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Lenovo's Yoga Book C930 Laptop Swaps the Keyboard For an E Ink Display (techcrunch.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

Lenovo has launched a laptop with an e-ink display in place of a normal keyboard. An anonymous reader writes: The Yoga Book C930 laptop follows in the footsteps of the Yoga Book A12, the convertible that was all the rage at IFA back in 2016. That device swapped the standard keyboard for a touchscreen, so the surface could double as a drawing pad. It wasn't particularly conducive for typing, but it certainly was innovative. The C930 takes things even further, swapping the Halo keyboard for E Ink. It's an interesting application for the technology, which has largely been relegated to the world of e-readers. The secondary display serves the same function as on the A12, doing triple duty as a keyboard, notepad and e-reader. The C930 will be available in October, starting at $1,000.

60 comments

  1. Yoga are shit. (Says Louis Rossmann) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    Try the X, T or P series.

    But if you buy Yoga, you can as well just buy Apple. Total crap.

    1. Re:Yoga are shit. (Says Louis Rossmann) by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Apple. Total crap.

      FTFY

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    2. Re:Yoga are shit. (Says Louis Rossmann) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But with apple you have to use their shitshow of an OS. No Thanks.

    3. Re:Yoga are shit. (Says Louis Rossmann) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not exactly.... Yoga 11e is like a tank, bit heavy for 11.2 inch , but is friggin reinforced and can survive a lot of drops
      (mainly for education)

    4. Re:Yoga are shit. (Says Louis Rossmann) by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      It's not just the Yoga. This is an ongoing part of Lenovo's train-wreck fucking up of the excellent Thinkpad keyboard. Every year they dream up new ways to fuck it up. Let's see, where shall we put the cursor keys this year? What about Ctrl, or PgUp/PgDown, we haven't moved those for awhile. And the function keys, let's replace them with LCD app-specific keys. And why not remove the Return key just for laughs? Yeah, that's it. And then next year we'll release a new model that undoes some of the fuckage and charge everyone twice as much for it.

      They make some nice laptops, thanks to the ThinkPad lineage, but dear god Lenovo, LEAVE THE FUCKING KEYBOARD ALONE. IT DOESN'T NEED FIXING OR "IMPROVING". JUST LEAVE IT ALONE.

  2. It's not a laptop! It's a tablet! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The former is for making something.
    The latter is only and exclusively for consuming it.
    Hence, the keyboard is probably the biggest feature distinguishing the two.
    (And no, a touch screen is not a keyboard.)

    So if you like drooling or masturbating onto surfaces with giant buttons that say "Do" or "WANT!", without specifying what, because that would not be consuming anymore, and users of such devices abhor nothing more than "having" to think for themselves, ... then get the Yoga Book C930.

    Otherwise, get a computer.

    1. Re:It's not a laptop! It's a tablet! by Parafilmus · · Score: 1

      The former is for making something.
      The latter is only and exclusively for consuming it.

      By that standard, you are misjudging this computer.

      It may not be well-designed for the creation of text, but it looks VERY well-designed for the creation of visual art.

      It seems like a great portable sketchbook for photoshop or zbrush. The thing weighs 1.7 pounds and has a built-in wacom drawing tablet!

  3. You want courage? THIS is courage! by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why get a puny little "touch bar" when you can have a full-on "touch board"?

    COURAGE!

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    1. Re: You want courage? THIS is courage! by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      If they can wire in an electrode to my brain that makes me feel tactile feedback this would be awesome. Oh yeah, and it has to work.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
  4. Typing on a flat surface... by OpenSourced · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Typing on a flat surface is something that certainly takes some getting used to.

    I wonder up to what point are we slaves of custom. I mean, if we had moved directly from handwriting to touchscreens, without the middle steps of the typewriter and keyboard, what would the input methods be like?

    Perhaps a type of shorthand, written with a stylus. Or circles of different sizes depending on the frequency of each letter. Or mixes of finger movements and finger positions...

    I feel that we are constrained by the keyboard. That we have adapted to it, more than it to us. I suppose that nowadays more words are written in flat screens than in any other system. It's time to end the dictatorship of the keyboard.

    --
    Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
    1. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your sig - where's it from?

