Event Coverage

Lenovo Introduces New Touch PCs for Work and Play

By Leo Boon Yeow - 31 May 2013

Lenovo Introduces New Touch PCs for Home and Business

Lenovo has just announced the availability of a wide variety of touch-enabled devices that are built for use at home or at work. Among the devices displayed at the event are some very interesting devices that we first saw at CES 2013 earlier in the year. The most prominent ones have to be the 27-inch Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon, Lenovo ThinkPad Helix, and Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S. Read on to find out more.

 

Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon is great for a family to gather around for some gaming fun.

To recap, the massive Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon (hands-on article here) is a 27-inch all-in-one (AiO) PC running Windows 8 that's designed to work as a desktop PC, as well as a new category termed 'tabletop PC' due to its large screen size. When placed parallel to the ground, the Horizon's Aura interface is activated, and users can use touch to interact with photos, videos, and apps. The Horizon also comes with an additional set of accessories, that when set on the glass display (while it's lying flat like a table top) allows for even more interaction methods with the PC. There's an e-dice, four joysticks, and four strikers for users to enjoy some specially-made multi-touch games on the Horizon.

The Horizon comes with some very interesting capacitive touch gaming peripherals like strikers, joysticks and dice.

While a tabletop PC is certainly a novelty (at the moment, at least), Lenovo has also made sure that the Horizon is powerful enough so that you can work and play with it without any problems. The Horizon is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, and NVIDIA GeForce graphics. These enable the Horizon to serve capably both as a home entertainment system, as well as a great collaboration tool for the workplace. The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon will be available at Lenovo exclusive stores, all Courts outlets, and will be at PC Show 2013 which starts on June 6. Retail pricing starts from S$2,899.

Key Specs of the Lenovo Ideacentre Horizon - Starts at S$2,899

  • Processor: 3rd generation Intel Core i7-3537U
  • Memory: 8GB DDR3
  • Storage: 1TB HDD
  • Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GT 620M
  • Display: 27-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels), multi-touch
  • Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, card reader, headphones, microphone, HDMI-in
  • Dimension: 690.5 x 430.5 x 29.8mm

 

 

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix

The Lenovo ThinkPad Helix is a hybrid Ultrabook that features a removable display. Once removed, the display becomes a powerful Windows 8 Pro tablet.

We first had contact with the ThinkPad Helix at CES, and even did a hands-on session with it. Like the Samsung Ativ Pro, it's a convertible Ultrabook that doubles as a tablet, and has a bundled keyboard dock. The key difference here is that the Helix has security features like vPro that make it suitable for the enterprise environment. In fact, Lenovo claims that it's the thinnest 3rd generation Intel Core tablet with vPro.

Like most of Lenovo's recent Windows 8 machines, the ThinkPad Helix is capable of transforming into several modes. Users are able to "rip and flip" the display, snap it back onto the base and have the display face backwards in "Stand" mode. This mode allows users to give presentations or just enjoy a movie with ease. The Helix will be in stores on June 6, and will also be retailing at the upcoming PC Show for S$2,199.

Key Specs of the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix - Starts at S$2,199

  • Processor: 3rd generation Intel Core i7-3667U
  • Memory: 8GB DDR3
  • Storage: 128GB SSD
  • Graphics: Intel HD 4000
  • Display: 11.6-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) with pen input
  • Ports: Tablet: USB 2.0, SIM slot, mini DisplayPort; Dock: 2 x USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort
  • Battery: 42Wh (Tablet), 28Wh (Keyboard Dock)
  • Dimensions: 296.1 x 187.3 x 11.6mm

 

 

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S

The petite IdeaPad 11S uses a 1.4GHz Intel Core i3 processor.

When Lenovo introduced the IdeaPad Yoga 13 and Yoga 11 convertible Ultrabooks last year, the 11-inch Yoga was fitted with an ARM processor, which meant it was only able to run WIndows RT. With the introduction of the Yoga 11S, users are now able to have themselves a versatile little convertible Ultrabook running the full version of Windows 8, thanks to its Intel Core i3 processor which has very low power requirements.

In short, the 1.4GHz Intel Core i3 CPU allows the Yoga 11S to run all your traditional Windows programs, yet have a relatively long battery life. Like the Yoga 13 and 11 before it, the Yoga 11S is able to convert itself into two extra modes - Tent and Stand modes - beside the conventional tablet and notebook modes. If you're interested in getting yourself a Yoga 11S, it will be available - you guessed it - on June 6. You can find it at the PC Show. Retail price starts at S$1,399.

Key Specs of the 11-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S - Starts at S$1,399

  • Processor: 3rd generation Intel Core i3-3229Y
  • Memory: 4GB DDR3
  • Storage: 128GB SSD
  • Graphics: Intel HD 4000
  • Display: 11.6-inch (1366 x 768 pixels), multi-touch
  • Ports: USB 3.0, USB 2.0, card reader, audio combo jack, HDMI port
  • Battery: About 6 hours
  • Dimension: 298 x 204 x 17.2mm
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