A Flipping Game Changer: Hands on with the Yoga 2

The Lenovo Yoga 2 is a laptop that can be folded completely around from a laptop to a tablet with a total of 4 useable positions. You have heard all of this hype before. All-in-one desktops, laptops with a detachable screen and various other attempts at hybrids are nothing new. The problem with a hybrid anything is that they always do a couple things and neither very well. Since this is the Yoga 2 you would be correct in assuming there was a Yoga 1. While it was received well by reviewers as one of the best hybrids, albeit a bit flawed, it had the problem of being released at a time when Windows 8 was still new and people weren’t interested.


Along comes the Lenovo Yoga 2. This laptop\tablet hybrid seems like what I have been searching for. I had to decide which one to buy as the price goes from $499 for this model, up to $1,200 for a larger screen, faster processor, SSD drive and more memory. Of course an SSD drive would have been nice as I have been an advocate of SSD drives being standard in all computers, but I digress.

The first thing you notice is how good it feels in your hand. The shell of the Yoga 2 reminds me of the same rubber used on the Nexus 7. It is only 0.7 inches thin and weighs 3 pounds. The display is beautiful. Normally you pick up a laptop and struggle with it, even at less weight, or try to figure out the docking part on a hybrid, but not here. It feels so good you just start flipping it around right away. And that’s where it gets interesting…



Let me stop here and just tell you how awesome it is. I have used it as a laptop. I folded it partially back and used it on my lap as a tablet and laptop. I tried out tent mode, which is where it is almost flipped all the way and perfect for setting on a desk or table. Finally I folded the Yoga 2 all the way back and used it as a tablet. Whether on your lap, desk or even the dinner table, this thing just works! The keyboard works perfectly and the trackpad is one of the best I have used so, yes, laptop mode is perfect.

Battery life is good, though not great. There are energy saving apps installed that help. I would like to see a little improvement here but keep in mind this is an 11.6” screen and just like any portable device, the bigger the screen, the more intense the usage and the faster your battery will drain. Playing games can be done, but you should know better than to buy a lower spec machine to game. I did some looking around and from what I could gather even the higher end Yoga 2 tablets are only just acceptable for modern games like Borderlands 2. That said, if you use it as a laptop you may plug it in frequently and never find this to be an issue.

The Yoga 2 is a hybrid so keep in mind that you win some and you lose some. You get what you expect from a tablet like a webcam, Bluetooth, digital media card reader and even 1 USB port but you don’t get an optical drive, extra USB ports or expandable memory. I personally prefer a video card from Nvidia or AMD but the Intel Graphics works well, something I have never said in my geek life.

Windows 8 needs no introduction, but deserves a paragraph or two here. While many of us are not fans of Windows 8, I have to admit it runs smooth. I mean impressively smooth considering the low specs like the Intel Pentium mobile processor N3520, 4GB of RAM, 500 GB hard drive and an Intel HD 4200 graphic card.



I had to spend a little time learning how to do things again due to my lack of Windows 8 touchscreen experience but everything is easy to find in the help section. Lenovo includes a bunch of apps, many of them useful like motion control, voice commands and more so there isn’t a lot of bloat here. You can easily jump to the old start menu where I was able to download some of my favorite programs from MajorGeeks like CCleaner and IOBit Uninstaller with no problem. I could also hit up the control panel and do my usual Windows tweaks like disable indexing. Funny thing is, I restored the Yoga 2 once and did a refresh once and while I am sure benchmarking might show a speed difference, I have to repeat that it runs really smoothly out of the box.

Surprisingly, there is no simple USB cable included to plug this into your computer but free cloud storage is provided and I was able to transfer files to my computer via wireless.

I can’t imagine a better laptop\tablet hybrid than the Yoga 2 considering the price, ease of use and the cool 360 degree flip. I sold my Nexus 7 and 17” laptop within 2 days of using this, that’s how well it works and how confident I am that it is a real replacement for the laptop and tablet. If I had known, I would have considered spending more money for an upgraded version with SSD.

Windows 8... I am adjusting.

The Lenovo Yoga 2 is available in limited models and quantities at retailers like Best Buy and online at places like Amazon.com.