Yoga 13 vs Twist

So I am getting my t530 today and now my wife wants a new laptop for xmas. She really likes two the Yoga 13 which we saw at BestBuys and Twist. I have a few questions before I hook her up for christmas(with the assumption that she has been a good girl).

She has a couple requirements(women always have them) - mulititouch swipe display which I think both have.(The twist we tried did not seem to work but I think this was because it was a floor model - you would think in tablet mode is when u need it the most - can someone confirm that) . She also wants it to be lightweight. Her laptop now runs hot and I suggested a SSD - I am a big fan of it had it in my T510 a few years back and its essential for me now. I think the twist doesn't have it but I will be willing to throw it in if necessary.

So what I am looking for is some input to which would be the better choice. And if someone has ideas to any other mfr - I am open to that as well. Trying to keep it <$1000. Also, Can I throw my 4GB original mem from my new T530 availabe(I put upped w/ 16GB from Corsair) in her Twist/Yoga as an upgrade - does it have an extra slot I am asking.

 

I played with Yoga at BestBuy and Twist at Staples, and found Yoga a better product. Yoga has a bright 900p IPS display which can easily flip over to become a tablet, which seems to be a killer feature to me.

 

Yoga is definitely a better product, the hinge on the Twist doesn't look it will stand the test of time.

 

I'd go with the Yoga. Appears to be better quality overall. I tried one out at Best Buy and really liked what I saw. As for upgradability, it only has one SODIMM slot, so at the moment, it will hold at most a single 8gb stick. As far as storage, it actually has 2 mSATA slots. So you could theoretically stick 2 x 256gb mSATA drives in it, which is pretty nice.

 

Still one can upgrade from 4 GB to 8 GB by himself?

 

You can. Just have to be careful as it requires removing the keyboard to get to it.

Here is a video posted in the Yoga thread on this site:

Lenovo Yoga 13 Memory (RAM) Upgrade / Replacement - YouTube

Note: I wouldn't use the exactoknife to raise the keyboard, if you notice in the video he has a scratch on the upper right corner (probably due to the tools). I have heard people using credit cards to do the exact same thing, also a lot safer on the finish. I think I also read someone prying it part way up, and then using dental floss to pull the rest up easily.

Also, here is the maintenance manual which might be handy.

I also recommend following this thread further in the site. Lots of great posts and info in there.

Hope this helps!

Edit: Totally forgot, this was posted in the other thread, but I thought I would repeat it here for you. It is confirmed by Lenovo staff that upgrading/replacing the memory or mSATA in this machine does not void wty. Only caveat there being it would void any component you damage during the install.

 

I prefer Twist. It's more like a traditional Windows tablet.

 

I was originally very interested in both, but then saw Lenovo's recent unboxing of each product.
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Yoga.......Highly reflective screen and no Ethernet port. No thanks.

Twist.......Due to the single hinge, the screen kept wobbling during the video. No thanks.

 

I own both. My thoughts:

1. The Yoga has a damn nice screen (1600x900). The Lenovo Twist is (1366x768). Both IPS, which is a positive regardless of which you get.
2. The Yoga’s memory can be upgraded while the Twist cannot (soldered 4gb).
3. The Twist uses a conventional 7mm 2.5” storage drive which are more common and cheaper to upgrade than the mSATA chips.
4. The Twist has Gorilla Glass, but Lenovo has never advertised what glass the Yoga uses.
5. The keyboard is much better on the Twist (along with the trackpoint).
6. Wifi is a 2x2 antenna on the Twist, and is much better than Yoga. A lot of people reporting signal strength issues on the Yoga.
7. Yoga gets around 5 to 6 hrs when used conservatively (brightness less than 50%, power saver mode), while the Twist gets around 3.5 to 4 hrs.

