Yiynova MVP22U review: Size really matters

Is it possible for a screen to be too big?

If you’d asked me that question a year ago, I would have immediately said, “Absolutely not!” But after using a 27-inch monitor with my Windows desktop for a few months and more recently working with the 22-inch Yiynova MVP22U V2 tablet monitor, I’m no longer so sure.

Anyone who runs a graphics program understands the appeal (some might argue necessity) of a large display. Interfaces have so many toolbars and menus and icons that there’s often precious little room left for your canvas.

I’ve tweeted with several artists who refuse to consider the Surface Pro because its screen is just too small. I sympathize with this point of view especially for users of software whose developers keep dragging their feet on publishing Windows 8 tablet friendly versions (I’m looking at you, Adobe!).

But there are advantages to smaller displays as well.

For one, you can hold the Surface Pro right up to your face and not see any jaggies on its 1080p display. Even at 13- or 15-inches, HD resolution is very acceptable for close work. But blow up 1080p to over 20-inches and suddenly aliasing is a serious distraction even at monitor distance.

The second advantage of a small display is that your hand and pen don’t need to cover a lot of ground to hit any point on the screen. The limited real estate will definitely force you to do more panning and zooming with your free hand, but at least your pen arm won’t have to travel as much as two feet to hit the file menu (see the picture above).

And with all the Windows tablets and convertibles on the market, the ability to perform touch gestures with your free hand is a given. But with interactive pen displays like the Yiynova, don’t even think about it (unless you’re willing to spend $2500 for the Wacom Cintiq 22HD Touch).

So am I giving the Yiynova a thumbs down? Not at all. It’s a great device for the price. I merely suggest that any of you considering it or a similar sized alternative think about your workspace, the distance at which you work from your canvas and the dimensions in which you like to work.

Now on to the Yiynova MVP22U itself:

I purchased my device via The Panda City, the US distributor which operates its storefront on Amazon.com. This adds a welcome degree of security in purchasing a relatively unknown product from an even lesser known vendor. And I was able to put that customer service commitment to the test when my first unit developed a power issue almost immediately.

I contacted the vendor via Amazon support. Panda City responded within the day, came back with a suggested fix the next and when the fix didn’t resolve the issue, agreed to send me a replacement immediately. I only shipped back my original once I’d received the new one and confirmed that it was working properly.

The Yiynova inexplicably uses a VGA input via a permanently attached cable. Fortunately, it ships with a VGA to miniDisplay Port adapter which simplifies connection to the Surface Pro. The cable also has a USB breakout which supplies pen control.

Although it’s not exactly ugly, the MVP22U won’t win any design awards. (For pictures, see my unboxing post here.) I’m unsure about the material of the white front. The display must be glass, but it feels more like plastic, reminiscent of the white polycarbonate iMacs of 2004-2006. The rest of the monitor is black, with six small clips holding the front in place. These clips protude slightly higher than the front surface, so they give the monitor a rather homemade feel. And the eight programmable buttons at the top center of the display seem positively retro. They’re also awkwardly placed to be useful. I’m not a button-mashing guy anyway, so I haven’t bothered to test them.

The adjustable stand will support the monitor in a variety of angles from nearly upright (78 degrees) to about 12 degrees. It’s impossible to lie the monitor completely flat, but I find the slight incline very comfortable for working. The Yiynova can be used in portrait mode but only in the upright position. I can’t imagine attempting to draw on it that way. The adjustment mechanism itself is very easy to use and I appreciate that there are no fixed angle settings.

There are four external buttons for power, menu, up and down located behind the lower right side of the monitor. This is an unfortunate location because the power is very difficult to reach while the monitor is reclined.

There’s a clip-on pen holder in the back that’s handy for storing the stylus. The pen itself is larger than any tablet pc stylus. It feels more like a Sharpie with a rubber grip. Unfortunately, the pen buttons are too close to the barrel and are very easy (for me at least) to press accidentally. The buttons also have significant play, which feels very cheap. I spoke to another Yiynova owner, who tells me her pen buttons are stiff, so it might just be a defect in mine. The stylus does not have an eraser tip. The pen nib is hard plastic and is unfortunately not interchangeable with other brands of nibs. The nib is notched and significantly shorter than Wacom’s and I find myself missing the resistance of their softer felt tips.

