Living with the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable - PCMag

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Detachable computers—essentially machines that can be used as Windows tablets but which are designed so you can snap on a keyboard and use them as a traditional laptop—are making a resurgence. Microsoft set the formula with its Surface Pro line, now up to the Surface Pro 7, and other makers seem to be putting more of a focus on such machines.

One of the most impressive of these is Lenovo's new ThinkPad X12 Detachable, essentially a 12-inch tablet that comes with a keyboard that snaps on the bottom and a pen (stylus) you can store in a strap located on the side of the keyboard.

Measuring 0.34 by 11.15 by 8.0 inches (HWD) and weighing 1.67 pounds as a tablet and 2.4 pounds with the keyboard and stylus CHECK, it is a very portable machine, easy to take with you. For comparison, the Surface Pro 7 measures 0.33 by 11.5 by 7.9 inches (HWD) and weighs almost the same.

There are a couple of reasons you might want to choose a detachable over a more traditional notebook computer. One is the ease of transportability. Detachables often are thinner and lighter than most laptops; and that alone makes them attractive to people who travel a lot, as I used to do pre-pandemic. For executives, we're now seeing some enterprise machines, such as the ThinkPad X1 Nano and the HP Elite Dragonfly, that offer other very lightweight alternatives, but the X12 Detachable is still quite easy to carry.

The other reason, of course, is to use it at least part of the time as a tablet, without a keyboard. Almost every enterprise laptop maker offers convertibles, where the keyboard flips over to use it as a tablet. Such machines are almost always heavier. Those who use the stylus pen for drawing or annotating find the tablet option indispensable.

In the US, the X12 Detachable comes with the Lenovo Digital pen, which offers 4,096 levels of pressure; and seemed to work quite well in applications such as Photoshop and Acrobat. An optional $59 Precision Pen adds tilt detection, an additional configurable button, and the ability to attach magnetically to the tablet itself (as opposed to being held in place by a strap on the keyboard.)  The screen isn’t quite as high-resolution as that on the Surface, although that didn’t get in my way (of course, I’m no artist), and the X12 Detachable seemed to work well with the stylus.

Another big category of tablet use is for things such as reading newspapers, magazines, and books; or for watching videos.  Here, the X12 Detachable—like all Windows-based detachables—fails in my eyes. This isn't a hardware issue. The problem is that the Windows ecosystem never got the kind of tablet or mobile applications that the Apple and Android ecosystems have. The Windows Store seems to have more misleading or frivolous apps than legitimate or useful ones. So instead of dedicated applications for things like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or even Amazon Kindle you have to access publications via websites. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have apps, although not as advanced as those in other platforms. The web works of course, but the experience isn't quite the same, and that doesn’t help for offline reading. Even the tablet itself at 1.7 pounds, it's not as light as an iPad (1 pound for the 10-inch Air to 1.5 pounds for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro) or most Android tablets, so it isn't as easy to carry around.

On its own merits, as a lightweight machine that you can easily use as a tablet for drawing and presentations, the X12 Detachable has plenty of strengths. The 12-inch, 1920-by-1,280 pixel display in a 3:2 configuration is very good, though not quite as dense as the 12.3-inch, 2,736-by-1,824-pixel display on the Surface Pro 7. It can reach up to 400 nits of brightness, and has Gorilla Glass for increased durability. And as I said the stylus worked quite well.

X12 Detachable with Keyboard

One area where it beats the Surface Pro in my book is the keyboard. With nearly full-size keys, the familiar red TrackPoint pointing stick in the center, and a decent size touchpad, it feels good to type on, and it was more comfortable to use in my lap. It’s not quite as good as the keyboards on traditional ThinkPads, but pretty good. One minor complaint: The magnets that attach the keyboard to the bottom of the machine aren't as strong as those on the Surface Pro, so if you try to lift the machine by the tablet, it sometimes falls off. This can be annoying.

As with a lot of detachables, a kickstand on the back of the machine lets you adjust the angle of the display, and this worked well, but getting the angle right for video conferencing was a bit difficult.

The performance was also quite good.  The unit I tested is based on an Intel Corei5-1130G7 processor (Tiger Lake-U), a four-core eight-thread processor with a base speed of 1.2 GHz and a maximum turbo of 4.0 GHz, with 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD.  In general benchmarks, it scored just slightly slower than the X1 Nano with the i7-1160G7 Tiger Lake processor, but notably higher than the Surface Pro 7 with a Core i5-1035G4 Ice Lake processor.  On my more specific business tests, it took 66 minutes to run a complex MatLab simulation, compared with 48 minutes for the X1 Nano and 86 minutes for the Surface Pro 7; and 48 minutes to run a complex Excel model, compared with 43 minutes for the X1 Nano and 53 minutes for the Surface Pro 7. These are excellent times, obviously helped by Tiger Lake.

I got over 11 hours in my battery run-down, close to what I saw with the Nano and the Surface Pro, so this is a machine that should last through a full day of normal work.