    2. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Touchscreens fucking suck for any real typing that you want to do; there's no tactile feedback to tell you where your fingers are, so you're constantly having to break focus to look at the typing surface. Plus there's a far greater chance for mis-typing, which will slow you down even further.

      I feel like your opinion on this matter comes from a person who's never actually done any real writing... Try this on a touch keyboard, then again on a regular keyboard, and post your results. Assuming that you're honest and don't try to doctor the results to favor your existing beliefs, I wager the difference in WPM will be extreme.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    3. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Bradmont · · Score: 1

      Do you remember Palm OS Graffiti? I do. And it was awful. I don't know about you, but I type on a keyboard way faster than I write with pen and paper. I don't think the keyboard is holding us back; it's the best mode of writing we've yet created. There might be a better one that'll be invented some time, but in many ways typing is a clear improvement over handwriting -- the only drawback is the requirement for electricity. Battery never runs out on paper.

    4. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Wycliffe · · Score: 1

      if we had moved directly from handwriting to touchscreens, without the middle steps of the typewriter and keyboard, what would the input methods be like?

      I feel that we are constrained by the keyboard. That we have adapted to it, more than it to us.

      It's time to end the dictatorship of the keyboard.

      The keyboard has one huge advantage over other types of input: SPEED and a close second which is accuracy.
      Nothing else is currently close. Voice could possibly come close to the speed if it could get the accuracy up.
      If you could invent an input method that had the same speed and accuracy of a keyboard then you could likely
      easily replace the keyboard. Noone is in love with the keyboard but it's the best we have currently.

    5. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, GP's opinion comes form somone who's not confused "typing" with "real writing" (the kind with a pen and paper).

      It's a valid question.
      Typing is a skill developed specifically for use with mechanical typewriters the advantage of which was speed and legibility compared to hand written script. Even then it lost on speed to shorthand and only made up for that on legibility.

      It seems likely that a modern tablet programed to OCR short-hand into text would beat a typewriter-derived laptop in speed and legibility. It would also gain the advantage of gesture based markup (think proofreading annotations translated into edits in real time). This would also have advantage for character set support as the limit would be the symbols/gestures the user knows not the space for keys.

      the disadvantage would be discoverability. You can use a keyboard withut learning how to type well juts by hunt-and-peck-ing which is pretty intuative. You either know the short hand/gesture interface or you don't, and so the system would need a tutorial to teach the skills.

    6. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by NormalVisual · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Perhaps a type of shorthand, written with a stylus

      This was already tried and wasn't particularly successful with Palm's Graffiti and other earlier handwriting systems. Probably the fastest available entry device (short of some kind of imaginary telepathic device) would be a stenotype keyboard (good stenographers can average between 6-7 words per second), but the learning curve for those is rather steep. Gregg shorthand allows a skilled scribe to record text at comparable speeds with just a pen, but using a far more limited character set that's difficult to integrate into a lot of computing tasks. Other visually-driven systems like Dasher are quite efficient and especially suited for disabled users, but entry still isn't anywhere near as quick as a traditional keyboard.

      Keyboards have become the dominant entry method not only because of history and commonality, but because we use our hands for so many things that the control loop between the brain and our hands becomes exceedingly refined over our lifetime. I'm not a particularly fast typist (about 80 wpm), but I don't really have to think at all about *what* I'm typing - the traditional keyboard does a good job of keeping your hands where they're supposed to be, and most touch typists get to the point where their hands more or less run on autopilot. This is even more so with a keyboard layout that attempts to optimize movement (like Dvorak). Chorded keyboards are more efficient still, but that's basically what a stenotype machine is. The more complex the key actions become, the closer data entry becomes akin to playing a piano, with the attendant difficulty.

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
    7. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I have to agree that the basic keyboard concept is far faster for text input than any other existing method, and it maintains a shallow learning curve (anyone can just start, poorly, using it; that's something shorthand, gestures, and chording can't compete with).

      HOWEVER, I feel like it was more of a philosophical question. If we never had typewriters, and went straight to a touch style device, what would have come of things? I think that's an very interesting way to look at it, and I often find complaints about my own (quite nice) keyboard (I really wish it was split cause my hands are too close together for my comfort, and I wish there was some sort of virtual mid-air mouse for quick movements of the cursor, and maybe some different textures on some keys (like F and J have the raised bumps, but I'd like a few of those on the number row), but otherwise it's pretty awesome).