I’ve read claims that say the Yiynova is a Cintiq killer. Having never used the latter, I can’t say. What I do know is that the UC Logic digitizer powering the MVP22U is very accurate and responsive.

In my previous post, I described my setup with the Surface Pro 2 docking station and the Yiynova. I was concerned that the Wacom feel drivers and the tablet monitor would conflict, but it worked great right out of the box (tested primarily with Clip Studio Paint 1.2.7 set to Tablet PC).

I didn’t want to create potential driver conflicts on the new Surface Pro, so I connected the MVP22U to my Windows 8.1 desktop for testing of the drivers and setup software.

Although the desktop recognized the tablet monitor without any drivers, I was unable to get any pen pressure response in Manga Studio 5.0.3. So it appears that you must install the UC Logic drivers if you plan to use it on a desktop.

I panicked the first time I booted my machine following the driver installation because I suddenly had no pen response at all. After uninstalling the drivers and recovering pen control, I tried running the native Windows calibration tool and found that it didn’t recognize the pen touches.

So I ran the driver installation again and this time, after a brief delay, I could navigate the interface with the pen.

The drivers create a new control panel item called Tablet Setting where you can configure your monitors, program your pen buttons, adjust and test pressure sensitivity, program your express keys and calibrate your screen. The tool offers 4- or 9-point calibration.

Once I went through the tablet settings, I was able to see pressure sensitivity in Manga Studio and Photoshop.

As I wrote at the beginning of this post, aliasing is very evident when you’re working very close to the tablet monitor. I adjusted the pc’s Cleartype settings, which cleaned up the display of small fonts significantly.

When the Yiynova is connected to the Surface Pro, I mirror the display in order to pan, rotate and zoom with my left hand on the Surface’s screen while I draw with the pen in my right. On a traditional desktop, you have to resort to using the onscreen gadgets which is far less interactive.

On the positive side, the large display makes it easy to hit just about any target on even the most cluttered of interfaces.

The screen is so big that I find it difficult to see the whole canvas. I have to lean back or zoom out to take everything in. Without multitouch support, the pen has to do a lot of traveling to get from one side of the screen to the other. Since you’ll be leaning over the monitor to draw, you’ll need to keep your keyboard off to the side, which can be a bit awkward too.

One area where the large screen is vastly superior is during comic book lettering, where a nine point font is virtually unreadable on the Surface Pro. I laid out and lettered nine pages of a comic project yesterday and I was extremely grateful for the Yiynova’s ample screen.

So to get back to my original question: is a big screen always better? It really depends on your needs and understanding the limitations of the form factor.

Is the Yiynova MVP22U V2 worth considering? Absolutely, especially for the relatively low cost vs. comparably sized Wacom hardware.

I personally think that the sweet spot size-wise is somewhere between the Sony Flip’s 15.5 inches and the $400 Monoprice’s 19-inches. Unfortunately both those products are hampered by other limitations (N-Trig digitizer tech for the Sony and 1440x900 resolution for the Monoprice).

 So for the time being at least, the MVP 22U is the only game in town.

Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga unboxing video

I hope to have my Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga to review sometime next week, but in the meantime, here's a new unboxing video posted by Lenovo. 

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but the guys are confused when it comes time to name the digitizer onboard the device. Very bad form, Lenovo!

Two classic franchises become one. We unbox our 1st multimode business ultrabook and it's part ThinkPad, part Yoga. Learn more: http://lnv.gy/lenovo

UPDATE: Fixed! The real dealbreaker for Sony VAIO Flip 15A

UPDATE November 24: I'm relieved to report that the touchscreen issues described below appears to have been resolved by a firmware update released on Sony's tech support site. 

Kudos to TabletPCReview forum poster Miles Wolf, who first spotted the fix. 

I installed it yesterday morning from Sony's Japanese tech support site and haven't experienced the problem since. The bios update is now available on Sony's US eSupport site. 

