Lenovo's 'Yoga Book' Laptop Is So Thin It Needs A Touchscreen Keyboard (gizmodo.com) 115
An anonymous reader writes: At IFA in Berlin, Lenovo announced the Yoga Book, a laptop that measures in at just 0.38-inches thick, making it the thinnest laptop currently available. In order for it to retain such a slim profile, the keyboard needed to be redesigned. The Yoga Book features what is called the Halo Keyboard, a touchscreen keyboard that is separated from the display and doubles as a drawing tablet. Gizmodo reports: "Officially it's called the Halo Keyboard, and if you've ever tried to quickly type on a tablet's software keyboard than you'll be familiar with the experience. Only it's a little nicer because the keyboard is separated from the display, so it doesn't suck up screen real estate, and it has a pleasantly rough texture. It's also got haptic feedback, which in the case of a touchscreen keyboard is sort of like sticking lipstick on the pig. A press of a button turns the keys off and turns the keyboard into a drawing tablet. From there, it behaves a lot like a Wacom tablet, directly reporting pen input into your chosen app. It even reads pen inputs through paper laid over the input panel." Some other specs of this 2-in-1 laptop/tablet include an Intel Atom processor, 64GB of onboard storage with support for a microSD card, 13 hours of battery life, 4G LTE, 802.11 AC Wi-Fi, front and rear cameras, and a 10.1-inch, 1080p display.
Re:And with that decision... (Score:5, Funny)
Son'y be dillt, I;n usibh ome rifht niw.
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So yes, it's a Tablet.
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Re:And with that decision... (Score:4, Informative)
From TFNR...
"The real-pen accessory can draw with the precision of a pencil or paintbrush, with 2,048 pressure levels and 100-degree angle detection."
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That really interests me for artwork. My primary laptop is for development though so it wont ever be replacing that. I just can't do touch screen typing, makes my fingers hurt without some spring action.
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Re:And with that decision... (Score:4, Interesting)
Amen to that.
The real problem, IMHO, is that when I type, I rest my fingers on the keyboard and then just press the one that I want harder. I also rely on the "feel" of the key under my fingers to determine if I am actually hitting in the middle of the keys or if I need to shift my hands around just a little.
On a touch screen, resting your fingers on the keyboard is called "pressing several keys at the same time" and is bad. So, to actually "type" with a touch screen, you need to hover your fingers over the keyboard, which also means that your fingers can easily shift.
So, yeah, touch screens suck for typing.
10mm (Score:4, Interesting)
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So it is 10mm thick (or rather 9.6). It is not remarkable. I have a Dell that isn't much thicker at 13mm.
Your Dell is a whopping 30% thicker.
Practically speaking 10mm is not much thinner than 13mm. But then it is not much thinner than 20mm or 30mm.
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Why even do a tablet with a keyboard, that's nuts. Want a tablet with a keyboard, buy a bigger thicker notepad, get a hard disk drive, get an optical drive, get keyboard that is far more usable and get a removable bigger, much bigger battery. So is a 25mm thick notebook more or less usable that even A 5mm thick notebook. Thinner means weaker side and bracing walls and physically failing hardware, thin is a trap when it defeats usability. Want a touch screen keyboard that preserves screen real estate of your
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If someone was looking at a tablet with a keyboard then the small size was probably a selling point. So don't go recommending anything with a footprint large enough to fit an optical drive and a large battery in it as a viable alternative.
I fully agree with you on the merits on thinness though.
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When did Skip Bayless get on Slashdot?
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Skylake would not reach the price point for a 'tablet'.
this Atom: $27.
Core m5: $281
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Don't dis the Atom processors. I think you must have tried some extraordinarily badly configured Windows system ...
I now have three Atom-based computer and are all fine.
They are perfectly fine for office/productivity tasks and for web and email, even for light software development: The things that most people would use a laptop for.
Just give the laptop a proper battery and a decent keyboard and mouse and it could be very useful device ...
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No thank you! (Score:5, Insightful)
what is this obsession with making things thin, the space it saves is almost irrelevant and tactile feed back is a wonderful thing.
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what is this obsession with making things thin, the space it saves is almost irrelevant and tactile feed back is a wonderful thing.
There are plenty of thicker laptops available, and at lower prices to boot. So if you don't care about thinness, then don't pay a premium to buy it. Problem solved.
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wrong answer, this article isn't about a laptop, it's just another tablet
the thinnest laptop is still whatever existed before this thing was made
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Yeah, despite how Lenovo chooses to describe it - this is less a laptop and more like that Microsoft Research dual-screen "Courier" tablet concept [wired.com] that was floating around six or seven years ago (just rotated 90 degrees).
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Just like there are plenty of 4:3 laptops and monitors available, smartphones with physical keyboard, ultrabooks with 6 USB ports, etc.
The OP has a point -- it's not that you can't avoid whatever the current dumb technology design trend is, but chances are your alternatives will be extremely limited because somehow these trends take on a life of their own and before you know it 95% of the market is following the rest of the lemmings right off the cliff.
