Final Thoughts
The IdeaPad Yoga 11 is a very interesting device. It is a laptop, but an underpowered one. It is a tablet, but is larger and thicker than other tablets out there. The Yoga 11 offers the best of both worlds, for those who need it. That is the big key factor, if you really need both a tablet and laptop. As a laptop it is compact and light, but is underpowered. The NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor is only 1.3 GHz and you can only have 2GB of DDR3 memory and 64GB of storage space. If you plan on doing any intensive tasks like Photoshop, video editing or PC gaming don’t expect to be able to do them on the Yoga 11. On the tablet side of things the Yoga 11 performs well, but if you want the pure tablet experience it is going to be pretty weird holding the Yoga with the keyboard on the back. Also many other tablets offer a smaller and thinner profile.
Another thing you are going to have to put up with is Windows RT. This is not a full blown Windows 8 device. Running Windows RT means you are stuck in the Windows RT ecosystem. That means many of your normal apps and programs will not run on the Yoga 11. Most importantly your favorite web browser (unless its Internet Explorer). Windows RT does come with Microsoft Office so for those looking to be productive you have that.
The convertible aspect of the Yoga is what makes it so appealing compared to other Windows RT devices. Being able to flip the screen around is really cool and I liked that I was able to easily go from laptop mode to tablet mode in 3 seconds. Also the ability to prop the Yoga up in tent mode is great, especially when watching videos. Many Windows RT devices do not have a keyboard, and if they do they are not comfortable at all, the keyboard on the Yoga 11 is extremely comfortable. Because of the form factor you do get some awesome battery life. You are going to get anywhere from 10 to 16 hours of battery life out of the Yoga 11 depending on what you are doing.
This type of device is really turning into the new netbook, it will get the job done, but there are some compromises. I could really only suggest this device is you are in the need of both a tablet and laptop. If you are into the Yoga idea Lenovo does offer the Yoga 11s and Yoga 13 which both run Intel Core processors and full Windows 8. If you want a tablet Lenovo has their ThinkPad Tablet 2, which also runs Windows 8.
Right now the IdeaPad Yoga 11 is selling for $559 at my favorite online retailer. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 a 7 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Cool convertible aspect
– Great battery life
– Two USB ports
– Feels solid and quality-made
– Comfortable keyboard
Cons:
– Underpowered for a laptop
– Windows RT makes for limited functionality
