Lenovo Yoga 9i Gets Rid of a Traditional Touchpad and Slaps Leather on Its Lid (cnet.com) 56
Lenovo announced the new premium Yoga 7i and Yoga 6 two-in-ones earlier in the month and now it's pulled the wraps off the top-of-the-line Yoga 9i. The Yoga 9i two-in-one and Yoga 9i Slim laptop (called the IdeaPad 9i Slim in North America) replace the Yoga C940 and Yoga S940 (IdeaPad S940). From a report: Being the most premium of the premium Yoga lineup, the Yoga 9i -- available in 14- and 15.6-inch versions -- gets all the fun extras and is made from the nicest materials. For 2020's 14-inch model that includes an optional lid upgrade with black leather bonded to its aluminum chassis. It "begs to be touched," Lenovo panted. It'll also have an edge-to-edge glass palm rest with an encased touchpad that uses haptic feedback, allowing for a much larger touchpad area. There's also a new ultrasonic fingerprint reader that'll work even if your finger is slightly wet, such as after you wash your hands -- which we're all doing a lot more of these days, right?
The Yoga 9i will also have a new keyboard with "soft-landing dome-design keypads" that promises a more comfortable, bouncier typing experience, which is saying something since the C940's keyboard was already more comfortable than most. Its updated soundbar hinge will have improved audio, which, like the keyboard, was already pretty great. You can also expect enhancements to everything from screen options to ports (Thunderbolt 4!) to improved cooling to the tip of its included active pen for a better feel when writing on the screen. Most of these features, including the leather cover, carry over to the Lenovo IdeaPad 9i Slim laptop. The IdeaPad also gets a sensor that automatically adjusts its keyboard's backlight for your room's lighting conditions as well as a kill switch for its webcam. (The Yoga 9i has a physical privacy shutter for its webcam.) [...] The 14-inch Yoga 9i with the metal lid will start at $1,399 or $1,699 for the leather lid. The 15-inch Yoga 9i will start at $1,799. All three are expected in October. The IdeaPad 9i Slim is expected in November starting at $1,599.
The Yoga 9i will also have a new keyboard with "soft-landing dome-design keypads" that promises a more comfortable, bouncier typing experience, which is saying something since the C940's keyboard was already more comfortable than most. Its updated soundbar hinge will have improved audio, which, like the keyboard, was already pretty great. You can also expect enhancements to everything from screen options to ports (Thunderbolt 4!) to improved cooling to the tip of its included active pen for a better feel when writing on the screen. Most of these features, including the leather cover, carry over to the Lenovo IdeaPad 9i Slim laptop. The IdeaPad also gets a sensor that automatically adjusts its keyboard's backlight for your room's lighting conditions as well as a kill switch for its webcam. (The Yoga 9i has a physical privacy shutter for its webcam.) [...] The 14-inch Yoga 9i with the metal lid will start at $1,399 or $1,699 for the leather lid. The 15-inch Yoga 9i will start at $1,799. All three are expected in October. The IdeaPad 9i Slim is expected in November starting at $1,599.
You do know where plastic comes from, right? (Score:2)
It comes from the decomposed goop of dead dinosaurs.
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If it was real leather it would actually look like tanned hide instead of monotone black 'leather'.
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I'm not a leather expert, but I'm pretty sure dyeing it is a legitimate process that produces a uniform look. If you want that look to combine all the worst qualities of plastic and dead animal.
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Some of the stuff they claim sounds almost meaningless, like "hand tooled", or suspicious, like that it's sourced by a "leading leather developer" that they apparently don't feel is leading enough to name. The press release does repeatedly refer to "genuine leather". That sounded like an industry term, so I googled it to see if it was.
One site claims that it is the worst possible grade of real leather:
"Goods marked as genuine leather will be several layers of low quality leather bonded together with glue an
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Eww. how barbaric. Not enough progress from when we where cave people.
The cave people actually covered their laptops with woven fiber mats, but they used actual mice, so I guess it's a wash.
jell-o and marshmallows - yum! (Score:2)
As a society we eat so many cows (and pigs) that either we use the leather for something or we boil it into gelatin.
My first concern (Score:4, Interesting)
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You need to go above average to get a decent experience (8GB and SSDs), and quite a lot above that if you need to do something serious with it.