My guess is these touch keyboard things won't gain any
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When I was thinking about this, I kind of wondered if they could come up with some kind of "inflatable" keyboard -- some kind of thin membrane that could be magnetically shaped into keys when in use but otherwise be flat when folded up. The magnetic resistance could provide the tactile feedback and key travel. Bonus points if it was possible to shape the keys into arbitrary layouts, although I suspect the membrane would need predefined key shapes. I don't know if anything like this is even possible.
I ha
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You can if you have an orbital sander.
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I f**king hate the shiney screens.
Those things look absolutely great in a store display with the power turned off, but are useless in pretty much any other situation.
How insane is it to have a computer you can lug around but can't use in the sun. Or with a lightsource anywhere near you. Or with a window behind you. Or in a brightly colored room.
Many brands still sell business models without the glare, but these usually cost extra. You can also buy separate anti-gloss overlays which may also block touch.
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what is this obsession with making things thin, the space it saves is almost irrelevant and tactile feed back is a wonderful thing.
Smaller battery.
Weaker processor.
Weaker graphics.
Cheaper keyboards.
Cheaper shipping.
= Money?
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Smaller battery. Weaker processor. Weaker graphics. Cheaper keyboards. Cheaper shipping.
= Money?
Assuming anyone buys one. That would not be me.
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Smaller battery = less capacity = more recharge cycles = shorter product lifespan.
Which of course isn't a factor at all for designs like that..
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Re:No thank you! (Score:4, Interesting)
what is this obsession with making things thin, the space it saves is almost irrelevant and tactile feed back is a wonderful thing.
No idea, and the company themselves don't really push that it's just a factor of what they're building - ie if they put a real keyboard in it it couldn't be a drawing-tablet with a pen also. It's an obsession of the article headline writer. Something far more interesting I think about it is that you can put paper over it and write on that, with the pen input also copied digitally.
It has haptic feedback (Score:2)
Could be interesting, as well as sketching on paper/screen with the same pen, I'd at least like to try one out
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Because it sells and it looks fancy. Does it require another reason or something? If you dont want it, good for you, you are not in their target market.
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The slimmer the device gets, the thicker the protective cover becomes.
Unless these devices are designed to bend and dent, going more thin just makes them more fragile.
Is there a picture somewhere? (Score:3)
Given the description, I found it rather surprising the linked Lenovo news page didn't include an actual photo anywhere.
Or perhaps the thing is so thin I simply couldn't see it?
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Nah, that's not a laptop. Now THIS is a laptop.
http://www.laptopjoy.com/wp-co... [laptopjoy.com]
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This is a LAPTOP :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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I suppose that technically a determined individual could use that on their lap, but I still don't think it quite fits the definition of a "laptop".
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Yeah true, and I think you had to have asbestos underwear as the things got pretty warm as well.
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The item can be seen here: http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog... [lenovo.com]
That's a Tablet.
looks cool, but (Score:2)
Yoga Book? (Score:3)
Will it teach me how to bend over and blow myself?
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Will it teach me how to bend over and blow myself?
That went south quickly!
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That went south quickly!
Putting the ass into Slashvertisements.
Obligatory PFSC (Score:2)
http://67.media.tumblr.com/7bc... [tumblr.com]
It's not a touchscreen if it doesn't have a screen (Score:5, Interesting)
The most interesting thing about this is:
"Touch-typists used the Moving Virtual Layout (MVL), which adapted to fit the user’s natural style, learning where the user intended to strike the keys through experience. On a mechanical keyboard, the user could dynamically adjust the position of their fingers onto the keys, helped by the shape of the keys and gaps in between. To overcome this problem on a touch keyboard, the halo keyboard used artificial learning to correct repeated mistakes or mistyping, learning the difference between common errors, like when a user hits the Alt key but intended to hit the spacebar instead."
Re:It's not a touchscreen if it doesn't have a scr (Score:5, Insightful)
Cool. Can it simulate nubs on the F and J keys? If it can't then your hands can't find their way back to where they need to be and, your ability to touch type is now lost. I agree that the artificial learning part is pretty cool but, cool doesn't trump useful.
I understand that this laptop isn't meant for power users but, frankly, widescreen laptops weren't meant for power users either. How many power users are still using a laptop with a 4:3 aspect ratio? How vehemently did they object (Hint: A LOT)? I'd be happy to let this slide as a toy that no one will use for real work but, when I see a modern day ThinkPad, I'm inclined to believe that the Yoga series is a staging ground for things to come.
DO NOT WANT.
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I do consider myself a "power user," but have never thought much about wide-screen vs 4:3. What's the deal with that? I really like being able to have two applications (typically a browser and editor) side-by-side.
The nubs on the glass as mentioned by the AC below might really help, but I'm also sceptical that I would actually be able to type as well on such a screen. I assume I'd get used to it, just as I have with a phone, I just honestly don't know until I've tried it for a while.