      One similar area we can look at is gaming controllers. Those started as controllers:
      * atari style joysticks
      * nintendo style direction pad and buttons
      * atari paddles (I found these to be extremely good when used in the right situation, and I can't believe there haven't been any modern takes on this that I'm aware of)
      * trigger grips
      * foot inputs
      * light guns
      * etc

      Honestly, lots of innovation.
      However, for a first person shooter, keyboard and mouse is still the king. The direct, tactile input is hard to outdo. There are some layout variations that can help, but key combos, sequences, gestures, etc all have inherent delays over striking one key to have one thing happen.

      I'm certain there are faster ways to input text than a standard keyboard, but I'm doubtful that there are any that are better.

    8. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Typing on a flat surface is something that certainly takes some getting used to.

      I wonder up to what point are we slaves of custom. I mean, if we had moved directly from handwriting to touchscreens, without the middle steps of the typewriter and keyboard, what would the input methods be like?

      Perhaps a type of shorthand, written with a stylus. Or circles of different sizes depending on the frequency of each letter. Or mixes of finger movements and finger positions...

      I feel that we are constrained by the keyboard. That we have adapted to it, more than it to us. I suppose that nowadays more words are written in flat screens than in any other system. It's time to end the dictatorship of the keyboard.

      If any of those happened first, we'd be hearing about the miraculous "keyboard" invention that blew them all out of the water.

    9. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get off my lawn.

    10. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Solandri · · Score: 1

      Agreed. The only thing that's going to replace a keyboard is voice recognition. And that still has a ways to go (needs to understand context). Though for simple messages, I usually resort to the voice recognition on my phone's text messaging app.

    11. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't care how fast and accurate it might hypothetically be, I'm not fucking using voice input to dictate anything. I work hard enough to avoid needing to talk to humans; I'm not about to replace that with talking to an inanimate object.

    12. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by blindseer · · Score: 2

      Voice could possibly come close to the speed if it could get the accuracy up.

      That won't happen until we get some kind of standard on spelling vs. pronunciation. Here's an example...
      I was listening to some music on my Sirius radio and heard a song I liked. I made note of the artist on the radio display, Gina Clowes. How is that pronounced? I have no idea. Does that rhyme with "house", "hose", or "haws"? I made my best guess on the pronunciation and said to my Echo, "Alexa, play music by Gina Clowes," and hoped for the best. The response was something like, "I can't find music by jean clothes". That's like hearing the double translation from English to Chinese and back again, and probably not far from what is actually happening in the software.

      I found out that spelling bees are quite unique to the English speaking world. That's because English has "borrowed" so much from other languages that the rules on spelling is that there are none. Spelling anything but the most trivial of words is only by memorization. We can pronounce them and spell them but without a lot of context the two rarely correlate. It takes a lot of brain power to figure this out and we don't think much of it. Getting a human to keep this straight is hard enough, and getting computer to figure this out any time soon will be nearly impossible.

      There's people out there trained in the art of transcribing on special keyboards made specifically for this purpose. They can type 200 words per minute, which is a bit faster than typical speaking. They do this by not spelling words but by phonetics. Turning that into precise written English language still requires interpretation from context. Using such a keyboard for things like writing computer code would be, I can imagine, quite difficult.

      Noone is in love with the keyboard but it's the best we have currently.

      There we can agree.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    13. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, Hell, no. A big keyboard with three dimensional keys that move, please. Nothing else comes close for speed and accuracy.

    14. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Typing still hasn't changed since Windows 3.1. You can mistype, have focus on wrong window, hit the tab key and lose everything or post a severely truncated message. I'm a bit tired of that noise.
      At times I feel stunted because I can't write free-form or just write at will away from the laptop or desktop. with no pen or pencil at hand.

      I only know cursive writing by the way, I don't know how to write separate letters (I'll do but twice slower and irregular)

      In the days of typewriter, people had both.
      I would like to have both as well. It ought to be trivial to get software to recognize my handwriting (what is *machine learning* about anyway?)

    15. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by cyn1c77 · · Score: 2

      Typing on a flat surface is something that certainly takes some getting used to.

      I wonder up to what point are we slaves of custom.

