This is the second round of 11 with yoga look attractive convertible 500 dollars

It has speakers and a large screen looks good, despite the fact that the keyboard is not ideal for writing courses for long periods

Introduction & Design

Here we are smack dab in the middle of the second round of Windows 8 hybrid devices. Lenovo's Yoga convertible laptops, with their 360-degree hinges that allow them to double as tablets (with a couple of useful positions in between), continue to be some of the most sensibly designed and versatile hybrids we've seen.

Last year, in addition to the original 13-inch Yoga, we looked at two 11.6-inch models, the IdeaPad Yoga 11 and Yoga 11S. The former, while it was the most affordable Yoga, was a Windows RT system, which means that it couldn't run standard Windows applications. The latter was built around Intel's Core i5 processor, making it a lot more powerful and capable than its RT sibling.

Today, except for Microsoft's Surface$289.99 at Rakuten and Surface 2$444.98 at Amazon tablets, Windows RT has virtually vanished in favor of low-priced tablets and convertibles that run "real" Windows, such as the Asus Transformer Book T100$349.99 at Amazon. Lenovo has boarded this bandwagon with the Yoga 2 11 we're reviewing today—a full-fledged member of the versatile Yoga family that, with a "Bay Trail" Pentium CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, is just $499 at Best Buy.

Like the first-generation Yoga 11 and 11S, the Yoga 2 11 has 360-degree keyboard hinges that let it flip all the way back from laptop to tablet mode, with inverted-V "tent" and easel-like "stand" modes in between. We've discussed these articulating hinges and the modes they enable in several previous Yoga reviews, so we won't go into detail here except to say the modes, illustrated here, are genuinely handy options to have...

   

   

An interesting feature Lenovo added this time around is that, when you place the Yoga in specific modes, the device's Yoga Picks software suggests apps that benefit from that position. When you flip the system into tent mode, for example, a small notice appears in the upper right corner of the screen telling you that there are apps available conducive to that mode. Clicking the notice brings up a page listing the titles available at the Windows Store.

   

   

While we've liked the flexibility of Yogas we've tested, we haven't liked the way their keyboards remain exposed, hanging out in the breeze, when we flip the convertibles into tablet mode. When you fold the keyboard back until the bottom of the laptop meets the back of the screen, the keyboard essentially becomes the back of the tablet. Not only do you feel the keys when you hold a Yoga laptop in tablet mode, but the keys themselves (though deactivated) give way beneath your fingers, making the entire arrangement doubly distracting.

Lenovo addressed this issue with its high-end, business-optimized ThinkPad Yoga$996.55 at Lenovo. As you fold that device into tablet mode, the keys lock into place and the keyboard deck rises until it's flush with the keys, all but eliminating the awkward sensation caused by the protruding keys giving way beneath your fingers as you hold the tablet.

Alas, the budget-friendly Yoga 2 11 doesn't include the rising "lift 'n' lock" keyboard of the ThinkPad Yoga. Due to a keyboard redesign, however, the protruding keyboard is not quite as pronounced—although that, as you'll see on the next page, has caused another productivity-related issue. Otherwise, the Yoga 2 11 is well-built and attractive, with a good-looking display. It provides good value for the price.

Features & Apps

In addition to the Best Buy model, you can order the Yoga 2 11 on Lenovo's Web site in orange or black with a 500GB hard drive plus 16GB SSD. And, as is usually the case with Lenovo's site, prices and configuration options change frequently. Furthermore, according to Lenovo, Yoga 2 11 models with Core i3 and Core i5 processors will be available in June 2014.

At 11.7 inches wide, 8.1 inches from front to back, and 0.67 inch thick, the new Yoga is about the same size as the previous Yoga 11 and 11S, and just slightly heavier than the latter at 3.2 pounds.

A disadvantage of the Yoga design, as well as any other convertible with a non-detachable keyboard, is that...well, you can't remove the keyboard or shed any weight when switching to tablet mode. Since three-plus pounds is too heavy to hold in one hand and operate with the other for sustained periods, the ability to use the Lenovo as a tablet is a convenience with limited application.

Meanwhile, the convertible is loaded with connectivity options, though it could use a couple more USB 3.0 ports. On the left edge, for example, you'll find the power jack, one USB 3.0 port, a 2-in-1 card reader, and a Micro HDMI port for connecting to HDTVs and other monitors.

   

   

A USB 2.0 port, an audio jack, a volume toggle, a screen rotation lock, and the power/sleep/lock button reside on the right edge.

   

   

The Yoga 2 11's 1,366x768-pixel IPS display looks bright, detailed, and colorful. Granted, some other convertibles come with much sharper screens: Sticking just with Lenovo, for instance, there's the 1,920x1,080 ThinkPad Yoga and the 3,200x1,800 Yoga 2 Pro$1,131.88 at Amazon.