In these days of video conferencing, most laptops are adding features designed for it, and the X12 is no exception. But this is where I was most disappointed. The front-facing 5-megapixel video camera seemed a little dark to me, and the focus wasn’t crisp. I’m not sure why this wasn’t as good as the ones I’ve seen in other laptops in this category like the Surface Pro and the Nano, but I wanted better. In addition, there’s an 8-megapixel rear facing camera for taking pictures, something I don’t do much on a tablet. It has two 1-watt speakers, dual-array microphones, and software that supposedly enhances the audio quality, both for playback and for video conferencing. I thought the speakers and audio were fine, though nothing extraordinary.

Its supports Windows Hello for logging in, using an IR camera; and also has a match-on-sensor fingerprint reader for extra security. These work quite well. It includes a ThinkShutter physical camera privacy switch for the front-facing camera, which I also like.

As with a lot of smaller laptops these days, it has limited ports: One Thunderbolt 4, one USB 3.2 Type-C, and an audio jack. I tried it with a Thunderbolt 3 Dock to connect a pair of monitors. There’s supposed to be a new Thunderbolt 4 dock coming as well. And as usual these days, it supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. Some models, though not the one I tested, support LTE WWAN.

Overall, I thought the X12 was a pretty nice machine, for those looking for a detachable. On the downside, the webcam could use some work and the screen isn’t as high-resolution as the one on the Surface Pro; but on the plus side it was quite fast and has the best keyboard I’ve seen on a machine in this category.

Here’s PCMag’s review.

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May 01, 2021 at 03:10AM
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Living with the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable - PCMag

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TAPO Kathleen Kelly Adds Insight to Case Study of $2B Lenovo 401k Plan - The 401(k) Specialist

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Here at 401k Specialist, we’re proud of all our Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes (TAPO) honorees over the years, so it caught our attention when we saw July 2019 TAPO honoree Kathleen Kelly of Compass Financial Partners, a Marsh & McLellan Agency, LLC company, featured in the new edition of The Participant, State Street Global Advisors’ flagship retirement publication.

Kathleen Kelly

Kelly was honored as a TAPO finalist in part for her strategic approach to developing education and communication programs with clients, the goal of which is empowering employees to make the right decision.

Those attributes shine through in an April 28 case study article titled, “Lenovo Leads with a Commitment to Participants’ Needs,” about the Lenovo 401k plan, where Kelly serves as retirement plan consultant.

State Street Global Advisors has graciously agreed to let us share some excerpts below from that piece, which can be read in its entirety here.

Empowering employees to invent and experiment

From the State Street Global Advisors article:

By any measure, Lenovo’s $2 billion 401k plan has produced remarkable results. With one of its dual headquarters in Morrisville, N.C., the U.S. division of the global technology company has achieved 98% participation, as well as an 11% average deferral rate. But Lenovo’s ambitions are higher still. Four years after its employees were auto-enrolled, the company wants them to save 20% of their income, which would include the company’s 6% match.

“Why not?” said Ryan Whitehead, senior benefits manager at Lenovo, who oversees the company’s U.S. and Canadian financial benefits programs, as well as its defined benefit programs outside the U.S. His question isn’t flippant, but instead reflective of Lenovo’s entrepreneurial attitude and test-and-learn culture. “You have to be willing to try things out.”

Disruption is something most retirement plan committees try to avoid. But in the fast-paced tech industry, it’s the only way to succeed. As Lenovo has grown from a two-room Beijing startup into a leading global giant, it has held on to its hunger for innovation. It strives to stay close to customers and respond quickly to the market by empowering employees to invent and experiment. Innovation has been the key to anticipating customers’ needs—and employees.

That experimental spirit is exactly what makes Lenovo “a great case study,” according to its retirement plan consultant, Kathleen Kelly, of Compass Financial Partners, a Marsh & McLellan Agency, LLC company. Kelly has been working with Lenovo’s 401k program for over a decade, starting before Whitehead joined the company. “Courage is a good word to describe them. Often, there’s a certain degree of fear about making changes that won’t be well-received. Lenovo takes an informed perspective, makes a decision and moves on.”

Auto-escalation

Sponsors often worry about sparking a backlash if they introduce major changes. In 2016, the Lenovo committee wondered how participants would react when the entire population was swept into a 6% automatic enrollment rate—a big leap from the previous 3% rate. But the feared blowback never materialized. Only a handful of employees set their contribution lower. Even fewer opted out entirely. Nor was there any pushback when Lenovo subsequently upped the auto-increase to 2%.

Transforming the plan

Lenovo’s plan wasn’t always what it is today. Its transformation took years of effort and committed teamwork to harmonize multiple legacy plans. When Whitehead joined Lenovo, he inherited a 401k plan that offered a 5% profit-sharing contribution plus a 3% match. In 2014, Lenovo acquired IBM’s x86 server business, including the global employees behind it. Subsequently, the company’s 2014 acquisition of Motorola Mobility included a plan with a 4% match.

The resulting mosaic of retirement plans was clumsy to administer and confusing to navigate. Something had to be done.

Moreover, the retirement plan was only one in a long list of employee benefit programs that needed to be reconciled. The easy fix would have been to tweak the company’s marquee benefit program first—its 401k plan. But Lenovo recognized that saving for retirement wasn’t a standalone concern. Every part of its employees’ lives was interconnected: Retirement savings was one part of a larger financial picture, one that affected mental and physical health. Solving for a single benefit in isolation wouldn’t necessarily make employees feel any happier, healthier, or more secure. Lenovo decided to take a wider view and focus on what really mattered: its employees’ total wellbeing.

