2) It's not primarily a media consumption device, although those features are clearly impressive. It's a 4mb cache, 2.6ghz-at-boost, red-blooded, 8gb RAM touchscreen work machine with media consumption capabilities.

      3) I have a Yoga 2 i7 and there is no bloatware. There might have been McAfee trial to begin with but I uninstalled it.

      4) See 1)

      5) A Macbook Air is not a touchscreen and has a puny resolution. The non-'pro' versions of the Lenovo retail from £600.

      6) See 4). And if you need most enterprise or adaptive software then Windows is exactly what you require.

      I don't get this being obsessively rude and condescending about others' OSs.

  8. Robert Helpmann??
    Childcatcher

    Corpse Mode

    Because planking is passé.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Fundamentally, it is a lovely piece of kit,

    but is Windows 8 the millstone around its neck? We all know that Ultrabook sales have been less than spectacular, disappointing really, and it may be a shame that such lovely hardware will be saddled in the marketplace with a relatively unloved OS and, ultimately, probably relegated to second or third-tier sales numbers.

    1. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: Fundamentally, it is a lovely piece of kit,

      My negatives are that Lenovo seem to be playing down the touch capabilities. I would like to see this with a Wacom or similar quality pen option.

  10. djstardust

    Windows 8

    For the hundredth time ...... £5.00 on Stardock.com will turn shitty windows 8 in to a faster Windows 7. Is it really that difficult?

    1. dogged

      Re: Windows 8

      Touchscreen.

      TOUCH SCREEN.

      TOUCH screen.

      What part of this aren't you getting?

  11. Ruli Manurung

    "ThinkPad version"?

    Does it say ThinkPad anywhere on the model name?

    Thought so.

  12. smug git

    Sweet

    My Yoga 2 Pro is the best computing device I've ever owned and it makes Windows 8 pretty useful as well. However, my 2 is only a year old and still awesome, and this one is still limited to 8GB of RAM, same as the 2.

    Battery life is interesting, if true; the 2 only really lasts 5-6 hours. They are spendy, though; I've always told my colleagues that if I get bought a Mac I'll sell it and buy a PC with the money, but in this case the comparable Mac is cheaper (but, in my opinion, substantially worse).

  13. phil dude
    Linux

    nice...

    my ancient HP needs an upgrade and I like the qHD screens...finally!!

    So now all that it needs is to scrub Windoze put on a decent *nix and it will be usable like my old 7 year old HP.....

    Of course, let's see what lenovo say about this...

    P.

    1. dogged

      Re: nice...

      Good luck with that touchscreen.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This will fail

    Absolutely guaranteed to fail? How do I know? Just look at the current ThinkPad T-Series. It is simply not possible these would have been released without anyone, even an 8 year old, testing them first.

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