Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga

Whoa, mama. That converts to $1976 USD. Does Australia have a VAT that brings that up?

 

you can take a look yourself re. the pricing, just head over to the AU lenovo site... but I think the 3yr warranty was +$265. AU Does have GST (Goods and Services Tax) of 10%, and that's included in this price, therefore if this machine is used for buiness/work purposes you can claim it against your income tax, and in my case claim the GST back (i.e. it's a capital purchase), but I don't think you get it all back at once... have to talk to your accountant about this!

I also noticed for additional $11 I can get the AC wireless card which I would for a bit more futureproofing...

Don't really want to pay more than $1800-$1900 so will have to sit on this one... also the Dell XPS 11 could be a good contender on price if I choose to not worry about the digitiser... have to see what pricing comes in at on that one.

 

lead_org: thank you for sharing your first impressions of the ThinkPad Yoga, very helpful.

I wonder what the material of the palm rest etc. feels like. Is it like the rubbery/faux leather feel of the original Yoga (and Yoga 2 Pro?) or is it more like hard plastic? Thanks!

 

Hmm...

Think i'll be waiting till Christmas for a deal - it's not like I need it right now, anyway...

 

I took your advice and headed over to the AU Lenovo site. I configured a machine. It came to $2169 with GST and delivery. Where I live there isn't a GST but the state sales tax has the same chilling affect. The difference between 8% and 10% isn't worth discussing. Unless I am missing something here this machine fully configured is a $2000 US plus experience.

 

more than likely it will be cheaper in the US, generally tech stuff is, even if it's assembled in the Asis Pacific region. Aussies have been importing tech stuff for years due to the fact that is can be cheaper even with high postage costs.. we're seen as a well of country and pay a premium due to this, though alot of companies try to write it off for other reasons such as operating costs etc even when tech support etc is somewhere in asia... id say expect to pay $200-$400 less in the US, though we'll find out in a few hours i'm guessing!

On a machine like this $200-400 less makes it not worth aussies importing due to warranty issues, power supply re-purchase and any extra import taxes over the $1000 no-import-tax limit. This is how they can do us from behind so to speak, and get away with it!

 

I checked out the AUS site as well. I'm happy to see that the AC dual band/5ghz wifi is only an additional $11. I am however really unimpressed with the price for the configuration I want (i5, 256gb SSD, 8gb of RAM, FHD w/ digitizer) which comes up to around $1800 USD. I think that is way over the top and I wouldn't be willing to pay that much. I'd expect them to put up some web coupons. If they don't, I'll probably settle for the Yoga 2 Pro or look outside of Lenovo. My next best option would probably be the Sony Vaio Multi Flip, but I really do would not want to get that machine

 

The palmrest is supported (or more precisely riveted to magnesium chassis) by magnesium chassis. Surface finish of palmrest is matte hard plastic.

 

The fabled "Australia Tax" hard at work, right there.

 

The new ThinkPad Yoga no longer has any battery charging control, so it will always fully charge the battery. It also removes the iconic ThinkVantage Recovery button, there is no more Recovery console, it uses Windows standard stuffs now.

 

@lead_org how accessible did the hard drive appear to be when you had it opened up? the 256 SSD doesn't cut it... needs to be torn out and cloned to a 512.

 

once you remove the bottom panel, which is held down by 10 screws, the hdd can be removed easily by removing 2 screws.

ThinkPad Yoga internal | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The unit that was shipped to me have the following specs:

CPU: i5-4200U
RAM: 4 gigs
HDD: 16 gigs m.2 cache + 1 TB 5400 rpm 7 mm WD Blue slim drive.
Screen: 1366x768 IPS HD with 10 point multitouch
WIFI: 7260 BGN
Bluetooth 4.0

 

Lead_org, how do you find the speed of that 1TB hard drive compared to an SSD drive? How about the overall performance of the i5 with 4gb of ram?

 

Lenovo Australia shows glossy, nonglare and digitizer/nonglare.

 

Has it been released in Australia? Can you please show us a screenshot of that?

 

It's released on the Lenovo Australia site. Look at the configuration options.

Edit: it doesn't say the digitizer version is antiglare, but there Is an antiglare option.

 

Lenovo Australia has released it.
Does anyone know if this screen comes with digitizer
" Graphics
12.5“ FHD IPS (1920 x 1080), 10-finger Multitouch Display, Anti-Smudge"
Thanks a lot!

 

I don't think it does, there is another option which is the same but lists WACOM Digitiser.

 

So Australia does not have the model with digitiser...

 

Sorry for the confusion, it does! You can customize it by adding $77

 

The AUS site does have the digitizer. You select it as a part of a customized order

 

Amazon has the i5, 128GB SSD, 4GB memory.

 

As a matter of fact, Amazon has a bunch of them listed without pics like this - Lenovo 20CD002JUS NOTEBOOK TPE S100 8G 256 W8P

Go down to the product description to see the configuration. Looks like an i7 with 8GB of memory, a 180GB SSD and FHD with digitizer is $1731.

 

Also I recommend you people get the Yoga with SSD. The platter hdd stutters a lot when you move the tablet around. Not the best way to use the tablet.