Holistic approach paid off in 2020

“The biggest takeaway is that you do truly have to use a total wellbeing approach,” said Whitehead. “Things kind of blend together now.” Fresh off its success in the U.S., Lenovo began offering a global employee assistance program just over a year ago.

Later in 2020, it rolled out a larger global total wellbeing program, leveraging ideas tested in each geographical market to benefit other locations around the world. The program and its rollout timing were prescient, as a global pandemic called for a global wellness solution—and Lenovo had one at the ready.

Read the entire article from State Street Global Advisors here

SEE ALSO:

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May 01, 2021 at 12:55AM
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Level Up Your Work Experience And Performance With Lenovo Mobile Workstation - Mashable India

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Lenovo is a popular brand that’s famed for producing laptops that offer a solid blend of advanced performance, tons of style, immersive display, and a whole range of other nifty features. And its mobile workstation range is no exception. The range offers a slew of advanced and sleek laptops packed with industry-leading technology, intelligent design, and extreme portable power.

These laptops are built in a way that lets professionals turn their ideas into reality, even outside the confines of the office. Let’s take a deeper dive into how exactly Lenovo mobile workstation is helping professionals transform their creative workflows and boost efficiency.

Immense Flexibility

While the flexibility that comes with the work-from-anywhere model was earlier limited to creative professionals, more businesses are looking to adopt the remote working model. This is where Lenovo’s mobile workstation is helping professionals involved in compute-intensive workflows in big ways as it lets them experience the powerful performance of a heavy-duty desktop in a sturdy, lighter, and portable laptop.

So, whether you’re an architect working with complex graphics or an engineer that deals with large-scale projects, Lenovo’s mobile workstation range is capable of handling almost anything that you throw at it without compromising on the flexibility.

Sleek, Lightweight Design

Lenovo mobile workstation range offers a variety of lightweight laptops that strike just the right balance between power and mobility. So, if your work requires blazing GPU and CPU performance but you’re looking for something lighter to carry around, you can rest assured you’ll find something of your preference in this range. For instance, the ThinkPad P1 is Lenovo’s 15” mobile workstation with a slimline design and extreme portable power. There’s also the ThinkPad P14s 14” which’s Lenovo’s smallest and lightest workstation, weighing 1.47kg. The sleek lightweight design makes these laptops great for highly mobile students, engineers, and designers who desire to be productive anytime, anywhere.

Powerful Performance

If you’re looking for a laptop that offers unparalleled performance without compromising on its features or functionality, Lenovo mobile workstation has plenty of options. You can find laptops that are powered with the latest Intel® Xeon® processors and high memory capacity to handle whatever tasks you need to accomplish. You can also explore new possibilities for projects with the power to build interactive 3D models and VR experiences on the workstation. Moreover, be it complex graphics, computer-aided design, or AI, professionals can choose from the workstation that works for their needs.

Unparalleled Reliability

Heavy workloads require a workstation that can offer reliable performance consistently. Lenovo mobile workstation promises reliability to professionals across every industry and have required 20% fewer repairs than its competitor products, according to the TBR PC reliability study, 2019. These workstations are also tested to MIL-SPEC standards and can effortlessly withstand almost all environmental hazards.

Summing it up, there’s no denying that the Lenovo workstations are all-encompassing devices that are built to deliver fast, efficient, and seamless performance. With these power-packed workstations, you can be assured that they will meet more than just high-end work demands and will carry you through it all.

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April 30, 2021 at 11:40PM
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Save on a refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad this week - Mashable

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Products featured here are selected by our partners at StackCommerce.If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

This refurbished model is like having a brand-new laptop, only cheaper.

Image: Mashable Photo Composite

By StackCommerceMashable Shopping2021-04-28 09:00:00 UTC

TL;DR: Work from home with this refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad T430S Laptop Computer, on sale for 37% off. As of April 28, grab it for only $242.54.

---

Whether we're working or binge-watching your go-to Netflix series, many of us spend hours on end in front of our computers. If yours is starting to slow down, consider an upgrade that won't break the bank, courtesy of this refurbished deal on the Lenovo Thinkpad T430S Laptop Computer. 

This is an easy and relatively affordable option for those who are on the prowl for a new (to them) computer. As for tech specs, this Thinkpad comes packed with a 2.6 GHz Intel i5 Dual-Core processor, 500GB of SATA storage, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, with a capacity of 16GB in two slots, and Windows 10 Home. There's also two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, and a VGA port, in case the 14-inch screen isn't big enough and you want to connect a second monitor.

Usually, it sells for $384, but for a limited time, you can slash 37% off and drop the final price all the way down to $242.54.

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April 28, 2021 at 04:00PM
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Navitas Powers the Launch of Lenovo's 2021 Xiaoxin and YOGA laptops - WFMZ Allentown

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DUBLIN, April 30, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Navitas Semiconductor announced that the Lenovo laptops Xiaoxin Air 14, Air 15, Pro 16 plus the YOGA Duet and YOGA 5G were officially launched on April 22nd, and featured the YOGA CC 65 – the world's smallest folding-pin 65W dual USB-C fast charger, using GaNFast™ power ICs.

