Lenovo Yoga 13 Ideapad: flexibility and Compactability

The Lenovo Yoga 13 idea pad has an excellent ultra book design concept. Lenovo has positioned itself in the forefront of innovative technology and design manufacturing providing strong, reliable and powerful machines over the years. (See review of the Lenovo S400 here)
So why exactly makes this laptop stand out? It has extremely flexible hinges that allow the screen to flip 360 degrees making it one of the best and simplest hybrid tablet-computers available in the market. Its convertible status is spectacular since it provides 4 modes that capitalize on consumer content for easy creation and sharing. This is because it perfectly incorporates the windows 8 usability that goes perfectly well with the many applications and eases use of the windows 8 O.S due to its tablet status. ( Have you read about the Dell Inspiron Duo Hybrid tablet? )

The specs :

• 8 hours battery life, 4 cell lithium polymer with 54Wh capacity.

• 3rd generation Intel core i7 processor, dual core, 64 bit computing with Max turbo speed 2.6 GHz

• Windows 8 64 or windows pro 64

• Intel HD graphics 4000 integrated

• 13.3'' 1600*900 resolution HD+IPS display that is capacitative multitouch.

• Memory of 4GB, 8GB DDR3, 128GB SSD

• Weight of 1.54 kg

• 1.0 MP HD integrated webcam

• USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, combo jack, 2-in-1 card reader (SD and Micromedia card) and HDMI

• Bluetooth 4.0 and Lenovo 802.11 wireless b/g/n

• 10*7 cm track pad that allows pinch-to-zoom, two finger scrolling and clicking 

Some of the preloaded applications include Skype, one key recovery, McAfee antivirus and eBay. It retails for $1000. On my part, too much an amount for the specs, but then again, you pay for the architecture and creativity does not come cheap.You can order one to be shipped since am not aware of a retailer in Nairobi currently stocking it.

The Much Anticipated SAMSUNG S4

The much anticipated Samsung S4 is being released later on today (3 pm P.T and 6 pm E.T) in New York. The eye speculation software is rumored to be a major feature after Samsung filed for an Eye Scroll patent in January. With this software, screen movements will result from eye movement that the user does. The phone will be able to respond to any intentional eye movement that will allow clicking by blinking and automatic scrolling up, down and to the next page, a concept that has been previously researched on desktop computing. 

Much as it is a commendable application of artificial Intelligence, there may be certain cons that come with it. For instance, the behavior of the tracking software could be easily disrupted by public distractions and could bring some awkwardness in public for the user if they have to move their eyes in certain ways. 

Another speculation revolves around the floating touch technology that allows for screen movements with as much as the hovering of the finger on the screen without actually touching it. Wireless charging is another feature anticipated for and may even allow for the communication of the phone with charging mats and stands that may allow data transfer which will help with syncing data to the phone.

Other budding rumors include the impressive Exynos 5 processor (8 processors!!). To cater to the problem of battery life that most smart phones face, the LITTE architecture ensures 4 powerful Cortex-A15 cores for power hungry functions and additional 4 Cortex-A7 for simple functions. This way, in most instances the powerful cores will shut down unless warranted to work depending on the gravity of the functionality. 

In conclusion, key features include

·         System: Android 4.1 O.S

·         Screen : 5-inch screen

·         Resolution : 1920*1080

·         Camera 13mp rear and 1.9 mp front, LED flash, Video 1080p

·          Memory :2GB SD RAM, 32GB expandable

·         Network : GSM/ WCDMA/LTE

·         Transmission : GPS, WIFI, Bluetooth 4.0

Samsung prides themselves in being at the forefront of dynamic technology and constant innovations .From the past gadget releases, they hardly disappoint. Looking forward to the Samsung S4.