London – Lenovo expanded its Yoga tablet series with its first two Windows-based Yoga tablets and three new Android models, one of which is said to be the industry’s first with built-in home-theater pico projector.
At a press event here, the Chinese computer maker also introduced two new convertible PCs, both said to be thinner and lighter than their predecessors.
The new Yoga tablets include the Android 4.4-based Yoga Tablet 2 in 10- and 8-inch versions at prices starting at $299 and $249, respectively. They became available today at Lenovo’s web site.
Both models also come in Windows 8.1 versions. The 10-inch Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows will be available in late October at Best Buy at prices starting at $399. The 8-inch version will be available at Lenovo’s web site in November starting at $299.
Android 4.4 is the only option for the media-oriented 13.3-inch Yoga Tablet 2 Pro with built-in video projector. It will be available at the end of the month at Lenovo’s web site at prices starting at $499.
In the U.S., none of the tablets will be available with cellular option.
Yoga tablets, which are equipped with multi-position kickstands, are a step up from a lower priced series of Lenovo Android tablets ranging from $129 to $249.
The two new convertible PCs are the 13-inch Yoga 3 Pro and ThinkPad Yoga 14, which is designed for small- to medium-size businesses. Both will be available at the end of October at Best Buy and Lenovo’s web site, with the former starting at $1,349 and the latter starting at $1,199.
Here are the product details:
Yoga Tablet 2 Pro: The tablet’s built-in pico projector projects 16:9 images up to 50 inches for up to three hours. It’s equipped with a larger kickstand than previous Yoga tablets for greater stability. As with the other new tablets, the kickstand has also been upgraded to add a fourth hang mode, joining the stand, tilt, and hold positions.
Other key features include quad-HD 2560×1440 IPS display, Intel Atom Z3745 processor with four cores operating up to 1.86GHz, 2GB RAM, 32GB memory, 64GB microSD card slot, 8-watt stereo speaker system subwoofer, Dolby Audio suite of audio enhancements, and Wolfson Master HiFi technology. Other features include 802.11 b/g/n with dual-band n, 8-megapixel f/2.2 rear camera with autofocus, 1.6-megapixel front camera, up to 15-hour battery life when the pico projector is not operating, and 2.1-pound weight.
Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows, Android: The 8- and 10-inch tablets Windows and Android tablets share most of the same features, including larger four-way kickstand with hang mode, Intel Atom Z3745 processor with four cores with up to 1.86GHz operation, 1920×1200 IPS display with 10-point multitouch and 178-degree viewing angle, 2GB RAM, 802.11 b/g/n/ with dual-band n, 8-megapixel f.2,2 rear camera with autofocus, and 1.6-megapixel front HD camera. The Android 4.4 versions 16BG storage plus 64GB microSD card slot, while the Windows versions feature 32GB storage and 64GB microSD card slot. Android models deliver 18-hour battery life, while the Windows versions deliver 15-hour battery life.
Convertible PCs: The Yoga 3 Pro with 13.3-inch quad-HD+ 3200×1800 touchscreen is 17 percent thinner than its predecessor at 12.8mm thin and 14 percent lighter at 1.19kg. Lenovo attributes the smaller size and weight to a new watchband-type hinge built from more than 800 pieces of steel and aluminum. Like before, the hinge enables the device to be configured for laptop, stand, tablet, and tent modes. The laptop is available in orange, silver, and gold.
It comes with new Harmony software experience that customizes operation based on the application in use. For e-book reading, for example, brightness and color temperature change automatically according to ambient lighting, and for video playback, audio settings will be optimized.
Key hardware specs include Intel Core M-70 processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD storage, 802.11 ac, 720p webcam, micro-HDMI output, and up to 9-hour battery life.
The Yoga 14 for businesses also comes with four-way watchband-style hinge, 14-inch 1920×1080 IPS display with 10-point multitouch display with 300-nit brightness, NVIDIA Geforce 840M video graphics, 8GB RAM, , 1TB hard drive with 16GB SSD cache, battery life up to eight hours, magnesium-allot frame, embedded stereo speakers, full-size HDMI output, 720p camera, Wi-Fi 4.0 and WLAN.