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Spinning discs in laptops have been unacceptable in even cheap laptops for more than four years now and are generally not soldered in, so I don't see talking about them as being useful. If they're still being sold then they are being sold to ignorant people who need to be educated.
Pinning down a good amount RAM is much more complicated, but as a rule "more than enough" adds almost nothing to performance. Buy a laptop that already has enough ram for your use case. If you don't, it will surely have other fail
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If the RAM modules get borked it is a lot easier to replace socketed memory than soldiered memory. 8^)
Same principle with SSD storage (I haven't seen disk hard drives soldiered in yet).
Storage I get (Score:2)
Re: My first concern (Score:1)
If the RAM modules get borked it is a lot easier to replace socketed memory than soldiered memory. 8^)
Yeah, because RAM fails after long-term use sooo often (rollseyes)!
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You'd be surprised. I've seen my fair share of failed RAM with the motherboard still working. I'll admit that it is getting better than it used to be but there is always the possibility. We are talking about manufactured electronic products here after all. The quality control on these types of products isn't 100% (I don't know of any quality control that is 100% to be honest).
Re: My first concern (Score:1)
It is probably worth noting that a many times more computers have been tossed due to a ram contact/seating issue than to actual bad RAM. Or "fixed" for 50-200+ USD. On the other hand, rescuing people from an easily solved problem by taking their choice away isn't something I agree with.
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I would hope to get more years worth of use out of a premium computer like that, and stuff like socketed RAM lets me upgrade the machine down the line later if I feel it needs it. What may be more than enough today may not be the case tomorrow. Detailed specs are a bit scarce on these machines, but the wording "up to 16 GB of ram" suggests that these machines may come with 8 GB standard (which I would consider just adequate today), and 4 GB isn't out of the question as Lenovo still sells several lines of
Never again, Lenovo (Score:3)
Bought a Lenovo laptop for my wife as she was getting ready to leave her job of 5 years and needed something to do some job hunting.
14 months later, the thing is dead as a door nail, and since it's 2 months out of warranty, they're unwilling to do anything for me. They won't even set me up with a service ticket so I can pay a few hundred bucks to have them replace the motherboard.
Never again, Lenovo.
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This isn't a Lenovo specific problem though. Any computer can die at any time. Chances are that it will die out of warranty too. If you are willing to pay for the motherboard replacement then take it to a local tech. I'm sure if you are willing to pay they will be willing to replace.
Re: Never again, Lenovo (Score:1)
This isn't a Lenovo specific problem though. Any computer can die at any time.
Apple would have most likely covered it, and almost assuredly if the owner had purchased AppleCare, even if recently expired.
There are scores of stories of Apple doing just that; so don't even think about challenging this.
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Well you can purchase extended warranties for most computers (this would be similar to AppleCare) so I'm not sure that argument holds much water in this case. There are other companies that will also cover item that are recently out of warranty. I wouldn't be surprised if Drogo007 had resubmitted a claim that they might have gotten the repair also. Sometimes it just depends on which customer service rep you get.
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YMMV. The Ideapad I bought lasted over 7.5 years. During that time, I replaced the battery once and the HDD once (the HDD started to get bad sectors after 4-5 years, which isn't unusual). The laptop was actually still running fine, but after 7.5 years I felt it was time to upgrade it rather than replace the battery again. I had let my 2 kids play games on it quite a bit too, and it was looking pretty beat up. ;-)
OTOH, I've heard that Dell's Precision line is like the Thinkpad line (designed to last longer),
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Save yourself the expensive headache that is out-of-warranty repair by Lenovo. They are doing you a favor. Take it somewhere else.
Get a used laptop. Believe it or not, Thinkpads are often good candidates.
If they won't let you pay for a new mobo (Score:2)
I should add (Score:2)
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The ThinkPad line has some nice thin models. The T series is relatively thin (it's basically "modern laptop thick". The P/W series are what thiccpads are known for, but they are performance lines.
The X1 though, is the modern ultrabook with ThinkPad servicability. It's generally all soldered, but getting in
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It's a sign that whatever short term economic incentives are at odds with resource protection, as GP will throw away an otherwise good laptop with LCD, drive, housing etc. instead of throwing away just the motherboard. So, the solution to balance environment protection with shortsighted financial incentives? Regulation. Make it mandatory to have expensive, delicate devices repairable.