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A touch-tablet keyboard that moves the "keys", adjusting to where the user's previous strokes have been. ...
That sounds like one of the features of FingerWorks [wikipedia.org] TouchStream touch-keyboard and I think they had a patent on this.
They stopped making products in 2005. FingerWorks together with its patents was then acquired by Apple.
I think Lenovo must have someone bought or licensed that patent, or they are about to meet with Apple's lawyers
Too thick (Score:2)
I long for the day when all my devices are so thin that they cannot support *any* input devices. Think how glorious it will be when you are holding a supercomputer that is only a few microns thick! It will be so thin that it's practically two dimensional!
Input devices are overrated.
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I long for the day when all my devices are so thin that they cannot support *any* input devices. Think how glorious it will be when you are holding a supercomputer that is only a few microns thick! It will be so thin that it's practically two dimensional!
Input devices are overrated.
Definitely. You will be able to hold it and simply wish at it, and it will do what you want. Glorious! The only reason it needs to be a few microns thick is to be sure the Apple logo is visible.
And we'll finally find out the real truth about whether or not guys think about sex every 8 seconds.
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If by guys you mean "young men", then yeah.
At my age I think about it every few hours.
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It already exist, it is called a knife.
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Wont be long. Brain interfaces are coming soon. Your device will probably be like a (thinner) coke can though (and not thin like a tablet), you will just have it your pocket and communicate with it by thinking.
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Uh huh, you go right on believing that. The day that computers are able to directly interface with my brain is the day that I finally don my tinfoil hat.
Cool (Score:2)
Re:Cool (Score:5, Insightful)
That's the primary motivation. In fact, fashion is the primary motivation behind most hardware design decisions now. If you want a high end ultra-portable laptop, you now have to buy a fashion statement. Nobody makes a functional high end ultra-portable anymore.
I've tried to replace my ThinkPad X220 on several occasions now (always lured by the fancy new screen resolutions) and every time I've sent the "upgrade" back for a refund because it's unusable in a real work environment. Pretty? Sure. Suitable for writing software? Fuck. No.
Fuck thickness. Power users want a real (NOT chicklet) keyboard, a ThinkPad nub, a high resolution matte screen. Screws on the bottom of the laptop to indicate where to upgrade the RAM and disk. More screws on the bottom to indicate where to replace the keyboard when you wear it out. Make it thick enough that you can decorate the edges with a vast array of full sized ports. Make the battery removable so you can travel with a bunch of them (bonus points for having an onboard 5 minute battery to allow hot swapping). If you include a trackpad at all, don't be a fucking idiot and make it overlap the natural points where your palms rest. Put a nice CPU in it with good, active cooling. Make it weigh 2-3 pounds.
Or, I dunno... Just make it fucking thinner, I guess.
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I know your problem, I've had a Lenovo X230t.
I now bought an Alienware 13. It has almost everything you want, except a removable battery.
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X250 (and x260) has got:
1: Chiclet keyboard (you get used to them after a while and they are not THAT horrible).
2: Thinkpad nub.
3: High resolution matte screen.
4: Easy to open bottom, haven't tried replacing/upgrading yet.
5: Decent port selection (2 usb, ethernet, displayport, vga, card reader).
6: One external, one internal battery, and, yes, hot swap is possible.
7: I shut off the trackpad, so I don't know if it would be annoying otherwise.
8: Weight is 2.88 pounds for standard model.
So, well, most of your p
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I just hope that they put the Thinkpad retro into production. It's kind of looking doubtful, but there is a rumor is that it will show up in 2017 to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of the Thinkpad.
No thank you (Score:4, Interesting)
THe MS Surface is still the thinnest and Lenovo comes with malware like spearfish by default .... oh and the spyware is installed as drivers which means even if you do a fresh install Windows Store will automatically install the crapware again making it perpetual and impossible to remove!
Fuck em. I will never buy a product from such a company.
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Spearfish? Didn't you mean "Superfish"?
From what I have been able to find out, Lenovo stopped installing Superfish in new machines back in early 2015.
Is this a new malware?
Good, Now They Can Start Making Useful Notebooks! (Score:3)
Good, the marketing people are happy. If you would kindly make useful notebook computers for the rest of us, that'd be swell.
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Don't hold your breath. I'm pretty sure Lenovo fired everyone who understood the term "useful" a few years ago. Now it's all about who can out-gimmick Apple.
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Linux people will miss any hardware novelty or burn the think for lack of fan support, then end up on a xterm with an external USB keyboard, coding their builtin ACPI and keyboard drivers and struggling to get rid of systemd, let alone trying to cope with the lack of any modern and consistent GUI.
Classic.
Touch-screen keyboard, or touch-pad? (Score:2)
Does it have 2 screens, or is the keyboard just a large touch-pad with light-up etchings of a static keyboard?
"Touchscreen" keyboard (Score:2)
the real headline (Score:2)
Am I the only one that doesn't care if my laptop weighs 5 pounds instead of 4?