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ORIGINAL POST

As much as I want to keep the Sony VAIO Flip 15A for its beautiful 15.5 inch screen, today I've encountered a crippling defect that makes it useless as a tablet.

The problem had occurred a couple of times before today, but I did my best to ignore it because I was more focused on getting the laptop set up and so that I could answer the pressure sensitivity question for a few apps.

But today, the issue has occurred so many times that I'm tempted to just give up, pack it up and return it to Best Buy tonight (maybe I'll use the refund to pick up a PS4 instead).

The issue is that the tablet service will randomly stop running, making the Flip unresponsive to either pen or touch. A workaround is to run the calibration program again, which restarts the service.

This ridiculous inconvenience might be tolerable if you only had to perform it once or maybe twice a day. But I've had to do this no fewer than six or seven times today and I've only used the laptop for a couple of hours.

Normally, I'd give Sony the benefit of the doubt and assume I just got a bum unit, but careful reading of various reviews online all mention having had the problem at least once.

For example, here is a quote from Engadget's review of the Flip 15: "Also, while the touchscreen mostly worked as it was supposed to, it occasionally failed to respond to our taps or it registered our finger input incorrectly. "

And on the Sony Community, there is a growing thread on the problem. And just like they've done on complaints regarding fan noise, the response from Sony has been total silence. 

So if you were thinking of picking up a VAIO Flip, my recommendation is definitely to wait until Sony releases either a firmware fix or issues a recall.

Despite its 3-inch smaller screen, that Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga is looking pretty good right about now.  

Surface Pro 2 vs. Sony VAIO Flip 13A Smackdown

I know I've got to get over my camera shyness to do the subject of Windows tablet art justice and remain competitive in this tech review space. But in the meantime, I hope you won't mind when I link to videos that do a great job for me.

That's the case with this excellent comparison of the Surface Pro 2 and the Sony VAIO Flip 13 by Lisa Gade, Editor in Chief at MobileTechReview.

In just under 17 minutes, she exhaustively reviews the pros and cons of each device and reaches much the same conclusions I did: if portability and Photoshop are a must, go with the Surface Pro 2 and if you need an ultrabook with art capabilities, go with the VAIO Flip.

Like Lisa, my first observation about the Flip 15 was the excessive noise coming from the overtaxed fan, but I recently turned off indexing and now the fan rarely turns on. I also was having problems with frequent loss of pen and touch control which appears to have been resolved with a BIOS update from Sony's Japanese support site.

I've cued the video up to begin with the pen technology comparison, but by all means watch the entire thing when you have time to spare.

Lisa Gade compares the Sony Vaio Flip 13 and Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Windows 8 convertible tablets.

Modbook Pro Pen adds button you've been missing

Buttons on pens don't do anything for me. In fact, I think they're often a nuisance as I frequently find myself clicking them accidentally with my thick knuckles.

However, many of you swear by your pen buttons and I've been hunting high and low for a readily available Surface Pro pen replacement that will accommodate your needs. I've tested five pen replacements to date and none have more than one button. And the three higher end pens don't even have eraser tips either. 

Thanks to a tip from reader Steven Weitz, I finally wrapped my fingers around the replacement stylus you've been clamoring for, although you'll have to pay a relatively steep premium for the privilege.

That pen is the Modbook Pro Digitizer Pen, which retails for $70 from the Modbook Store. The plastic pen is virtually identical to two other pens I've reviewed previously: the Wacom Penabled Tablet PC Eraser Pen and the Samsung Electronics Slate PC Digitizer Pen, both of which cost about 50% less than the Modbook pen.

Modbook doesn't offer any precise specifications, but the pen is 5.5 inches long from eraser to nib and is very light, weighing about half an ounce, just like the Wacom and Samsung stylii. I can only assume that Wacom produces all three pens as the nibs are interchangeable as well.

Modbook clearly charges a hefty premium for its boutique product, but they at least offer a generous selection of nibs: five felt, four pencil and three stroke tips. The stroke tip is grey with a small spring.   According to Wacom, these nibs are supposed to provide a more "brush-like" feel.

Packs of five nibs cost $5-$10 from Wacom, so the additional nibs are definitely welcomed.

