While Apple and Samsung battle it out over the smaller-vs-larger tablet display argument, Lenovo is sneaking in with its surprisingly impressive Yoga 2 Tablet Pro and Yoga 3 Pro laptop.
The Lenovo line gained attention with its newest commercial showing actor Ashton Kutcher, who once portrayed Steve Jobs in his biographical film, touting the features of the device as the company's unexpected product engineer and spokesperson. The video shows off Kutcher's design meetings and thought process behind reinventing the Yoga tablet to be more user friendly and versatile.
Yoga Tablet 2 and Pro 2
Celebrity hype aside, the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro has some interesting features that really set it apart from its competition. The 13.3-inch Android tablet comes embedded with an industry-first Pico projector and an 8-watt sound system complete with subwoofer and Dolby surround sound.
As tablets are quickly becoming the go-to media device, Lenovo jumped ahead to include a built-in projector that can create a 50-inch theater experience for your home, or as a way to project office presentations at work.
A built-in stand allows the tablet to sit up in a variety of configurations, including being hung from a hook. In projector mode, the Yoga Tablet Pro 2 boasts three hours of life with its 9600 mAH battery, and 15 hours while not in projector mode.
The lower-end Yoga Tablet 2 features a smaller screen (choose from 8 or 10 inches) and no projector, but has the added advantage of availability with either Android 4.4 Kitkat or Windows 8.1 installed. Both versions of the Yoga Tablet 2 will come standard with the Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM.
These newest entries into Lenovo's Yoga line of tablets have received favorable reviews from top gadget sites like Hallels, Android Central, and Tech Radar who call the Tablet 2 Pro a "great option for those looking for a laptop-sized tablet with some cool features you can't find anywhere else."
The Yoga Tablet 2 Pro currently retails for $499.99 while the Tablet 2 goes for $249.99 (8-inch screen), $299.99 (10-inch screen), or $399.99 (10-inch Windows version).
Yoga 3 Pro Laptop
The Yoga 3 Pro laptop focuses more on being a laptop than a tablet, although the line is admittedly blurring these days. With a 1.10GHz Intel Core M-70 processor and 8GB of RAM, this 2-in-1 laptop sports a thinner design with this updated model, thanks in part to the fanless processor and new watchband-like hinge that allows 360 degrees of folding. This innovation is constructed of 800 individual pieces of aluminum and steel with six attachment points across the laptop's entire 13-inch spine.
The 13.3-inch screen has a native resolution of 3200x1800, which is improved density over HD's 1080p standard.
A 256GB solid state hard drive rounds out the impressive collection of non-moving parts in this state-of-the-art laptop to allow for a cooler, thinner, and lighter product overall.
TechRadar and CNet both gave the 3 Pro laptop high accolades, while impressed with its design, size, and performance.
Price starts at $1299.99 for the base model and $1699.99 for the top-of-the-line Clementine Orange Windows 8.1 Pro 64 edition with 512GB SSD.