      The primary reason we use a keyboard is because we use an alphabet. The alphabet serves as a major constraint in keyboard design, so you would need to address that you make any crazy changes. But that isn't really the issue...

      We don't write with our fingers in the sand (or equivalent) for a reason. It is less efficient and more uncomfortable than current technologies. Try it on a touchscreen program that recognizes your handwriting. You will write incredibly slowly, messily, and you will hurt yourself after a month from overuse.

      People are definitely willing to evolve, the new technology just needs to be better than the current one.

      Scratching things on rocks sucked. Quills were better. But not as good as pens, because sharpening your quill and dipping it every three words is a pain in the ass when you're in a hurry. Fountain pens were great, but finicky and travel poorly. Ballpoint were much more robust, but with a slightly deficient writing experience (no line variation and have to press hard reducing writing quality). Rollerballs require less pressure.

      We similarly went from typewriters to keyboards. And have been reducing the keyboard key press distance and feel for the last several years.

      The key thing that most designers miss is that you actually need SOME feedback when you are writing or typing. If the pen is too slippery on the paper, or the keypress is too short (or nonexistent for a touchscreen), you lose track of things. "Did I press the key? Or just skim it? Did I hit the meta escape key or the F1 touch area? Did my pen run out of ink or did I miss the paper? Oh shit, I missed the paper and am writing on the table!"

      Touchscreens let us type incredibly fast, but also wildly inaccurately and with no feeling. There's nothing wrote with touchscreen keys, but the existing designs are primitive. Put a touchscreen ON the key of a real keyboard. Let me control how high the key sits and how far I want to depress it for it to function. Keys need to actually have edges that you can feel for touch typing.

      All of those features are standard on aftermarket keyboards for enthusiasts and professionals. They are the direction that the touchscreen technology needs to evolve. I currently feel that touchscreen keyboards are at the ballpoint pen level: They get the job done and are convenient, but are inaccurate, uncomfortable and provide no feedback.

    16. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Typing on a flat surface is something that certainly takes some getting used to.

      I wonder up to what point are we slaves of custom. I mean, if we had moved directly from handwriting to touchscreens, without the middle steps of the typewriter and keyboard, what would the input methods be like?

      Perhaps a type of shorthand, written with a stylus. Or circles of different sizes depending on the frequency of each letter. Or mixes of finger movements and finger positions...

      I feel that we are constrained by the keyboard. That we have adapted to it, more than it to us. I suppose that nowadays more words are written in flat screens than in any other system. It's time to end the dictatorship of the keyboard.

      Exactly!

      Ever since I was a kid, I envisioned such a device. There are a bunch of applications for a device like that, and no, a laptop with a conventional touchscreen is not the same thing.

    17. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      *Machine Learning* Is about tracking you, nothing more.

    18. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The world you describe doesn't exist... because nothing, operated by a human, recording human intentions, is faster than a keyboard. We 'type' faster than we speak, but not with the horrible excuses for keyboards we get from china these days. I think the HP 87xx series laptop was the last to have a decent keyboard, and desktop keyboards are so bad these days people are making their own... Don't mistake the current generation's lack of a good keyboard to imply they have always been holding us back... that's a recent problem!

    19. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Palm's Graffiti actually worked very well if you put even a fraction of the time learning to touch type into learning it.

    20. Re:Typing on a flat surface... by NormalVisual · · Score: 1

      Yes, it did - I owned a IIIc myself and was relatively quick with Graffiti. "Wasn't particularly successful" wasn't meant to imply "Graffiti didn't work", rather that it didn't fare well against newer smartphone entry systems and that it's unusual to find Graffiti in use today.

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
  5. Courage, you say? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "We'd like a better keyboard please"
    'here, have a worse one. But it's e-ink so you can swap layouts at every keypress'
    "Why thank you kindly good sir, that is useful to us touch-typists."

    I'd like a *good* keyboard with a trackpoint and NO touchpad. A keyboard light is nice but all the rest is just distraction from getting ten-fingered work done. IBM thinkpads were good for that reason, but even the "anniversary" model failed in this respect. And so does the yoga. Aptly named, though. All the contortions you have to go through to get any work done. *sigh*

    1. Re:Courage, you say? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use trackpoint, disable touch pad.

    2. Re: Courage, you say? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Most Apple users would provably settle for anything where dust doesn't jam up keys

  6. Techcrunch by Blue+Stone · · Score: 1

    Holy crap that Techcrunch website is a piece of shit.