Performance is very consistent across all the tablet pc pens I've tested. Some users have reported that one pen is more precise than another, but I haven't found that to be the case in my testing. With calibration, every stylus displays the same accuracy.  

I personally prefer heavier, slightly thicker pens that are closer to real world instruments. However, any of the replacements I've identified will offer a more satisfying experience than the standard Surface Pro pen.

I appreciate that the Modbook Pen's button is angled high enough from the pen's barrel to avoid most accidental presses. And assigning button actions is a simple matter of finding the Pen Tablet Properties in Control Panel.

I'm told that there are other two-button options out there, but I think most of them are for older devices and not easily obtainable. So if you absolutely need that second button, the Modbook Pro Digitizer Pen is the way to go.

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Each Modbook Pro Digitizer Pen also includes a pack of pen tips, containing the following:

5 × Felt tip (Black) 
3 × Pencil tip (White, factory installed) 
3 × Studio tip (Grey, spring-powered) 
1 × Pen tip removal tool

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Except for its dual button, the Modbook Pro Digitizer Pen is almost identical to the much lower priced Samsung (above) and Wacom pens (below).

Will Windows artists do backflips over Lenovo's Thinkpad Yoga? UPDATE: Now Available

UPDATE November 20: The Thinkpad Yoga is now available for sale on the US store. Shipping is estimated for Nov. 28.

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The Thinkpad stylus is siloed in the front right corner of the device.

A Core i7 8/256GB convertible will set you back $1739. The base model is a Core i5 4/128GB for $1299. Both include pen support, although it's not clear whether the pen is included. I don't think so, but the pen is also not available to order as an accessory as part of the order.

I also double checked the Microsoft Store and they are still listing an i5/8/256 configuration for $1399 available Dec. 25.

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The Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga in tablet mode, with pen. Both models currently sold in the US include the Wacom digitizer.

UPDATE 3 November 19: The Thinkpad Yoga is now available for pre-order from Lenovo's UK site. The store lists two non-digitizer models and two penabled ones. The latter are approximately £200 more than the capacitive touch versions.

This is different than the information I'd received from Lenovo customer support here who told me that all Thinkpad Yoga models would be digitizer-equipped and only the pen would be sold separately.

Pricing is also significantly higher than expected. The higher end Core i5 8/256 model is listed at £1260 or approximately $2030. That's far too much for a keyboard and two inches of additional screen real estate vs. the Surface Pro 2. Hopefully the U.S. price will be significantly lower.

UPDATE 2 November 6:  Still no official updates from Lenovo, but the Microsoft Store now shows the product's release date as December 25. So it appears the release date has slipped by at least one month. That's a real shame for anyone who was hoping to find one of these in their Christmas stockings.

UPDATE October 29:  The Thinkpad Yoga is now available for pre-order from the Microsoft Store for $1399. This is for an Intel Core i7-4500U 3.00 GHz, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB storage, and 12.5 in Full HD IPS (1920 x 1080). It's not clear from the specs but we believe that the Wacom pen is standard in this model.

So for about the same price as the Surface Pro 2 plus keyboard, you get a larger screen and faster processor in a heavier form factor (3.96 lbs. vs. 2.55 lbs with type cover). Sold? 

One concern I didn't think about while first writing about the convertible laptop category is what to do for keyboard input while in tablet mode. Though it's very awkward, artists may need to carry around a mini-bluetooth keyboard for access to those all-important hotkeys. Does that defeat the purpose or is that a small price to pay for the additional couple inches of screen real estate?

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Every tech blog is brimming with new product announcements this week, but they sure have a way of burying the lead. When it comes to artists and designers, the first question we all want to know is: does it have an active digitizer?

A year after Windows 8's release, it's dismaying to see so few penabled tablets and convertibles available. And every product that does include a stylus seems to include other crippling compromises.

Thanks to Tom Warren, Sr. Editor at the Verge, I spotted the Thinkpad Yoga and its optional Wacom digitizer buried deep in the middle of the press release below. 

Scheduled to be available in November, with a 12.5-inch screen, 1080P display, Haswell Core i7 processors and up to 1GB of storage, the Thinkpad Yoga may end up on many artists' Christmas lists, especially at its $949 starting price.   

