1.3KG with 11.6-inch screen. If that’s outside your target range for an ultra mobile PC, move on. If not, pay close attention because the Yoga 11S is an interesting touch-convertible with a Core i3 CPU that turns in some excellent all-round performance figures. Battery life and quality are up there too and to top it all off, you can get it for $699. From video editing to 2nd-screen sofa activity, it’s highly capable.
It’s easy to summarise the review that we’ve just published over at Ultrabooknews (in theory, this is an Ultrabook) by saying that the only thing you might not like about the Yoga 11S is that it doesn’t have the latest 4th-gen Core, Haswell, inside. WiFi performance could be better too but apart from that, there’s little to dislike.
One interesting discovery is that the CPU performance, the raw number crunching performance, is no better than the Baytail-T performance on the Transformer Book T100. However, when you factor in the better GPU performance, faster memory bus, 4GB RAM and very fast SATA-SSD, you end up with a far more capable PC. It’s worth bearing in mind when looking at Baytrail performance tests. PCMark on the Yoga 11S with Core i3-3229Y is better than that on the Tramsformer Pad T100 with Atom Z3740 and that doesn’t include the fast video enc/decoder and some other features of the Core i3.
At $699 it’s worth considering if you’re in the market for a sub-notebook. Oh, and the ‘Yoga’ fold-back screen feature is pretty good too.
The Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 11S in review here is a current Ultrabook, in previous generation form. The new Haswell versions are feeding-in but this Ivy Bridge version is on offer at $699 so it makes an attractive hybrid of great quality and mobility even more interesting. Ben reviewed the Core i7 version in July but we have the Core i3 version with 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 11.6-inch version here now. It’s mostly a great experience but there are, as always, considerations. Read on to see if the Lenovo Yoga 11S fits your requirements and check out the Core i7 vs Core i3 Yoga 11S comparison.
While Microsoft is going all-in with its “Modern UI”, the dual nature of Windows 8 is still trying the patience of many. This is partly due to the fact that most consumer laptops lack a touchscreen. Fortunately, Chippy was kind enough to loan me his 2013 Harris Beach developer Ultrabook after seeing me bemoan the “dual nature” of Windows 8. Here’s how a touchscreen device has changed my feelings about Redmond’s tiled interface.
Following on from one of our favorite Ultrabooks of 2012 is the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus. It uses the same stylish design as the previous model but offers a few interesting upgrades on the specifications. A QHD (3200×1800) touchscreen and Haswell CPU for example. Read on to find out if the ATIV Book 9 is still up there with the best Ultrabooks of 2013.
A 1KG Ultrabook is an engineering feat. The Toshiba Z830, at 1.1KG still surprises 2 years after launch. Since then though we haven’t seen many attempt to break the 2.2 pound mark. Only the NEC Lavie Z, an expensive Asia-only model, and the almost unknown Inhon Blade Carbon have launched in the 13.3” bracket. The Sony Vaio Pro 13 is a far more globally available product though. It’s not only lightweight, it offers a FullHD Sony Triluminous touchscreen, a good set of specifications and, although the battery is smaller than your average Ultrabook battery of 2012, good battery life. The Haswell CPU is responsible for that, and some good performance figures. At the extremes of tight engineering one often finds a few issues of note and that’s the case with the Sony Vaio Pro 13. You’ll have to accept a few of those if you want the lightest 13.3-inch Haswell-based touch Ultrabook on the market. Read more in the full review below.
After having our hands on the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S Ultrabook convertible for a few weeks, we’re ready to bring you the full review. Is this 11.6-inch convertible with Intel’s Ivy Bridge Y-series processor right for you? Step inside to see our analysis.
Unfortunately the Sony Vaio Duo 13 has to go back today and we didn’t have time to get a full review together but we’ve had a reasonable amount of time testing and are now able to give you a relatively detailed overview. We’re expecting a longer term loaner very soon and that one will be a retail model rather than the production sample we’ve got here.
In summary the Sony Vaio Duo 13 is a very impressive and advanced Ultrabook and a unique bit of engineering both inside and outside. Haswell shows all it’s colors with the Duo 13 but there are one or two things to watch out for before you buy and of course, this isn’t a cheap Ultrabook but read-on to find out why you’re probably going to get value for your money.
It’s always nice to review an Ultrabook that’s well-balanced and good value for money. The Toshiba U940 was one. The Samsung Series 5 (Sandy Bridge) was another. Does the Samsung Series 5 with touch, Windows 8 and SSD, have the same values? Read-on to find out.