But again, this Yoga costs only $499. Besides, 1,366x768 is plenty for an 11.6-inch screen. In fact, many icons and pull-down menus are small enough that we found it easier to use the touch pad while in desktop mode, rather than the touch screen.

Above the display, you'll find a 720p Webcam in the center of the top bezel. The camera works well for videoconferencing, but we were not able to take usable selfies and videos except under the most ideal lighting.

On the other hand, we did enjoy the Dolby-enhanced speakers, which are located on the rear panel, near the right and left edges. Sound was not only loud enough to fill a small room, but overall depth, tonal quality, and stereo separation was impressive. In fact, our music and video samples sounded better on the little Lenovo than on several more costly models. Combined with the Yoga 2 11's excellent screen quality, this is a great machine for watching videos.

   

   

However, Lenovo has redesigned this Yoga's keyboard. While it resembles the company's popular and comfortable AccuType keyboard from previous models, it's thinner and not as well-built as the one on last year's Yoga 11S. The keys don't have the same comfortable bounce and travel, and the keyboard deck itself is somewhat flimsy. It gave way noticeably to our touch.

What we did like, though, was the somewhat small but accurate touch pad. It's not big enough for most multi-finger gestures, but it worked well for navigating the screen and Windows itself.

As for software, the Yoga 2 11 comes with Lenovo's standard set of utilities, such as Lenovo Companion, which provides support functions and some marketing material. Yoga Camera Man and Yoga Photo Touch help you add frames and rudimentary special effects to your photos, while Yoga Chef provides recipes and cooking-related info.

   

   

Aside from these programs, you'll find a common set of free apps, such as Evernote Touch, Zinio, and Kindle, as well as a 30-day McAfee security and antivirus subscription and some other bloatware. Overall, the number of superfluous preinstalled apps isn't bad, but there are too many for our liking.

Performance & Conclusion

The Yoga 2 11 runs on a 2.16GHz Intel Pentium N3520, a member of Intel's "Bay Trail" family of low-voltage processors. The CPU is augmented by 4GB of RAM, and graphics are handled by the Intel HD Graphics circuitry integrated into the processor.

This Pentium is one of the first "Bay Trail" chips we've seen that supports more than 2GB of memory, and it supports 64-bit applications. This doesn't help much when it comes to resource-intensive games, but it did allow us to run several of our benchmark tests which stymied 2GB hybrids and tablets—the Yoga completed our Adobe Photoshop benchmark, for example, albeit in a leisurely 16 minutes compared to 5 to 6 minutes for most Core i5 ultrabooks.

For our benchmark charts, we compared the Yoga 2 11 to another Pentium N3520 convertible, HP's Pavilion x360 (review coming soon); the Atom Z3740-powered Asus Transformer Book T100 and Lenovo Miix 2 10 (another review coming soon); and the Core i5-based Dell XPS 11$1,199.99 at Dell.

In PCMark 7, a synthetic suite that assesses overall system performance, the Yoga placed second to last, hurt by its lack of solid-state storage.

The Yoga 2 11 fared better in our CPU-crunching Cinebench test, which renders a complex image to show a PC's suitability for processor-intensive tasks.

The Yoga 2 11 fared better in our CPU-crunching Cinebench test, which renders a complex image to show a PC's suitability for processor-intensive tasks.

The Yoga and HP Pavilion led the way again in our Handbrake video editing test, in which we transcode a five-minute 1080p clip to smartphone format. To be honest, however, the times involved—like the hybrid's Photoshop result—indicate these travel companions aren't intended for high-end multimedia content creation.

   

They're not intended for demanding graphics and gaming, either. Their scores in 3DMark 11, which measures overall graphics capability, were dismal, as were their frame rates in our DirectX 11 gaming sim Heaven (a long way from the 30 frames per second threshold for smooth gameplay).

The Yoga lasted for a little under seven hours in our battery rundown test—not quite enough to get you through a full day's work. But keep in mind that our video playback test is more demanding than the average user's Web surfing and office productivity work; you should be able to squeeze out another hour or so.

Conclusion

While the Yoga 2 11 is by no means perfect, we think that what you get for $499 provides excellent value. Aside from a somewhat flexy keyboard deck and less-than-optimal keyboard, the convertible is well-crafted and well-designed. Its bright and colorful screen and vivid-sounding speakers make it ideal for streaming video, and its Pentium processor and 4GB of RAM are capable of running most Windows apps efficiently.

   

It's not optimized for the most demanding multimedia apps or high-end games, but everyday tasks run just fine—and as we said, more powerful Core i3 and Core i5 models are expected soon, but we doubt they'll hit the sweet spot of performance and value the way this Best Buy model does. If you like the looks of Lenovo's Yoga family but are on a tight budget, the Yoga 2 11 is a great choice.

VIA cs