The Thinkpad Yoga also debuts a new design innovation: keys that recede in tablet mode. See the video below for a brief glimpse of that new feature.  I'll need to see how the back of the device feels as I cradle it in tablet mode, but the Yoga may end up as my Surface Pro replacement.

ThinkPad Yoga is Lenovo's new business-class multimode device for the road warrior with a lifestyle. Four modes to get things done--laptop for work, tablet for social, tent to share your screen and stand to watch a movie. Learn more: www.lenovo.com

PRESS RELEASE

Lenovo Expands Multimode Family with New Yoga Convertibles and Flex Dual Mode Devices

Continues leadership in multimode computing with next-generation Yoga devices and brings dual mode benefits to laptops and desktops

Introduces a smarter, strikingly brilliant screen Yoga 2 Pro and a business-ready ThinkPad Yoga with exclusive “lift and lock” system

Flex 14 and 15 laptops defy laptop expectations with dual mode experience and workhorse Flex 20 AIO doubles and delights as completely flat interactive console

BERLIN, GERMANY – September 5, 2013: Lenovo(HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), creator of multimode computing, today announced at the 2013 IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, a broad expansion to its portfolio of multimode devices. The new lineup starts with two new Yoga convertibles: the Yoga 2 Pro, successor to the original 360° flip and fold 13.3-inch Yoga, and the new ThinkPad Yoga, built to take business users to new heights with its multimode design and business-heavy features. Additionally, Lenovo is bringing multimode computing to mainstream laptops and desktops with the new dual mode Lenovo Flex 14 and 15-inch laptops and Flex 20 all-in-one (AIO) desktop. These machines give consumers all the productivity of a PC plus one extra mode, essentially giving them two powerful devices at one affordable price.

Yoga 2 Pro: Picture Perfect in Any Mode

Users will instantly notice the Yoga 2 Pro’s impressive, eye-popping 13.3-inch display: Its QHD+ super high resolution 10-finger touchscreen displays images in 3200X1800 resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio, equivalent to four times the visual clarity of the original Yoga’s HD+ (1600X900) screen and the highest screen resolution on the market today. The 350-nit screen features IPS 178° wide angle viewing for great views from nearly any line of sight.

Unbelievably thinner and lighter than  before at 15.5 mm thin and 1.39 kg, the extra mobile Yoga 2 Pro lets users easily enjoying computing in each of its four modes: laptop, tablet, stand and tent. Yoga 2 Pro also features advanced technologies including choices of up to Intel 4th generation Core i7 ULT processors, Windows 8.1, up to 512 GB SSD, Intel WiDi for streaming content wirelessly to a TV, Dolby Home Theatre v4 and up to nine hours of battery life1. It also features a new backlit keyboard and comes in its signature Grey or Clementine Orange color. The recently introduced Yoga 11S will also be adding choices of up to 4th generation Intel Core i7 processors.

A full-function laptop and tablet, Yoga 2 Pro infuses new smart features including Yoga Picks, a concierge-like tool that suggests suitable apps based upon the device’s mode, custom apps and voice control. For example, in tablet mode, Yoga Picks suggests apps like Birizzle, a popular touch game, and Zinio, an e-reader. In tent mode, it offers the painting app, Fresh Paint and Rara music streaming. Additionally, Yoga 2 Pro comes with apps created especially for its four modes. In laptop mode, Phone Companion lets users copy content from documents or websites/pages and send the information to their phones as a text message. Yoga Photo Touch allows users in tablet mode to edit or retouch photos using their fingers on the 10-point multitouch screen. Built for stand mode, Yoga Camera Man lets users take photos with effects like lomo, 4-in-1, macro, GIF and more to photos, and Yoga Chef in tent mode taps into Yoga 2 Pro’s motion control and voice control to advance recipes from cooking apps. Also available for Yoga 2 Pro is the N700 multimode wireless mouse, sold separately, that rotates 180° to double as a pointer so users can switch between desktop work and presentations.

