Can we keep a secret here? It’s a bit of a love affair. You know, the kind your wife just wouldn’t understand. It actually started two years ago when I first laid hands on this sweet little orange cutie called Yoga. It started in Vegas (doesn’t everything) when we met at CES.
It was quite a torrid affair. Yoga went with me to Taiwan, to Africa and all across the US. We even spent a really frigid night together in the Ice Hotel in Quebec. Tres magnifique!
But now there’s an older sibling I’m even more attracted to. Does that make me a bad person? Tastes change, don’t they. I’ve got to keep up.
Yoga 3 Pro
Thinner, lighter weight, faster, smarter, better sound and better battery life; what’s not to like. Yoga 3 Pro made its introduction last month and became the leader immediately for thinnest, best Ultrabook. It’s thinner than a pencil at 12.8 mm and a half-pound lighter than previous models – now just 2.62 pounds.
With Intel’s hot new Core M 5Y70 processor, it’s ready for multimode use as either a tablet or a laptop. Controls and behaviors change as you change how you use it. Brilliant.
Windows 8.1 64 bit comes standard, so no upgrade issues to deal with. Mine also came with a 256 GB solid state drive – finally enough room for the Adobe Creative Suite and still available storage for my media files.
And the screen – oh my, my, my! I’ve never seen anything like it. With QHD+ LED resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels, everything is so crisp and clean, you won’t believe your eyes. That means, even on a 13” screen, I can have four web pages tiled across my screen and am able to read each of them perfectly. On my regular 24” wide desktop, having four browsers open at the same time, things start to get a bit fuzzy, so being able to see them all on a 13” screen is nothing short of amazing. The screen also responds to 10-point multitouch.
Hint for Photoshop Users: When using Photoshop CC on a high resolution screen, you’ll probably want to go to Edit -> Preferences -> Experimental Features -> and select the box for Scale UI 200% for high-density displays. If you don’t, your menu will be extremely small. [Thanks to Michael Archambault for the that tip.]
Another feature (?) of the Yoga 3 Pro is the SD card slot that engages the card by only pushing it in half way. If you’ve ever forgotten your SD card in your computer and forgot to put it back in your camera, this will prevent that. I’m still on the fence about this so-called improvement. I used to like to keep a 128 GB card imbedded all the time for extra storage and I can’t do that now. Luckily with the bigger SSD drive it shouldn’t be an issue.
The “watchband” hinge is something you have to actually see to appreciate. With watchmaker precision, there are 885 individual pieces hand assembled to make the most precise hinge in all of computerdom. Fold your screen back anywhere from 1 to 360 degrees and it stays exactly where you want it. No foolin’.
A back-lit keyboard is another thing I’ve always wanted. Working late on a plane, I hate to keep my overhead light on when everybody else (with any sense) is trying to sleep. Now, with the soft glow behind my keys, I can still work into the wee hours.
Another change I’m trying to appreciate is the keyboard now has five rows of keys versus the six on the old Yoga. That means all the F-keys and the End and Home keys need to be accompanied by the Fn key.
I can almost work all night long with battery life rated at up to 7.2 hours. You’ll want to turn down screen brightness and switch off unneeded hardware to get as long a life as possible, but this makes for hours and hours of productivity.
The audio is another feature that’s really been improved over the last couple years. The integrated JBL stereo speakers do a great job pumping out the tunes or movie soundtracks. I used to use an auxiliary speaker if many people wanted to watch together, but that’s not needed with the additional volume available from the Yoga 3 Pro.
There’s a lot to like in this new relationship. If you see me on the road, stop and ask, I’ll be happy to pull it out and show it to you. Guaranteed it’ll be in my bag.
For more information and for special employee pricing, check it out here . I don’t work for Lenovo, but I am part of their Insider’s group and hence get employee pricing.
If you already have a Lenovo product and Windows 8.1, check out my article 5 Tips for Digital Photography Success in the "Exclusives" section of your Lenovo Companion app.
Disclaimer: As part of the Lenovo Insider’s group, I also get a number of products to test and to review, but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own as always.
See additional Lenovo products I’d recommend here:
Lenovo IdeaCentre B540 desktop with 24” screen
Find this product and many more cool ideas in the 2014 Holiday Gift Guide
Doug Bardwell , based in Cleveland, OH, writes about interesting new travel technology topics, across the country and around the world at DougBardwell.com . Feel free to drop him a line at travel.dougbardwell@gmail.com with suggestions for future products to be reviewed. If you've ever used one of the products he's reviewed, please leave your thoughts in the comment box below. Get a monthly list of all his articles and videos or follow him on Facebook , Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ . To read Doug’s disclosure notice, click here .
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