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a next-generation semiconductor technology that runs up to 20x faster than old, slow silicon (Si), and enables up to 3x more power or 3x faster charging in half the size & weight. GaNFast power ICs integrate GaN power and drive plus protection and control to deliver the simplest, smallest, fastest and highest performance.

The Xiaoxin-YOGA launch was presented by Lenovo's Yuezhu SONG (director of consumer fan marketing) with Long (Elon) CHEN (product manager) and the fan marketing team hosting a live-stream. Mr. Chen and the team displayed a complete Navitas GaN wafer, containing thousands of tiny GaNFast power IC chips, plus some of the final packaged devices; smaller than a fingernail. The Lenovo team shared a detailed description of GaNFast with the audience discover this world-leading, next-generation GaN technology that powers the YOGA 65W dual-port charger in a unique way.

"The YOGA CC 65's gallium nitride chip is a next-generation GaNFast power IC from Navitas," said Ms. Song. "It's extremely compact with unique, integrated, loss-less current sensing which increases efficiency and drives cool operation and high performance. It is precisely because of the Navitas GaNFast chip that the YOGA CC 65 can be very portable and compact."

The dual USB-C output YOGA CC 65 measures a tiny 50 x 50 x 30 mm (75 cc) with folding AC pins, and a featherweight 103 g which makes it almost half the size and weight of Apple's 61W 1x USB-C charger. With a unique industrial design and surface finish with UV high-gloss surface and a hot silver "YOGA" logo, the touch texture is soft like jade.

Meeting Lenovo's stringent notebook specifications, the YOGA CC 65W has passed over 30 professional tests and is very safe and reliable, with a very long-life expectancy. According to the notebook's standard, it must continue to work at full power for more than 8,700 hours – or 10 years.

The small, portable charger also satisfies the fast charging of mobile phones, notebooks and tablets. It supports PD/QC/PPS fast-charging protocols and comes with a 1.5-meter-long charging cable. Maximum power is 65W worldwide available from a single USB-C port or power-sharing at 47W+18W for multiple devices.

Mr. Chen displayed the 6" GaN wafer in close-up detail for the first time, explaining, "GaNFast chips are powerful, with both cool temperature control and fast charging. As a highly integrated chip, it not only includes GaN power but also GaN drive, control and protection to deliver very good conversion efficiency."

"We are excited to partner with Lenovo on the launch of the YOGA CC 65," said Charles (Yingjie) ZHA, Navitas' China vice president and general manager. "The efficient, robust, easy-to-use GaNFast power ICs make the charger extremely small, light, easy-to-carry, safer and smarter."

This is the first time that Navitas' next-generation gallium nitride chip has been publicly displayed, and the first time that Lenovo has publicly highlighted enabling technology at a new charger launch. At an initial price of only 119 RMB (US$18), the GaNFast YOGA CC 65W delivers world-class performance at a down-to-earth price.

About Lenovo YOGA

As a high-end brand of Lenovo, YOGA focuses on the quality of elite people, gathering Lenovo's advantage in R & D resources plus scientific and technological innovation achievements. Since 2012, when YOGA released the first flip book, innovation has never stopped. Quality, ingenuity, achievement... It became part of YOGA's DNA. The YOGA family has developed into the main high-tech lightweight YOGA S series and represents quality with the classic 360 ° flip touch YOGA C series. In 2019, the YOGA14s was launched and to popular acclaim. Quality and ingenuity have always been YOGA's brand value proposition.

About Navitas

Navitas Semiconductor Ltd. is the world's first and only gallium nitride (GaN) Power IC company, founded in 2014. Navitas has a strong and growing team of power semiconductor industry experts with a combined 300 years of experience in materials, devices, applications, systems and marketing, plus a proven record of innovation with over 300 patents among its founders. GaN power ICs integrate GaN power with drive, control and protection to enable faster charging, higher power density and greater energy savings for mobile, consumer, enterprise, eMobility and new energy markets. Over 120 Navitas patents are issued or pending, and over 18 million GaNFast power ICs have been shipped with zero failures.

Navitas Semiconductor, GaNFast and the Navitas logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Navitas Semiconductor, Ltd. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.

Media Contact

Stephen Oliver, Navitas Semiconductor, +1 9782892364, stephen.oliver@navitassemi.com

Twitter, Facebook

SOURCE Navitas Semiconductor

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April 30, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Lenovo Files TTAB Opposition Over Think-formative Mark - Law Street Media

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Lenovo PC International Limited and Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. filed a notice of opposition Wednesday before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against applicant Guilin Kushim Trading Co. Ltd., asserting that it would be damaged by the registration of the applicant’s Taosthink mark because of likelihood of consumer confusion.