ThinkPad Yoga Dons Black and Business-Ready Features 

While borrowing Yoga’s flip and fold, four mode design, the ThinkPad Yoga creates its own space for business customers with its performance, security and productivity features as well as customization options. The 12.5-inch magnesium alloy ThinkPad Yoga offers a stunning visual and intensive multimedia experience starting with choices of a Corning Gorilla Glass HD IPS or a FHD IPS display (optional digitizer and pen available for the FHD display) running Windows 8.1. For a responsive touch experience, use its 10-finger touch screen running Windows 8.1 or its oversized five-button glass trackpad optimized for gestures.

Designed for maximum comfort in all modes, the ThinkPad Yoga features a unique lift and lock system created for tablet mode. The system automatically lifts and locks the keys on the machine’s keyboard in place for a streamlined feel. Additionally, ThinkPad Yoga features the legendary ThinkPad keyboard with optional backlit models and models with Near Field Communications (NFC) to easily share data between devices. 

The ThinkPad Yoga has the key performance technologies business users need: choices of up to Intel 4th generation Core i7 processors, up to 1 TB of storage equivalent to the size of storing 500 DVD movies as well as all-day battery life. The ThinkPad Yoga also responds to voice input so users can chat on Instant Messaging programs, play their music, search the web and more without lifting a finger. And for an expanded workspace, Lenovo’s One Link dock, purchased separately, provides USB ports, a mini-HDMI connection, Gigabit Ethernet and more.

Flex 14 and 15: For Life’s Different Modes

More than a thin and light laptop, the dual-mode Flex 14.1-inch and 15.6-inch laptops creatively flip 300° for stand mode, a new way to interact with a PC and positions the device closer to the user for more natural, comfortable touch experience. Users can open Lenovo’s custom YouCam program, say “1,2,3 cheese” to snap a webcam photo and then send it to a friend using Flex’s voice commands1. Or they can enjoy cinematic quality sound to the latest NetFlix movie with Flex’s Dolby Advanced Audio v2 without a keyboard in the way or even watch high definition content on another screen via Flex’s HDMI-out connection.

Beyond Flex’s extra value with its dual mode, flip functionality, its fashionable soft-touch black cover trimmed with silver or Clementine Orange also attracts attention. Equally stunning, the interior contains a clean keyboard design with optional backlighting.2 Images are vividly rich thanks to Flex’s HD 1366X768 or optional Full HD 1920X1080 displays.2  With 10-point multitouch, Flex makes using Windows 8 and collaboration easy. With up to nine hours1, Flex 14 and 15 are extremely mobile and are primed for productivity with up to Intel 4th generation Core ULT i7 processors, up to Nvidia discrete GT 740M graphics3, up to 1 TB of storage and optional SSD or NAND flash on Ultrabook models.

Flex 20 Transforms AIO Into Multi-Person Play Machine

Framed in an attractive 20.5mm thin aluminum shell, the compact Flex 20 fits neatly into virtually any home or office yet surpasses expectations for an everyday AIO with its grand 19.5-inch frameless HD (1600X900) IPS 90° tilt display, 500 GB HD or SSHD storage and up to Intel Core i7 processors.

However, Flex 20 really surprises and delights with its special ability to convert from stand to table mode. When flat in table mode, the Aura interface, first pioneered on the Lenovo Horizon Table PC, opens for a multi-game, multi-player experience like no other. In this mode, users can challenge others to play games, including preloaded ones like Ubisoft’s Raiding Company, those available for purchase from the Lenovo App Store powered by Intel App Up and newly created custom Lenovo games including Omnitapps Media Puzzle Pack for making fun video puzzles and Omnitapps Educational Suite with a series of memory and learning games along with other Lenovo games like Fishing Joy, Air Hockey and Roulette.

The dual mode Flex 20 provides even more entertainment value with its special physical accessories (sold separately) - joysticks, strikers and e-dice – that allow up to four players to interact directly with the digital games, or players can use the 10-point multitouch screen. The Aura interface functions as a highly collaborative tool for multi-media content enhanced with its Dolby Home Theatre v4 audio. Unlike most AIO’s, Flex 20 has mobility in mind with built-in WiFi for easy moving around the home or office, and users can pick up and go for up to three hours without charging.   