    Scroll to the bottom of the article you're reading and it puts you on their index page and you have to hit 'back' to get back to the article you were reading.

    Which cunt thought that was a good idea?

    --
    Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
  7. Re:You want courage? THIS is courage! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Courage is removing ALL INPUT METHODS, also includes selfie headband so you can just consume and show all your friends your face while consuming without raising a hand or doing anything. 1984 people, it's coming, and it's called iPad 2.0

  8. easily fixed... by mschaffer · · Score: 1

    Just install Windows or Linux.

  9. They beat Apple to the punch by mschaffer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A laptop with a keyboard worse than the MacBook Pro.
    Impressive.

    1. Re:They beat Apple to the punch by blindseer · · Score: 1

      The Yoga has no keyboard but what I really want to know is, does it have a headphone port?

      I know how to plug in a keyboard if I need one but I can't figure out how to go plugging in a set of headphones without a 1/8th inch diameter socket.

      Just so I'm clear, I'm not a fan of either iterations of touch input devices. I'll pile on with the bashing.

      What I'd like is a keyboard that has the keys in a nice vertical and horizontal layout and not cost a small fortune. The only reason the keyboards way back when had this staggered layout was to allow for the levers behind each key to not interfere on mechanical typewriters. Computers never had this limitation My fingers move generally up and down in line with my arms, not slanted to the left by extending them and to the right by bringing fingertips closer to my wrist. I know such keyboards exist but they shouldn't cost more than the computer.

      I'm sure that with a touch screen I can layout the keys as I wish with a software update. I'm also sure such a screen lacks any tactile feedback so I can touch type with a error rate far above my already terrible typing. I'm all for innovating on the outdated keyboard designs but let's not go backwards on keyboard design, okay?

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    2. Re:They beat Apple to the punch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dont be too impressed; apple is bringing out some new laptops this year.

      apple could make theirs even worse.

      Or more likely ; copy Lenovo.

    3. Re:They beat Apple to the punch by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      A laptop with a keyboard worse than the MacBook Pro.
      Impressive.

      Actually, no, they didn't:

      https://www.slashdot.org/story...

  10. Difference with little distinction... by mschaffer · · Score: 1

    Some of the X series (e.g. X1Carbons) are little different than the Yoga.

    1. Re:Difference with little distinction... by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Some of the X series (e.g. X1Carbons) are little different than the Yoga.

      Huh? I got a Carbon X1 for my SO. It's a fantastic machine. Light, powerful, tons of storage and a really really really nice keyboard.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  11. Hey, great for users who don't type by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you hate typing then this is the notebook for you. Absolutely no tactile feel, no problem just don't type on it. Talk about the obsession with thin, at least Apple hasn't completely killed off the traditional keyboards on Mac's. Although they are pretty bad compared to what they once had.

  12. Ok.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Say goodbye to your fingers.

  13. interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Wonder if it's possible to disable the main screen then use only the e-ink display as the primary one for Linux, while using a full sized USB keyboard. Battery may last four days then...

  14. Can't wait by batukhan · · Score: 2

    I'm more interested in the display. Can't wait for cheap spare parts. Until now the largest e-ink display you could get was from a 13" $700 Sony e-reader. Or settle for a 6" $50 Kindle

  15. Re:You want courage? THIS is courage! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Courage will be when apple copies this idea. And claims it innovative!

  16. Use external keyboard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This laptop 2-in-1 has something extremely rare on computers : handwriting.
    At the same time it does poor man's keyboard, and in both modes you have an entire additional color screen.

    Sony paper was $1000 and had crappy software that did nothing ($1000 pdf reader you can write on) while this has a real OS presumably.. Although TFA says nothing at all on specs, CPU architecture, OS!
    My point is you should be able to carry an external keyboard (even compact mechanical), have one at home. Or use a $10 full keyboard.
    You can compromise on this, because nothing one else allows you to do handwriting and maths on e-ink, even the color LCD is probably a touchscreen as well, and the touchscreen keyboard we're complaining about is world's largest touchscreen keyboard (on a tablet-like mobile thing).