According to the opposition, Lenovo “offers a wide array of technology-related products and services to consumers, including but not limited to, servers, computer hardware, server storage, networking, and software products and services.” Lenovo asserted that it is “the assignee and/or owner of a family of federally registered trademarks that contain the word THINK as a dominant word element (collectively, Think Marks) and the goodwill associated with those marks.” For example, as noted in the opposition, these registered Think-formative marks include Think Pad, ThinkCentre, ThinkLight, ThinkPad, ThinkPlus, and ThinkServer, among others. Lenovo claimed that the Think marks are used to promote its computer and other technology-related goods in international classes 009 and 042, among others. Lenovo stated that there has been a continuous use of these marks since the first use and use in commerce dates for each of these and contended that it has priority over the applicant because of its use and application/registration of these marks before the applicant’s.

Lenovo proffered that the applicant applied for the registration of the Taosthink mark in International Class 009, covering, “technology and computer-related goods,” including “Headphones; Smartwatches; (and) Cellphones,” with a first use in commerce on July 27, 2020. Lenovo claimed that the applicant’s goods and services with its application are “highly related” to the goods and services that Lenovo offers in connection with its Think marks.

Lenovo averred that Taosthink “is confusingly similar in appearance, sound, and commercial impression” to Lenovo’s Think marks, as it “contain(s) the dominant element ‘think’ in connection with a secondary word element.” Additionally, Lenovo noted that its and the applicant’s marks are “in connection with computer, technology and virtual reality related goods.” As a result of these alleged similarities, Lenovo asserted that consumers are likely to falsely believe that there is a connection or affiliation between the opposer and the applicant and be confused as to the source of origin for the offered goods or services. Consequently, Lenovo claimed that it will be damaged by the registration of the applicant’s mark.

Lenovo is seeking for its opposition to be sustained and for the applicant’s application for Taosthink to be refused registration.

Lenovo is represented by Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

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April 29, 2021 at 06:52PM
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold review: Is a foldable PC really worth it? - Mashable

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A couple of years ago, for reasons that have never been quite clear to me, the tech world seized on the idea that foldable screens are the future. This movement has, so far, yielded things like the botched Samsung Galaxy Fold, its improved (but wildly expensive) successor, and a Motorola Razr revival that made disgusting noises when you tried to bend the screen.

In other words, foldable devices have done little to advance the notion that they're the future of technology. Lenovo's recently released ThinkPad X1 Fold may be notable for being the first foldable Windows PC, but it still doesn't buck that trend.

This is an astoundingly ambitious hybrid tablet/laptop with a price tag to match— you'll spend a minimum of $2,500 on this bending bad boy. On paper, this can be a work laptop, a propped up streaming device, or a tablet complete with a pressure-sensitive stylus. The ThinkPad X1 fold can do so many things in so many ways, but almost none of that is actually enjoyable for the user.

Folding screen largely works fine • Classy appearance with leather folio • High-res display

Overly expensive • Awful laptop keyboard • Poor battery life • Potential for hardware failures

Lenovo's entry into the foldable device arena shows some promise thanks to the X1 Fold's display, appearance, and screen configuration options. But a painful keyboard and serious battery problems ensure it remains more novelty than must-have.

⚡ Mashable Score 2.0

It's got class, I'll give it that

The leather exterior is a genuinely nice feature.

Image: alex perry / mashable

In the spirit of fairness, I'll start with the device's physical construction, inarguably its best quality. 

The X1 Fold is handsome to the eyes and sturdy in the hands, with the 13-inch display accounting for the bulk of its footprint when fully unfolded. At 2.2 pounds, it's more than a half-pound heavier than something like an iPad Pro. Still, I'd place it at the high end of that sweet spot where it's not too heavy and not too light. Stick it in your bag and you probably won't notice as you lug it around from place to place.

Available only in black, the X1 Fold has a classy look with a real leather folio cover on the opposite side of its screen. The leather feels fantastic to the touch, and is genuinely preferable to a normal plastic shell. A built-in kickstand folds out from the leather folio to keep the X1 Fold propped up when in tablet mode. This is obviously useful for watching streaming content or participating in a video call, and the kickstand certainly doesn't feel like it's going to snap off anytime soon. (I'm looking at you, Nintendo Switch kickstand.)

Lenovo included a mere two USB-C ports on the X1 Fold. When looking at the device unfolded in tablet mode (and propped up by the kickstand), one of these ports can be found on the lower-left corner, with the other living on the bottom edge. Buttons for power and volume sit on the upper-right side of the device for easy access, while a Nano-SIM tray occupies the opposite edge. A webcam is also included and can be found just left of center in the bezel around the screen. 

One point of concern about the webcam, though: In laptop mode — which shifts the device on its side— its placement means you'll show up sideways in video calls. Correct camera orientation can only be achieved in a tablet form factor.

The webcam sits vertically on the right side of the display in laptop mode. Not ideal.

Image: alex perry / mashable

Lenovo's inclusion of just two USB-C ports is fine for a tablet, but for a device that's supposed to double as a work laptop, it's not enough. If you ever need to use the laptop while it's charging, you're left with only one port open. Need to use both a USB mouse and keyboard while charging the X1 Fold? Too bad. 

But let's be real: If you're spending close to three grand for a folding computer, you likely care more about the folding than how many ports it has. 