Lenovo Services offers a host of integrated solutions to meet the needs of business customers and consumers who purchase a Lenovo convertible device, including warranty extensions/upgrades, accidental damage protection, keep your drive, priority tech support and a set of factory and automated deployment services.

Quotes

“Yoga’s revolutionary flip and fold design shattered the mold for convertible computing, giving users a new found flexibility and unlimited options in one machine,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president, ThinkPad Product Marketing, Lenovo. “We’ve refined that concept for mobile business professionals with ThinkPad Yoga, giving them the business technologies and features they need paired with the all new lift and lock system for a completely adaptable design.”

“People around the world have told us they love the flexibility of Yoga and Horizon’s multimodes,” said Tom Shell, vice president and general manager, Lenovo Business Group PC Division, Lenovo. “Our new Flex products represent this multimode future of PC design, bringing the functionality of some of our coolest modes – stand and flat – now to our mainstream devices. And we’re continuing to enhance our signature flip and fold Yoga with Yoga 2 Pro’s amazing display, thinner and lighter design and smart mode experience.”

“We’re thrilled to see Yoga 2 and ThinkPad Yoga expand upon our shared vision of 2 in 1 computing, giving people the full functionality of a PC plus the mobility and flexibility of a tablet all in one device,” said Adam King, director of notebook marketing, Intel. “Intel’s latest 4th generation Core processors deliver extraordinary battery life capability, breakthrough graphics and new usages in 2 in 1 devices such as the Yoga 2 Pro and ThinkPad Yoga. Personal computing is being reinvented, and there has never been a greater range of innovation and choice in stores, so it’s a great time to buy.”

“The flexibility and mobility provided by the Yoga 2 Pro and ThinkPad Yoga offer no-compromise solutions for customers,” said Jordan Chrysafidis, vice president of worldwide OEM marketing, Microsoft Corp. “Lenovo’s continued innovation in device design combined with touch and the new capabilities in Windows 8.1 delivers new experiences that are sure to delight customers.”

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feedsor follow Lenovo on Twitterand Facebook.

For more on the latest multimode products go to:www.lenovo.com/multimode

Pricing and Availability4

MSRP for the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, ThinkPad Yoga, Flex 14/15 and Flex 20 AIO is $1,099.99, $949, $629.99 and $899.99, respectively. The Yoga 2 Pro will be available beginning in October while the Flex products will be available starting in late September. The ThinkPad Yoga will be available beginning in November. The N700 multimode wireless mouse will be available beginning in September at $59.99.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$34 billion personal technology company – the largest PC maker worldwide and an emerging PC Plus leader – serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution.  Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo, a global Fortune 500 company, has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina.  For more information see www.lenovo.com.

1YouCam and voice control available only on Ultrabook configurations for Flex. Up to nine hours of battery life on Ultrabook Flex configurations. Nine hours on Flex and Yoga 2 Pro achieved with Windows 8 idle at 150 nits or six hours of battery life for video playback at 150 nits.

2Optional backlighting and full HD 1920X1080 displays will be available in 4Q 2013 – 1Q2014.1  

3Available later in 2013.

4 Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Sizing up the Motion Computing digitizer pen

Motion Computing markets a line of rugged Windows 8 tablets aimed at professionals in medicine, construction and other industries. The products must be pricey because their website doesn't list prices and they only sell through value added resellers (a quaint throwback to the pre-Internet stone age, imho).

Though you wouldn't know it by reading any of their specs, some of the penabled Motion tablets use Wacom technology and their LE-series pens are compatible with the Surface Pro.

I ordered one to check out and really like it. At 5.71” long x .43” diameter (144mm x11mm), the pen is significantly longer than the standard pen and the Wacom Bamboo Feel without its cap.

Although it's made of plastic and light weight (.54 oz / 15 grams), the Motion pen flares out toward the tip and has a nice rubberized section that makes it very comfortable to hold steadily. It also has a recessed button which minimizes accidental presses.

