Lenovo introduces a unique form factor

Lenovo introduced the Yoga 8 and Yoga 10 tablets based on Android (4.2.2) that couple moderate performance with a unique form factor and stellar battery life.

Lenovo isn't a company that seems interested in slowing down.  Just when you think the world of notebooks is getting boring, it releases products like the ThinkPad Tablet 2 and the Yoga 2 Pro.  Today we are looking at another innovative product from Lenovo, the Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10.  While the tablets share the Yoga branding seen in recent convertible notebooks these are NOT Windows-based PCs – something that I fear some consumers might get confused by.  

Instead this tablet pair is based on Android (4.2.2 at this point) which brings with it several advantages.  First, the battery life is impressive, particularly with the 8-in version that clocked in more than 17 hours in our web browsing test!  Second, the form factor of these units is truly unique and not only allows for larger batteries but also a more comfortable in-the-hand feeling than I have had with any other tablet.  

Check out the video overview below!  

You can pick up the 8-in version of the Lenovo Yoga Tablet for just $199 while the 10.1-in model starts at $274.

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet is available in both 8-in and 10.1-in sizes though the hardware is mostly identical between both units include screen resolution (1280×800) and SoC hardware (MediaTek quad-core Cortex-A7).  The larger model does get an 8000 mAh battery (over the 6000 mAh on the 8-in) but isn't enough to counter balance the power draw of the larger screen.

The 1280×800 resolution is a bit lower than I would like but is perfectly acceptable on the 8-in version of the Yoga Tablet.  On the 10-in model though the pixels are just too big and image quality suffers.  These are currently running Android 4.2.2 which is fine, but hopefully we'll see some updates from Lenovo to more current Android versions.

Front facing speakers make the Yoga Tablet 8 and 10 better media consumption devices on your desk than most.  They sound is pretty decent for such a thin device.

The most interesting part of these tablets is the form factor that includes a round "tube" shaped side that is used for both the battery as well as one hand gripping.  Lenovo also built in a kickstand that is easily adjustable to use at nearly any angle.  

You can use the kickstand in the standing mode or flip it on the surface for a keyboard-like design.

The Yoga Tablet 8 can stretch back pretty far without falling over, though obviously the Tablet 10 is more top heavy and isn't as flexible.  Get it, Yoga?

Neither tablet scores particularly well in our benchmarks and you'll like find it in line with the performance of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 released in mid-2012.  It was more than capable of handling web browsing and playing back video content but for advanced Android game the Yoga Tablets will likely suffer.