The X1 Fold can be custom-ordered with a variety of configuration choices, but the internal PC guts are fairly static across the board:

• 13.3-inch, 1536 x 2048 OLED touch display with 60Hz refresh rate

• Windows 10 (Home or Pro)

• Intel Core i5 processor

• 8GB LPDDR4X RAM

• 256, 512, or 1TB SSD storage (the only one of these specs you can customize)

• Rated for up to 10.5 hours of battery with video playback

Those aren't exactly eye-popping specs for $2,500, and the problem only gets worse when you factor in important and useful add-ons that increase the price by several hundred dollars. For example, expanding the storage to 1TB, adding the Bluetooth keyboard attachment (more on that later), and "Mod Pen" stylus balloons the price to $3,104. Three thousand dollars ... for a laptop with 8GB RAM. Yeah.

Further lessening the value relative to the price is the fact that the X1 Fold's general performance is merely fine. It's not laggy or anything, but for everyday tasks like web browsing and video calls, it's not noticeably faster or more capable than my (comparatively cheaper) work-issued MacBook Pro.

The X1 Fold is a little sluggish off the line, with a boot-up time between 20 and 30 seconds coming off a full shutdown. Apps and webpages can also take a half-second longer to load than you might expect from something this expensive. Again, it's not actively bad or even mediocre, but the X1 Fold's moment-to-moment performance didn't do enough to negate my frustrations with the device as a whole.

This is a vibrant display with plenty of resolution to spare.

Image: alex perry / mashable

There's also no way to bump the display's refresh rate up from 60Hz — an omission that sticks out given the gargantuan price Lenovo is charging for the X1 Fold. I'll grant that a folding display of this size is probably exorbitantly expensive to manufacture, so corners need to be cut, but it's still disappointing. 

Aside from that, however, the OLED display's high resolution (1536 x 2048) and vibrant colors make it one of the better aspects of the X1 Fold. When you unfurl it and set it up with the kickstand, it can serve as an excellent secondary display to stream Netflix or watch basketball on while you do chores, play video games, or do whatever else it is you need to do.

Loathsome as a laptop

Using the X1 Fold as a primary work laptop for even one day can best be described as "maddening." You do this by folding the screen clamshell-style and magnetically attaching the Bluetooth keyboard (a $365 optional purchase) atop the lower half of the screen. Pairing the keyboard is easy enough, as all you'll need to do is flip a small toggle on its right side, hold a special Bluetooth key for a few seconds, and follow some on-screen prompts on the Fold itself. That whole process takes maybe 30 seconds.

It's what happens after that brings the pain. 

Attaching the keyboard obscures half of the 13.3-inch display, effectively making the X1 Fold closer in size and shape to a netbook than a regular laptop. That big, nice-looking display I talked about earlier instantly becomes cramped and difficult to use in laptop mode. It can barely even fit a Windows taskbar with just a few items on it.

You don't get a ton of screen space to work with in laptop mode.

Image: alex perry / mashable

And then there's the keyboard. Oh, the keyboard. What can I say? It's excessively tiny, for one. It's so tiny, in fact, that I can almost touch one corner with my thumb and the opposite corner with my pinky finger. That's not ideal for something that's meant to be used with two hands. And as if that wasn't enough, the keys are mushy and unsatisfying to press.

Lenovo also made some minor (but aggravating) shifts to key placement, presumably to account for the keyboard's small size. For instance, the colon/semicolon and apostrophe/quotation mark buttons sit right above the enter key instead of to its left. I have been typing on keyboards with those keys in the latter position for 20 years. There is no world in which I can train my brain to accept this change.

Hate. It.

Image: alex perry / mashable

The keyboard also comes with a touchpad on the bottom that is, by no small margin, the worst touchpad I have ever used. It's horizontally shorter than my index finger, just to give you an idea of how minuscule it is. So good luck doing anything that requires two fingers at once, like scrolling or zooming. Those sorts of commands work, but the touchpad is so small that it's hardly comfortable to use.

Even more troubling than its size is how finicky the touchpad is. It simply cannot consistently distinguish between a click and a drag, no matter how light a touch you use. Anytime I tried to click onto a different browser tab and move the mouse cursor down onto the page, there was at least a 50 percent chance the touchpad would mistakenly drag the tab out into a new window because it registered my attempt to scroll as a click. 

The compromised display when in laptop mode, atrocious keyboard, and nearly useless touchpad all conspire to make just one day of using the X1 Fold as a primary work machine more than enough for me. Normally, I would've typed this review out on the Fold itself, but no way. Not this time.

But hey, maybe you don't need to do written work on the X1 Fold. Maybe you want to get the most out of that big display. If you do, I have bad news: That's not great either.

Tedious as a tablet

This part actually works pretty well!

Image: alex perry / mashable

As a foldable display, there are a few different ways to use the X1 Fold in tablet mode. The first and most basic is to use it as a completely flat display, iPad-style. It's a little thicker and heavier than the average iPad, but this isn't a terrible way to do things. Beyond that, you can fold it in a clamshell shape, with one half of the screen resting on a flat surface, or you can hold it like a book. It's not locked to a 90-degree orientation in this mode, giving you some flexibility to adjust for your needs.

