Lenovo unveils Yoga Book with real ink stylus

LENOVO HAS unveiled the Yoga Book, a tablet computer that promises a new approach to doodling and typing.

The Yoga Book is just 9.6mm thick, with a sturdy aluminium and magnesium case that keeps it impressively light at 680g.

Lenovo's new take on the tablet format features something called a Halo Keyboard that is connected to the 10.1in Full HD display via Lenovo's watch-band hinge and can't be removed.

The Yoga Book has an Intel Atom x5-Z8550 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. In terms of connectivity, the Yoga Book opts for microUSB over USB-C, and there are slots for microSD and mini HDMI.

But the real draw is the unique Halo Keyboard. It lacks physical keys but, unlike the fake-feeling Touch Covers that appeared on the Surface, Lenovo's effort provides haptic feedback to more accurately recreate the sensation of typing.

There's also a touchpad below the space bar for the tablet to be used more like a laptop.

The keyboard transforms into a drawing area when not in use, and can then be written or doodled on using the supplied Real Pen stylus.

The naming of the stylus is apt. It looks like a proper pen, but hides some impressive pressure-sensing tech. The 2,048 levels of sensitivity don't match the Galaxy Note 7's 4,096, but are more than the Surface Pen's 1,024.

The pen is ready for action with a single press of a button, and is compatible with any apps or software that support touch.

Removing the cap reveals an ink nib, and placing a sheet of paper onto the keyboard allows the Yoga Book to save a digital copy of whatever is drawn or written. A specially-sized pad of paper is included in the box.

Lenovo promises a generous 13 hours of life from the 8,500mAh battery.

The Yoga Book is loaded with Windows 10 or Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, but Lenovo said that Nougat won't be a long time coming. Bizarrely, both models have the same specs, which could be limiting with a 10in screen and Intel Atom processor.

That being said the Yoga Book is certainly an interesting proposition, and we reckon it could be an alternative to Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 and Samsung's Galaxy TabPro S.

Pre-orders for Lenovo's new tablet are open now. The Windows version costs £549 and the Android version £449. µ

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
•  
•  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Handhelds
• tablets
• Android
• Windows