 

Lead_org,
Thanks for the timely suggestions and thoughts as money will soon will be parted.

 

Lead_org, thanks for your insightful review. The lack of battery charging control concerns me a lot. Lithium batteries like to be left at 60-70% full charged state for longevity. I have a thinkpad T420s with a two-year old battery, still having 92% of the design capacity (because it has been left at 70% 99% of the time). In contrast, the one-year old battery in my friends x230 only has 68% of the design capacity, since it is always fully charged.

Since Thinkpad Yoga does not have a swap-able battery, this issue could be a deal-killer.

However, going through Lenovo's support site, you can see there is a power manager driver available for Thinkpad Yoga (disguised as S1 Yoga)
Lenovo Power Management Driver for Windows 8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), 8 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), XP - Notebook

It is simply lack of the corresponding power manager program:
Power Manager for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit) - Notebook

Could you please try to install the power manager ( http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/gru402ww.exe) any way and see if the charging level can be maintained at 70-80%.

Many thanks for your help!

 

Based on the Lenovo Australia site, it seems you can start with the slow processor option and then upgrade processor to i7, upgrade the screen to FHD with digitizer, comes standard with 8GB RAM, upgrade wifi to AC, and keep the 500GB HDD and 16GB SSD. This would save money over a standard preconfigured with SSD model if you plan on upgrading SSD anyway. This also would allow you to upgrade the M2 SSD for added storage or to keep the OS on. I'm not sure that would have a performance advantage over using a SATA3 SSD such as a big Samsung EVO. At least equipping the notebook with the HDD ensures you get the version of the motherboard (if there are two versions - one for SSD and one for HDD) with the M2 slot and a SATA3 HDD bay.

Is there any flaw in this plan and logic? I do plan on upgrading the SSD to 750GB or 1TB Samsung EVO and could add a 256GB M2 also. That would be a storage monster!

 

Ok, so I was informed by a chat rep that it WON'T be available in U.S today. Jesus, these reps need to get it together.

 

hi Lead_org, for the Thinkpad Yoga, would you recommend getting a screen protector?

and I wonder if the screen protector would have any impact on the performance of the digitiser, as I plan to draw and write a lot with this machine.

 

Wow that's really bad news. The chat rep just told me "before the first week of December" also ... Oh well, more waiting .... If the Fujitsu T904 was out already I would have bought that instead, but there is a lack of other digitizer equipped laptops in this screen size range ... I can't stand the Surface keyboard or I would have gone with that already ...

 

lead_org, thanks for keeping us all abreast so well. It is a shame that you didn't get to play with the digitizer, although like you said elsewhere, it's likely to be comparable to wacom performances elsewhere (which are generally pretty good!).


For any UK users, the GB lenovo shop has just put up the thinkpad yoga page: Lenovo Yoga Hybrid Laptops - Lenovo Multimode PCs | Lenovo (UK)

No word on release dates yet, I'll call them tomorrow when I am back in blighty.


I'm probably buying whichever out of the Fujitsu Q704 and TPY comes out first (unless any clangers come out of the woodwork in the initial reviews).

The lack of clear release dates all around is somewhat annoying, and makes the buying process all the more stressful.

 

I tried to install the thinkvantage power manager in compatibility mode, it just doesn't work. The program just freezes.

I am requesting a model with digitiser and FHD LCD.

 

So has anyone confirmed, for sure, what will be the price of the low end one with digitizer, FHD, SSD, i7, in NA?

 

Here is the SpyderPro 4 measurement of the contrast, white point, and brightness of the ThinkPad Yoga HD IPS screen. Maximum brightness of 324 nits (my previous 100 nits value was measured due to the auto-dim function).

Colour Gamut of ThinkPad Yoga HD screen | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Colour gamut of the Yoga HD IPS LCD is around 71% sRGB, which is not that great. It is only slightly better than the IPS display in the X220 and X230.

ThinkPad X220 WVA IPS panel Gamut (LP125WH2-SLB1) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The IPS HD display in the ThinkPad Yoga is 6 bits and connected through displayport.

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga HD LP125WH2-SPT1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The ThinkPad Yoga thermal management is very good, the bottom stays cool even during the stress test on CPU + GPU. It won't burn you. The heat vent higher temperature shows that the heat is effectively dissipated by the fan and heatsink, and this is what keeps the ThinkPad Yoga bottom chassis cool.

ThinkPad Yoga Full LOAD Condition (Top) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

ThinkPad Yoga Full LOAD Condition (Bottom) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

ThinkPad Yoga Full LOAD Condition (Top) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The stays very quite even during the stress test, it is almost the same sound level as the T430s' fan during idle.

 

Don't hold your breath. I called them half an hour ago (UK) and the response I got was simply "we're focusing on the consumer market" and some blurb about the new T-series coming along soon. Considering the apparent supply issues on the Yoga 2 and the lack of information I'm becoming increasingly unimpressed which is a shame as previously Lenovo were a company I could only have said good things about.