Doing either of those things will give you the option to display whatever windows you have open side-by-side, divided cleanly by the crease in the screen. This is a plus for multitasking, I suppose. Though, I will point out that you can also display windows like that on any other computer display for roughly the same effect. Regardless, this part works as expected. The X1 Fold automatically detects what you're trying to do with it and is usually quick to rearrange windows to make better use of screen real estate.

Windows look like this when displayed side-by-side in book mode.

Image: alex perry / mashable

Now for the bad news: The X1 Fold's touchscreen is just not responsive enough when it comes to sensing human fingers. You can make it work, but if you try dragging a finger in a line in Paint, you'll see several small breaks where the screen simply stopped registering your touch for whatever reason. Thankfully, this doesn't happen with the $100 Mod Pen accessory, a straightforward pressure-sensitive stylus. The X1 Fold plays very nicely with the Mod Pen, though the extra cost necessary to make this already-expensive device better as a tablet is a bummer. 

Even a better touchscreen wouldn't fix the fact that Windows is just not a pleasant operating system to use on a tablet. Microsoft has fiddled with the sizes and shapes of various UI features over the years to work more naturally in a touch environment, but the fact of the matter is that Windows is still a pain without a physical keyboard and a touchpad or mouse. Tapping text boxes doesn't always bring up a virtual keyboard; some buttons are much too small for my fingers, and so on. It just sucks.

That's not Lenovo's fault. But the fact that Windows is all you get with the X1 Fold means it's worth pointing out how annoying it can be to use the device as a tablet due to the mere presence of a mouse-and-keyboard-based OS. Every problem I've listed above also came with the assumption that the X1 Fold functions at all, which, if you can believe it, was not a guarantee in my time with it.

Prone to failure

Battery problems colored my experience with the X1 Fold more than anything else. To be clear, I don't simply mean a lack of battery life, though that's certainly something to call out with this device.

Lenovo rates the X1 Fold for somewhere around eight to 10 hours on a charge, but I couldn't stretch it that far. In one work morning, when all I did with the X1 Fold was attend two video meetings, it went from 100 percent to 30 percent power by lunchtime. That was also without using the Bluetooth keyboard, which surely uses at least a little extra juice to run. When using the Fold as a work device, it gave me closer to four or five hours of service before needing a recharge.

A more pressing issue is that the first X1 Fold I tested went kaput for no discernible reason within 24 hours of unboxing it. The device worked fine for a day. But by the next morning, with the device plugged in overnight, it couldn't draw power at all. The battery had lost all its charging capabilities, displaying a zero percent indicator on the screen no matter how long I left it plugged in. 

To Lenovo's credit, its representatives were extremely helpful and we were able to get a replacement unit to me that largely fared better. But even that wasn't without a scare. On the second day post-unboxing, the replacement X1 Fold went to sleep after idling for a few minutes and just...didn't wake up. The power-indicating LED couldn't be roused even when I plugged the unit into its charger. For all intents and purposes, it became a $2,500 paperweight with zero signs of life.

It took a hard system reset using one of those needle-sized buttons hidden behind the kickstand to restore its ability to even turn on. In fairness, Lenovo said neither of these things are known issues with the device. I could just have had tremendously bad luck. That said, I had two different X1 Folds cease functioning after going to sleep. On those grounds alone, it's incredibly difficult to recommend that anyone spend such a large amount of money on this computer. 

Misplaced ambition

Foldable devices aren't ready for primetime yet. We didn't need the X1 Fold and its various shortfalls to know that. It's just the unlucky one that got to be the example of why that is this time. 

A foldable laptop/tablet hybrid that you can use in a bunch of different ways by manipulating the shape of the screen itself is ambitious, sure, but so is trying to jump so high that you reach the moon. Ambition is nothing if the end result doesn't solve longstanding problems, create fascinating new possibilities, or even work on a basic level. 

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Fold doesn't rise to the occasion in any of those senses. The part where you toy around with the bending screen works, but it's not transformative enough to justify the exorbitant cost. The Bluetooth keyboard that turns the tablet into a laptop is a nice idea that's hamstrung by being sized for ants. A mediocre touchscreen, poor battery life, and worrying hardware failures all add up to the conclusion that you should just ignore this novelty and get a regular tablet or laptop for the time being.

The Link Lonk


April 29, 2021 at 08:00PM
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold review: Is a foldable PC really worth it? - Mashable

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Lenovo Daystar Robot released the latest video: Perform multitasking autonomously and collaboratively - GlobeNewswire

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Beijing, China, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The development and application of industrial robots promoted the deepening of "intelligent" manufacturing in China, and Lenovo, an old technology company, is also advancing bravely in the wave of new technology. On April 26, 2021, Lenovo showed the latest promotional video of its Daystar Robot that its independently developed robot has a qualitative breakthrough in the application scene and function development with the functions of multi-task and self-cooperation as well as more diversified application scenarios.

Lenovo Daystar Robot

Daystar Robot is Lenovo's first self-research industrial robot which was released in October last year. In just half a year, Daystar Robot has made great strides in the application scene and function development, from the single skill of spray paint to the ability to perform multi-task independently and cooperatively. In the video, the robot is just like an "all-rounder." 7 robots work in a laboratory in collaboration to perform different tasks, including foreign body processing, intelligent sorting, intelligent patrol inspection, positioning control, remote control, fine spraying, and other work, showing the excellent performance of multi-task autonomous synergy function of Daystar Robot.

