Lenovo ThinkPad Twist, first impression

Some two weeks ago, we mentioned talked about the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist. Yesterday, the company invited us and a few other media folks for the official announcement of the said Ultrabook. Check out our first impression after the break.

ThinkPadTwist

One of the features that are common to most, if not all ThinkPad PCs is its durable body. And just like its ThinkPad siblings, the Twist is also outfitted with the same military-tested Magnesium Aluminum chassis which gives a solid and premium feel.

In addition to its lightweight but sturdy body, another trademark of ThinkPad computers is outstanding keyboard. Lenovo has equipped the Twist with their signature island-style keyboard with evenly-spaced and slightly convex keys which provide a very good tactile feedback when pressed. It also has a spacious palm rest that adds to the comfortable typing experience.

Keyboard

The clickpad and trackpoint (the red thingy found in between of G, H and B keys) are a familiar sight to those who’ve used a ThinkPad before. Both peripherals offer an admirable pointing experience which is typical to most ThinkPads.

LenovoTwist

Though Lenovo is still aiming at the SMB consumers with this Ultrabook, the Twist gives its potential users other ways to use their PC besides work thanks to its swiveling display. There are four ways consumers can use this Ultrabook; Typical Notebook mode, Tent Mode, Presentation, and Tablet.

The panel is connected to the main board by a single metal hinge which seems pretty rigid. Not convinced with what I saw (and felt), I asked Lenovo’s SMB Product Manager about the durability of the hinge (how many swiveling, closing and opening can it withstand). He said he was not sure with the exact number, but Lenovo had the ThinkPad Twist’s hinge undergo (and pass) a thorough stress test before the company mass manufactured the ultrabook. A ballpark figure would’ve been better, but his words is good enough for me.

LenovoS230U

The ThinkPad Twist’s display panel has a 1366 x 768 resolution. Lenovo could’ve equipped it with a better display, but it really isn’t as bad as some of you may think considering that the Twist only has 12.5-inch screen.

Above the display (when used in Notebook mode) is a 720 HD camera and the Twist’s accelerometer. Speaking of the accelerometer, I wasn’t too impressed with its ability to identify the Ultrabook’s orientation. It was spotty for the most part and has a tendency to shift the display in the wrong direction.

Twist

Lenovo equipped the ThinkPad Twist with a 4-cell Lithium-Polymer battery which is said to last 7-8 hours. The battery is non-replaceable and is not covered by the standard one year warranty that is bundled with the ultrabook. Having said this, we strongly suggest potential buyers to get the three years extended warranty for an extra fee which covers parts and service as well as the battery.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S230u specs:
12.5? HD IPS multi-touch display with Gorilla Glass
Intel Core i5 3317U, up to 2.6GHz
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4GB DDR3 RAM
500GB HDD + 24GB mSATA
2x USB 3.0, RJ-45
Mini-HDMI and mini-Display ports
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Gigabit LAN
4-in-1 SD card reader
Bluetooth 4.0
4-cell Li-Ion battery
Windows 8 Standard

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S230U aka Twist is now available in select Lenovo outlet and partner retailers for Php57,000.

Ronnie Bulaong

This article was written by Ronnie Bulaong, a special features contributor and correspondent for YugaTech. Follow him on Twitter @turonbulaong.

https://www.yugatech.com

6 Comments

Kirsten Fuentes says:

12 years ago

Dell XPS may have 9 hours battery life but at any given time I’d prefer premium construction and usability. Downside of dell xps is that if it goes into tablet mode the keyboard is exposed on the underside.
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steelicon says:

12 years ago

Kirsten Fuentes : Surely you jest! You may have mistaken the Lenovo Yogo (yes LENOVO, that’s right, the YOGO exposes the keyboard when in tablet mode) for the Dell XPS12!!!

The Dell XPS12 screen revolves in a horizontal axis and in tablet mode never exposes the keyboard to the elements.

Click my nick to see the link of the picture.

Kirsten Fuentes

http://tinyurl.com/b52ukcd

Nico Torres says:

12 years ago

Ultrabooks nowadays dont have detachable batteries. Li polymer is the new battery technology that may last you the notebook’s life cyle. Thinkpads are generally very robust notebooks. So I’d assume that this is a well thought of design despite that it comes in singular hinge axle link.
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Marvin Lee Tang says:

12 years ago

there are failed attempts to make a tablet/pc hybrid and one of those are those nasty, bulky windows xp tablet editions, who wants another one of those? twisting the screen would loose the hinge and what?! battery is not user replaceable
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steelicon says:

12 years ago

I think we need to review Dell XPS12 Convertible Ultrabook as well. It has a better battery life than this (approx. 9 hours, that’s at least an hour more than this Lenovo offering).
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Justin says:

12 years ago

“He said he was not sure with the exact number, but Lenovo had the ThinkPad Twist’s hinge undergo (and pass) a thorough stress test before the company mass manufactured the ultrabook.” … *sniff* *sniff* … Hmm… Do you smell that? … It smells like bull$hit to me.
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