I'm still holding out for a Thinkpad Yoga, however get a feeling it's going to be a long wait. If it wasn't for the fact that it seems as if it's the only device out there that really ticks all the boxes at present, I'd have got something else already.

I also see the i7-4600 isn't listed on the AU site at present so when it does come I'll probably either have to make do with a 4500u or wait even longer. In an ideal world I'd go for the model listed on the US list as 20CD000SUS.

 

That's a shame to hear. I've been in the frustrating position of needing to replace my laptop since May, with the Helix as the only viable option (the last gen technology & price stopped me buying it). The SP2 is just too much of a departure for me from the lap computing I still need along with tablet/pen.

MIght be a case of holding out for the Fujitsu and stomaching the cost (rumors of €2k+ for decent spec!), or getting the thinkpad yoga in as a grey import from the states or singapore, and then deal with the inevitable bodges with keyboard '£' signs and power adapters, international warranty etc.

:-(

 

Microsoft looks to be shipping the i8 (no digitizer) on Christmas Day: Buy Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga Touchscreen 2-in-1, Core i7 - Microsoft Store

I've not seen dates elsewhere for the States?

 

I chatted with a rep in US, and she said the TPY would be out by the end of the month. Then I asked if Microsoft Store will have the same release date as Lenovo (Microsoft Store says it will start to ship on the 25th), and she said yes. Not sure if she is serious or not. We will see...

 

I'm currently on a desktop, and so decided to ask about swapping to a laptop. Got the ok hence looking into this. I already have the USB3 dock to allow use of my setup in the office, just need the laptop to go with it. It would be nice to have it sooner than later though, as it would make doing additional work here and there as inspiration takes me that much easier, esp in winter (when brits seem to forget how to drive + so cause massive traffic jams when there is the slightest rain/snow/fog/sunshine/wind/not enough wind)

After this hassle I even gave a Macbook a look (really not an OSX/Apple fan) however the latest OSX version has a bug that renders USB->External display unusable (esp with high res/multiple displays) and apparently it's impossible to get a new one with the previous version (which works perfectly).

On the grey import, it's the keyboard that's my main concern. Power adapters can be swapped out along the line easily enough. On the warranty side, that can be a bit of a bugger if it comes to it, however so far I've had no need to return anything under warranty. I'd probably just ensure any device is insured in the UK. That and of course delivery times, as it'd need to coincide with someone being in America to take delivery.

 

How about the material of outside body.
Is It Carbon fiber like Thinkpad X or T series?

 

Lead_org, some awesome tests you did there. I'm really happy the TP Yoga stays cool under high stress. I am not exactly sure however to interpret the results for the color tests that you did.

All in all though I am more convinced that the TP Yoga is the machine that really fits my needs. The only defining factor that remains now is the price

 

The Thinkpad yoga bottom and palmrest support is all magnesium alloy. The lid of the Yoga is made of CFRP like the T440s.

 

Really? I thought it would be a very thin Magnesium lid like the first X1 or the ThinkPad Twist.

The Yoga S1-S240 is already on sale here in Germany in two configs, both with the matte FHD screen and digitizer:
Lenovo ThinkPad® Yoga 20CD000MGE - CampusPoint - Notebooks für Studenten, Schüler, Lehrkräfte und natürlich alle Anderen
Lenovo ThinkPad® Yoga 20CD0038GE - CampusPoint - Notebooks für Studenten, Schüler, Lehrkräfte und natürlich alle Anderen
Both should be available in ~2 weeks according to the resellers. I guess Germany always gets the new ThinkPads first this year.

 

I'm really despising Lenovo right now due to their decision to release this product in different markets weeks or months apart, despite the hype surrounding it. I think I just may have to go with the Fujitsu T904...if anyone knows of an expected release day on that, I'd appreciate it.

 

I am pretty sure the lid is CFRP and not magnesium alloy. At least that is the case with my Yoga, since it is a preview model, and not an actual production unit.

 

I just chatted with a rep for the US site, 2:15 EST, asking again when the TPY will be released and this is what she said:
"it was suppose to release today however it's not on the website. we have management trying to find out what is going on
we don't have any updates"
So hopefully management can get it done soon.

The anticipation is killing me.

 

Unfortunately I got different answer this morning...The rep said TPY will be released at the end of the month...:
Hopefully the rep you talked to was correct!

 

Hi Everyone,

I went to Fry's website ( FRYS.com | LENOVO) and saw they had this item in stock and it said it was available for pick up at my local store. I wasn't too sure about this so I called and asked. They confirmed that they did have it available and that particular model includes the digitizer. I'm still not 100% convinced since it's not on the Lenovo site yet but I went ahead and reserved one for pick up later this evening. The final cost they quoted me was $1528.99.

 

The sales folks at Frys are clueless. This is the exact same model that Microsoft is selling and it is confirmed not to have the digitizer sadly.

 

That's great wka. Once you open it up, let us know what are the actual specs and if it indeed comes with a digitizer. I find it so strange that lenovo website wouldn't have it today when Fry's has it in stock.

On another topic, I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on the i5 4300u VS. i5 4200u. These are the 2 i5 models the TP Yoga comes in. What are the differences?