When Lenovo makes the news
it’s always been a safe bet to assume there’s a new product involved. More specifically, you’d probably be reading about the launch of yet another PC. But recently the number two PC manufacturer in the world has set its sights on a new target: the tablet market. Their opening move came in October 2013 when they released a line of funky little Android tablets priced to sell at under $300.
The biggest – as in largest – of these was the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 and as low-cost tablets go it brings some very cool things to the table. While there’s plenty about this tablet that’s commonplace, like the Android 4.2 OS, light body and sturdy frame, the very first thing most people notice about it is a big part of what makes it unique. Code-named “the blade” in the months leading up to launch, the Yoga tablet features a Lenovo-designed battery that is decidedly different and not only because it combines a specialized cell and circuit driver in the tablet’s characteristic bulge.
Battery life? It has it. Lenovo claims a whopping 18 hours. In tech site Engagdgets’ own tests, the Yoga Tablet 10 offered a respectable 9 hours and 44 minutes of runtime with wi-fi enabled, looped video playing and the screen set to 50% brightness. Less intense use would probably mean a whole day of play before charging back up was absolutely necessary. But battery life wasn’t all that Yao Yingjia, Lenovo’s design guru, had in mind in 2011 when he envisioned this tablet in the wake of Lenovo’s retreat from and then re-entry into the mobile device space.
Yao wanted to create a piece of consumer-friendly technology that was as comfortable to use as it was useful. That bulge is more than just battery and the housing for the unit’s built-in kickstand – though it’s that, too. It’s also a grip that makes holding the Yoga tablet feel as natural as holding a magazine or a paperback where your hand has somewhere substantial to hang on thanks to the curve of the pages you’ve already read. And ease of use is really where this tablet shines.
Overall, the Yoga Tablet 10 could be a rugged, eye-catching and fun to use addition to your cache of tech gadgets. The price is right, Lenovo’s unique presentation of Jelly Bean may be a selling point for those formerly loyal to Apple, the aluminum and chrome-painted design is just plain good looking and it’s flexible, too. Thanks to Yao’s creativity, one design lends itself to media consumption, content creation, reading and more.
Whether this tablet will catapult Lenovo into a top spot in the mobile device market is hard to predict, but it wouldn’t be surprising. The company has a record of outperforming market growth and last year its first quarter earnings rose 23% on solid sales of smartphones and tablets. On top of that, they’ve managed to do what a lot of tech companies can’t in the creation of the Yoga Tablet 10: create a well-built mobile device that gets the job done at a price that makes picking one up virtually painless.
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Author Bio: Jessica is a freelance journalist who loves to cover technology news and the ways that technology makes life easier. She also blogs at FreshlyTechy.com. Check her out on Twitter @TechyJessy.
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