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Glass... (Score:2)
Dot fuckin tell me that the ONLY reason it is glass, is because it breaks easily and bred-stupid people are buying new ones.
It is *the* textbook example of a predetermined breaking point. A crime, by the way. But you gotta sue. (Yes, you.)
The red mouse thingie? (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re: The red mouse thingie? (Score:4, Funny)
The technical term is the "keyboard clit".
It's actually called the "Trackpoint" (Score:2)
You can read all about it here: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/t... [lenovo.com]
Personally, I prefer it to touchpads that are poorly placed on laptops and when your palm touches it the cursor moves unexpectedly - I should point out that I have had more than my share of Lenovo laptops with poorly placed touchpads which became useable with the touchpoint after disabling the touchpad. YMMV.
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mykepredko commented:
Personally, I prefer it to touchpads that are poorly placed on laptops and when your palm touches it the cursor moves unexpectedly - I should point out that I have had more than my share of Lenovo laptops with poorly placed touchpads which became useable with the touchpoint after disabling the touchpad. YMMV.
The Thinkpad line was originally an IBM brand. I was the sales manager for a Bay Area Microage dealer when IBM introduced the first one. We were an authorized Advanced Products dealer, so we got a store demo model. The second I opened the lid, as everyone on our staff crowded around me to ooh and ahh, we all spontaneously began referring to the pointing device as the laptop's "clitpoint."
20 megabyte hard drive, 2.5" floppy, and a whopping 2 megabytes of RAM.
I bought one. I still have it
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no bad no (Score:2)
I have had two laptops (well a netbook and a tablet thing from hp) one had leather one had fabric and it got gross quick, and it was impossible to clean properly, kind of like your mom.
Love Leather... As well as Shrink Tubing... (Score:2)
with a hair dryer. Sorry, did some Frank Zappa channeling there.
My first question when seeing the leather attached to the laptop was has anybody at Lenovo ever seen what happens to a laptop over a few years? I like to think I treat mine well, but they do pick up a few scratches (especially when being checked at the airport) and stains (putting it down on a mostly clean conference table) over time. I should point out that this seems to be with everyone, I've seen billionaires with laptops that look like t
Re: Love Leather... As well as Shrink Tubing... (Score:2)
Distressed leather just gives something character. You can even buy furniture that comes pre-worn and scratched.
Distressed plastic looks cheap.
Distressed glass looks dirty.
If you want a long lasting material for your computer, you can do much worse than leather.
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Cheap junk 'leather' will start to look like crap in a hurry, I wonder which one they used?
Re: Love Leather... As well as Shrink Tubing... (Score:1)
with a hair dryer. Sorry, did some Frank Zappa channeling there.
You really mean some Aunt Jemima Syrup, some Kaiser Broiler Foil, and a pair of blunt scissors!
Re: Love Leather... As well as Shrink Tubing... (Score:2)
Loving leather & shrink tubing - from âoeCrew Slutâ and the the album âoeJoeâ(TM)s Garageâ.
naming it yoga and covering it with cow skin? (Score:2)
im not an expert on hinduism but it seems rather odd to me to name a product 'yoga' then cover it in dead cow skin, since cows are sacred in Hinduism and yoga comes from Hindu religious and philosophic tradition.
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and yes i realize there is a huge diversity in religious and philosophical practice and theory regarding leather, im just wondering if it is weird.
It's branding, don't think about it (Score:2)
The first Lenovo "Yoga" came out in 2012 and was given that name because the screen could be flipped around and turn the laptop into a tablet.
The name "Yoga" comes from the laptop being very flexible - kind of a pun on the exercise rather than any religious or philosophic traditions.
I don't see it as being any different from a person doing yoga exercises on a leather mat instead of a plastic one.
But where's the TRACKPOINT!!?!?!??!?! (Score:2)
(as above)
Glued hinges, go F-yourself, Lenovo (Score:2)
Just search "Lenovo yoga glue hinges" for horror stories.
They've known about this problem for over a decade with posts even on their own forums discussing the issue. Average cost to fix runs hundreds of dollars and you often can't obtain parts because there's no good ones available except out of China. Even if you can find a used one, it's likely to happen again even sooner
ThinkPad: Japan. Yoga: China (Score:2)