If she is using it for entertainment and doesn’t mind all the issues listed below, I’d say get the Yoga. If she needs a laptop for productivity, I’d say get the Twist. On the twist, I’ve disabled the touchpad completely and use only the trackpoint (the red nub) instead, and it is awesome. I get more work done on the Twist because I’m not hitting the wrong keys, or the touchpad is not interfering with my typing. And I don’t have to baby it as much because it has a sturdier build. The hinge on the Twist is quite sturdy and is made of steel, so you don’t have to worry about it collapsing or cracking. As far as the two compared, they both are equally wobbly when on a plane or on the metro, to be honest.

While the Yoga is a nice laptop, I think your wife is going to run into some problems using it. And you will find that most users on here are men so we’re not technically challenged, and more apt to fixing touchscreen issues, hacking touchpad drivers, etc.; which is exactly what you will need to do in order to get the Yoga to work at its best. So here are the things you will contend with when you get the Yoga:

1. You will have to hack the Touchpad Drivers - The one the comes as default is very unresponsive and has no advance functionality (see Yoga 13 thread)
2. You will have an occasional loss of touchscreen functionality and you will find yourself restarting the machine often to regain touch functionality (see Yoga 13 thread)
3. The Touchpad is oriented towards the right of the space bar, so her palm will land smack on the right side of the touchpad, causing typing issues (requires conscious avoidance when typing)
4. The keyboard feels flimsy, so when she hits certain top-row keys such as the "-" and "=" keys, it makes a click sound. So the keyboard needs to be modded to feel sturdy.
5. If she doesn't baby her laptop, the paint will come off. The first place you will see this is on the top left corner of the laptop. Probably as a result of most people being right-handed, so when lifting the laptop off the table or putting it onto a table, the top left corner is the first thing that hits the surface. I have 2 small chips and I’ve sealed the exposed area with clear nail polish to avoid further stripping. ( Yoga 13 - exterior finish blemish / will it keep p... - Lenovo Community) Page 2 shows a photo.
6. The keyboard is slightly different from conventional keyboards. The keyboard is slightly smaller than a full-sized keyboard. The Backspace button and (right) Shift button is shrunken, so when you reach for the backspace button you end up hitting Home instead. Or if you reach for the right Shift key, you hit the Up arrow. This takes little time getting used to, but should be considered.

In the end, if she’s after durability and productivity and doesn’t mind having only 4gb of ram, a lower resolution screen, and shorter battery life, then get the Twist (its cheaper too - $699 at staples for on black Friday).

If she wants a higher resolution screen, ultra thin profile, longer battery life, ability to upgrade to 8gb ram, then get the Yoga.

Good luck!

 

Wow, nice comparison analysis there, very thorough. I've used the Yoga 13 but have yet to see the ThinkPad Twist in person yet so this is helpful to me to understand the pros and cons. I liked the Yoga 13 quite a bit, I wouldn't use it as an everyday machine simply because, like you, I need a trackpoint to be most productive. I've heard people say the ThinkPad Twist hinge looks less durable, so interesting to hear you believe the opposite is true.

 

I have some of the same questions but don't find the Yoga much better for the price difference. I have many sites refer to a version of the Twist with 8gb RAM but cannot find it anywhere for sale. It is advertised, but where is it. The tech at Staples (which has the Twist with 4gb ram says it cannot be updated due to the way it was built in.
Anyone who finds it please let me know. professordek [at] gmail [dot] com

 

I have used trackpoint almost exclusively since 2004 with my T23 and moving on to my Z61t. I was reluctant to use a machine without it, but after a week with the Yoga, I don't really miss it at all. Touchscreen replaces almost any need for trackpoint and the awesome trackpad makes up any differences. I have found myself trying to put my finger on the trackpoint unconsciously every now and then, but I am never upset that it is not there. Just some new perspective.

 

I tried both and settled for the Twist. I was just getting it for casual use and returned a Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T for it. I loved the screen on the YOGA but it was a little too big and preferred the versatility of the Twist. The topper was I nabbed one last night for $699.00 at Staples and could not ignore the 300.00 difference.

 

The $699 for twist is a pretty good deal. 4gb of soldered on ram is a bit of a limitation otherwise I would have gone with it too.