The outstanding performance of Daystar Robot depends on Lenovo's powerful edge computing capability and intelligent support. According to the public document, Daystar Robot is an intelligent robot system that can help users have a stereoscopic perception of the remote environment and interact with it in real-time. It uses the hybrid lightweight virtualization engine pioneered by Lenovo, the asymptotic model optimization technology in intelligent edge layer, AI task collaborative computing technology, and lifetime learning technology that has the ability of remote rendering, remote control and demonstration learning (3T). The support of Daystar AR equipment and the Daystar CV module makes Daystar Robot have the intelligent "hands", "feet", "eyes," and "brain".

Lenovo Daystar Robots performing multitasking autonomously and collaboratively

The "hand" is Daystar Robot's mechanical arm, which can learn from and simulate the movement and angle of the hand of workers; "foot" allows the robot to have flexible mobility, through 5G and edge computing, the robot can independently plan the path, and have the ability to avoid the obstacle; "eye" is the robot's vision which is based on the 5G end-to-end data transmission architecture so that the robot end binocular stereo video data can realize real-time return and the camera can follow the user's perspective, and then make sure the robot can work accurately in the remote environment.

The "brain" is the standard of the third generation of industrial robot that can learn the operation of workers through artificial intelligence so as to accurately copy the operation path of the same workpiece in the future, which greatly enhances the stability and consistency of the production and processing quality of the workshop. Because of the "brain", Daystar Robot's learning ability is being amazing. Comparatively, it takes weeks to teach and debug the robotic arm for traditional automated practices, but for the Daystar Robot, its mechanical arm's ability to work can be saved on the edge after a natural instruction, and then the robot can perform the same task independently.

In addition, Daystar Robot has the features of low comprehensive cost, rapid deployment/redeployment capability, lightweight, strong adaptability, and so on. It is suitable to replace manual operation in the assembly line, limited working space, danger, radiation and other environments to reduce the risk of manual operation.

It is reported that in recent years, Lenovo has carried out the intelligent transformation and developed into one of the rare "end-edge-cloud-net-intelligence" that all-factor covers "new IT" service manufacturers in the world. In the intelligent Internet of Things of the "new IT", that is, the "end" aspect, Lenovo Group, not only took the lead in launching 5G PC but also independently developed 5G Daystar AR glasses, Daystar Robots and other terminals.

Lenovo Daystar Robots performing multitasking autonomously and collaboratively

At present, the Daystar Robot has been successfully applied to paint the domestic C919 medium-sized aircrafts. With the continuous iterative upgrading of Daystar Robot, its application scenario will be diversified, in the assembly line, spray shop, electric power inspection, nuclear power plant radioactive test or operation of the hot room, nuclear waste handling, processing, high temperature and high pressure and other complex work scenarios will show their excellent performances.

Media Details:

Carolyn Zou

+86 186 1852 1033

Dateline City: Beijing

The Link Lonk


April 29, 2021 at 05:30AM
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Lenovo Daystar Robot released the latest video: Perform multitasking autonomously and collaboratively - GlobeNewswire

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Lenovo Personal Cloud T2 with up to 36TB storage launched, starting at ¥999 (~$154) - gizmochina

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Lenovo Beacon was launched in 2014 as the brand’s first personal cloud storage device. Since then the company has released a number of different models with varying functionalities. The company has now announced a new cloud storage product dubbed Lenovo Personal Cloud T2.

Personal cloud storage provides a physical storage unit for safe keeping at home. Lenovo Personal Cloud T2 is a NAS (Network-attached storage) device that provides a file-level storage architecture that makes stored data more accessible to a networked device.

On the core hardware, the cloud storage is powered by the Realtek RTD1296 (quad-core A53) processor with 2GB DDR4 memory, and there is 8GB eMMC 5.1 flash memory onboard. The device also comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port as well as a USB-A 3.0 port and a USB-C 3.0 port. The device further supports RAID 1 dual-disk mutual backup. RAID stands for “redundant array of independent disks,” and is a way of storing data on multiple drives. This method provides drive redundancy and ensures that if one disk fails, the second disk is available to retrieve the data to maintain data security. The device also has a built-in noise-less cooling fan.

The Lenovo Personal Cloud T2 comes with an upgraded LSM 2.0 software system which brings functions such as WeChat backup, offline download, Thunder download, remote playback, offline video transcoding, DLNA, Baidu network disk, NAS penetration, P2P direct transmission, etc., through the high-speed deployment in all continents of the world. The performance gateway node enables users to access the data in the device at a high speed and stability.

Lenovo Personal Cloud T2 will go on sale in China on May 10 via Jingdong. The pricing starts at 999 yuan (~$154) for the dual-position diskless version. The larger storage models come with higher pricing.

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April 29, 2021 at 01:57PM
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Lenovo Personal Cloud T2 with up to 36TB storage launched, starting at ¥999 (~$154) - gizmochina

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