Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11s Hands-On: $799 Convertible Does Motion Control
Jan 6, 2013 07:19 PM EDT by 
Lenovo won us over with the original IdeaPad Yoga‘s multi-mode design, and now there’s a little brother that will arrive just in time for back-to-school season. Announced here at CES 2013, the $799 IdeaPad Yoga 11s is only slightly thicker and heavier than the current Windows RT-powered Yoga 11 but switches the ARM processor for a Core i3 CPU for running desktop apps. (A Core i5 will also be available.)
Like the 13-inch Yoga, the 11s offers built-in Motion Control. Say you’re giving a presentation: You can flip the Yoga 11 into stand mode using the 360-degree hinge, then wave your hand to advance the slides. Playing a video? The integrated Lenovo Transition software can automatically blow it up to full screen when you enter tent, stand or tablet modes.
Despite sporting a touch screen, the Yoga 11s measures a svelte 0.7 inches thick and weighs just more than 3 pounds. The starting configuration will feature a Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. The 11.6-inch HD IPS display supports 10-finger touch and has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. You’ll be able to get this convertible in silver gray (blah) or a more eye-popping clementine orange, both with soft-touch finish.
As you’d expect, the Yoga 11s boasts a spacious and comfortable keyboard along with a roomy and accurate touchpad. Lenovo is targeting about 7 hours of battery life, which is significantly less than the ARM-powered Yoga 11′s rated 12 hours. However, we suspect a lot of shoppers will prefer the versatility of running legacy apps on this hybrid. After all, the Yoga 11s costs just $70 more.
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