The six nibs that ship with the pen are not as soft as Wacom's textured nibs, but they offer a nice amount of resistance against the Surface Pro's screen. Some of you may disagree, but I don't like hard plastic nibs that reinforce the sensation of gliding on glass.

Although the rear of the pen looks like it might be an eraser tip, it's merely an eyelet for threading with a lanyard (very handy if you're using the pen in the field in one of those hectic professions mentioned above). CORRECTION 12/12/13: Thanks to reader Chris Howard, I retested the eraser tip on the Motion Computing pen and it does work on the Surface Pro. I can't say why it didn't during my initial testing. Thanks, Chris!

The stylus doesn't ship with any kind of a cap, which unfortunately leaves your pen nib susceptible to damage in your bag or pocket.

Also missing is the second button many of you are clamoring for; I've yet to find this elusive beast but promise to keep searching.

For approximately $40, the Motion Digitizer Pen is definitely worth considering and may actually become my favorite.

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The Motion Digitizer Pen (bottom) compares favorably to the standard Surface Pro pen and the much more expensive Wacom Bamboo Stylus Feel - Carbon.

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MOTION COMPUTING Additional Digitizer Pen for L-Series

$39.99

MOTION COMPUTING

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Makers of Paper for iPad follow up with a Pencil

It seems like everything related to Apple must come with its share of marketing hyperbole (and a well-shot video).

Witness Fifty Three's Pencil. The guys behind Microsoft's canceled Courier project founded their own studio and released Paper for iPad about two years ago. It's a very nice and very simple drawing app.

Watch the video below to see the app in action with the company's new bluetooth Pencil. Breathless hype from The Verge's Ellis Hamburger ("the best iPad stylus yet") aside, it's like drawing with a big crayon.

Great tools inspire great ideas. Pencil is the most natural and expressive tool for getting ideas on Paper. Advanced technology meets beautiful design to keep you in the flow, without needing to switch tools. With Erase, Blend, and adaptive Palm Rejection, Pencil puts creative possibility in your hands. Learn more about Pencil: fiftythree.com/pencil Download Paper: itunes.apple.com/us/app/paper-by-fiftythree/id506003812?mt=8 Director: Andrew S Allen Editing & Post Production: Kristofer Martin Original Score: Patrick Cannell (patrickcannell.com) Recording & Mastering: Jeremy Sklarsky (jeremysklarsky.com) Cellist: Dave Eggar (https://www.facebook.com/daveeggar) Recorded at Threshold Studios (thresholdstudios.com) Music Supervision: Good Ear Music Supervision (goodear.tv) Production: Allen Lau, Amy Cao, Denis Kovacs, KJ Chun, Jason Sondhi, Tara Feener Special Thanks: Chana Lee Mitty, Jen Mussari, and Amit Pitaru

Wouldya believe: a 19-inch tablet monitor for under $400?

UPDATE: We've got the unboxing and initial (disappointed) impressions right here.

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The list of products attempting to undercut the premium-priced Wacom Cintiq line of tablet monitors keeps growing.

I've already written about the Bosto Kingtee and the Yiynova product lines (a full review is coming soon, promise!).

But those inexpensive products look like luxury items compared to this forthcoming model from Monoprice.com, which lists for only $390.

Thanks to reader Justin Davis who notified me about this new product. Here's what the Monoprice website has to say about its features:

• 1440x900 resolution
• 5080 lines per inch (lpi) resolution
• 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity
• 200 RPS report rate
• 160° horizontal/140° vertical viewing angles
• Rechargeable pen-stylus
• Angle adjustable stand from about 10 ~ 80°
• Compatible with Windows XP and later, Mac OS X 10.4.x and later

Normally I'd be very skeptical of this product, but I've had a lot of success over the years with Monoprice's rock-bottom priced cables and video switchers. Pen tablet expert Ray Frenden has also positively reviewed Monoprice's line of low-cost Huion tablets. 

According to Frenden, Huion employs UC Logic digitizer technology, which powers the Yiynova MVP22UHD. I looked on the UC Logic and found this MJP19U model, which offers the same specs as the Monoprice product but features slightly different styling.

We should know how well the tablet monitor performs soon enough. It is scheduled to be available December 9.

Will you be getting one?