  17. USB-C hub needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It seems to have one USB-C
    Needs shit you can only buy on the Internet. Like powered hub with three or four USB-A and HDMI, how much?, which to buy?
    That's all I will rant about but it gets tiring. Yes I'm a luddite I want wired peripherals I don't care about low quality bluetooth ones I don't use google chrome to google cast.

  18. "swap layouts" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Eh, one good thing about an e-ink keyboard : you don't only get to swap QWERTY vs DVORAK vs QWERTZ and so on.
    Given it's software defined you could also put your damn ctrl and esc keys where you want. Finally have an "Fn" key on the right. Decide layout of arrow keys. Have real home/end keys if you want them.
    Have silly things like Apple II, CBM 64, Amiga, ST etc. lay outs (either for no valid reason or for emulators)
    And the e-ink uses no power when the keyboard is set.

  19. Give me one giant touchscreen by ravyne · · Score: 1

    Honestly, the laptop concept I want to see come to be is one giant, flexible screen with a hinge that will lay perfectly flat and fold around 360 degrees, probably something segmented like the surfacebook. Fold it all the way over to get a more traditional tablet form factor, tent mode to present or screen-share, lay it flat on a table to write on or share in a game, or flatten it out and prop it up on a built-in kickstand for something like a 24" display.

    For my uses, touchscreen typing is fine for casual tasks like email, chat, commenting in forums -- even for occasional 'real' work (coding, etc) in cramped spaces like a train or during a layover. I wouldn't mind carrying a separate keyboard for real work, and laptop keys are getting progressively worse for the most-part anyways. Sign me the hell up if I get an actual productive screen size to boot.

    IIRC Lenovo has said they have something like this in mind for the 3rd gen yogabooks. They can gladly have my money if they nail the concept.

  20. What a terible idea by Casandro · · Score: 1

    I mean you essentially downgrade your laptop to a tablet by throwing away your most important input device, the keyboard.

  21. Re:You want courage? THIS is courage! by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

    Courage will be when apple copies this idea. And claims it innovative!

    Too late, Coward!

    Apple already filed a Patent Application for this about a month ago. There was even a Slashdot story on it:

    https://www.slashdot.org/story...

  22. THAT IS WHAT I SAID! I was implying Apple is crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was implying, Apple is even worse, by comparing the Yoga to it.

    Wow, people here just read what they want to read, right? ...

  23. Re:THAT IS WHAT I SAID! I was implying Apple is cr by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

    You must be new here, also who uses an Apple for Yoga anyways? Are you some sort of freak?

  24. And this differs how? by mschaffer · · Score: 1

    I have a X1Carbon, too. I was amazed to see how similar it is to my colleague's X1 Yoga. Aside from the hinge and screen selections, they are basically the same machine.

    1. Re:And this differs how? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Oh I though you were talking about this one with the silly non keyboard.

      Yeah they're petty similar. The main thing is the X1 ends at a higher top end spec and is a bit lighter, though of course you pay a lot for that. Whether that is of value depends on your use case.

      Either way though, the maxed out X1 is cheaper than my work mbp and better in all aspects except the GPU. you can get like 75% of that for under half the price with the yoga.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  25. Re:THAT IS WHAT I SAID! I was implying Apple is cr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apple users tend to be extremely insecure people and don't like to be reminded that they wasted a lot of money on inferior products.

  26. Re:You want courage? THIS is courage! by chrish · · Score: 1

    As soon as the "Touch of Genius" TouchBar was announced for the MacBook Pro, I've been waiting for Apple to stick two iPads together with a $500 Jony Ive hinge and call it a MacBook.

    Lenovo beat them to market. At least E Ink is better than a tablet style touch screen. I guess.

    I'm sure this will be more awesome when Apple finally invents it.

    --
    - chrish
  27. Re: You want courage? THIS is courage! by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

    If they can wire in an electrode to my brain that makes me feel tactile feedback this would be awesome. Oh yeah, and it has to work.

    Apple's "taptic" engine works quite well. I was using their touchpad and it's amazing how much they "click" even though the touchpad doesn't actually move anymore. Push down and you feel it click, let go and it clicks back.

    If anything, that might work for tactile feedback if done right.