Content area
Full Text
Hybrid device offers practicality of a laptop and convenience of a tablet on a Windows 8 platform that's powerful enough to support CAD.
If you pay even a small bit of attention to the tech world, you've probably heard a lot of talk about tablets lately. Research organizations trumpet the death of the PC, while other market experts counter that nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that reality lies somewhere in between - so, when the opportunity arose to review Lenovo's ThinkPad Helix tablet/laptop hybrid, I jumped at the chance.
Lenovo describes the ThinkPad Helix as a "premium convertible" that combines laptop performance with the flexibility of a tablet, and the description is apt, if not understated. The ThinkPad Helix brings together the best elements of a full HD tablet and an excellent keyboard without losing the usability or benefits of either.
The Helix comprises a stand-alone, touchscreen tablet that docks to its keyboard. The tablet connects to the keyboard dock facing forward or backward with what Lenovo calls a "rip and flip" design, which allows use in four distinct arrangements, including:
* laptop mode, with the tablet and keyboard connected in the traditional configuration;
* tablet mode, with the tablet used alone for mobile applications;
* tablet+ mode, where the tablet faces the user with the keyboard connected and folded behind it to provide more power, ports, and battery life than the tablet used alone; and
* stand mode, where the keyboard sits behind the tablet to serve as a base while the user gives a presentation or works on the tablet for extended periods.
Hardware design. The...