Lenovo Thinkpad Twist 12.5" Touch Screen Laptop

Comments about Lenovo Thinkpad Twist 12.5" Touch Screen Laptop:

Just bought on Nov. 5th, checked Warrantee status shows from Oct. 17th, two days after build. Working on that with Lenovo.

Ad says 4 GB of 1600 MHz ram, system check shows 4 GB of 1333 MHz ram, probably why Windows rating for ram speed was less than I would have thought.

Hard drive is also different, Ad says 500 GB at 5400 rpm, System check shows 500 GB at 7200 rpm with a 22 GB Samsung SSD cache. Makes the unit respond much faster.

If your going with a Windows 8 machine, if at all possible get at least a touch screen. That is what windows 8 is all about. A machine like this takes that to a whole different level though. The flexibility of uses is just fantastic. You have the touch screen in various positions, and the navigation buttons, along with a touch pad!

I had wished the ram was upgradable and not soldiered in especially at the lower speed, but it works well. The hard drive was a pleasant surprise. being fast and fairly large.

The keyboard and screen brightness are my personal favorites. Although I would have liked a back lighted keyboard and higher resolution screen it works for this unit due to it's size.

My only regret is opening my Staples account ad and seeing a Black Friday sneak peek, dropping it by $100 over what I paid. Guess it's going back for a return repurchase, shame I'm loving it. I have 4 other laptops to use and keep coming back to this one.
One other thing in the tent mode you have to take the tablet auto rotate off auto to keep it upright.
I looked at the Lenovo Yoga at another retailer, and the price, small very fractured hard drive sent me back to this one. I must say the more you use it the better you'll like it. Especially around Black Friday!

Comments about Lenovo Thinkpad Twist 12.5" Touch Screen Laptop:

The Good: I like this tablet/laptop and would recommend it. It shows off Windows 8 beautifully, the touch screen is responsive and it works like a tablet when I want and like a laptop when I don't. To see why Windows 8 is so great you need a touch enabled device like this. The Metro interface is cool and works well, it has all the apps you'll need in normal everyday entertainment use. Netflix, mail, games, news, web, etc... I own an ipad but think the metro interface is on par or better so far. And Windows will keep improving, just think about how many iOS versions there have been and this is Windows 8 - 1.0.

I am using it for work and thought about getting the Yoga, but that device has only a 128 GB hard drive. I needed a bit more space. Maybe if the Yoga was 228 GB I'd think about it. Since I am working on it I need the desktop part of Windows 8 half the time, and that is working well so far, and is basically Windows 7 which I am used to, with some touch features and missing icons.

I like the smaller 12.5 inch size... 15 inch laptops seem too big to me after gettign used to an iPad, The twist is a great size and pretty thin when folded up, less tahn 1 inch.

The bad: The first thing I wanted to do with the laptop was hook up a USB flash drive and guess what... Nothing happened when I plugged it in. It took a few hours to get all the random updates I needed just to make the USB ports work. Windows 8 isn't ready out of the box. After being a Windows user for years I can handle it, and I'm sure this problem won't go away. The first thing you need to do when you buy a new machine is do all the windows updates, then do it again and again till it says there are no more. This takes a couple hours, and is buried in the desktop features... If you just leave it on auto it may takes days to upgrade itself.

the device is not as comfortable as a tablet, but it does function well as a tablet. 12.5 is too big for casual tablet use and a bit too heavy too. But it is a full fledged computer and can do things a normal tablet cant, that's why I got it and love it.

The device doesn't work in Tent mode... meaning bend it like an "A" , this may be addressed with updates, but for now, this formation is possible, but the screen auto flips upside down, even with the auto rotation locked! Really? why have a lock switch if the lock doesn't lock the screen. So.. no tent mode that I can figure out.

Comments about Lenovo Thinkpad Twist 12.5" Touch Screen Laptop:

I got this this to replace my i5-420m laptop, it is fast, it has a lot ore hard drive space, it has USB 3.0 and it can connect to external monitors or projectors.

It's sleek and small. And best of all, a win8 tablet. I was almost going to get rid of my iPad 2 until I realized these:

- the 4gb ram is soldered onto the motherboard, you can't upgrade

- the battery life ONLY last up to 3.5 hours, many Twist users are disappointed. Lenovo is aware of this and is trying to fix it. However since the battery is not changeable, you are stucked with what included, which if can really last up to 5 hours max based on the type.

Comments about Lenovo Thinkpad Twist 12.5" Touch Screen Laptop:

I bought this to 1) replace a ThinkPad X120e (infamous flickering screen on startup that has failed all attempts to solve) and 2) see what this Windows 8 stuff is all about. Most of my use will still be keyboard and mouse driven (I'm using Classic Start Menu), but when I'm just consuming content, the touch screen and Win 8 tiles should make things convenient -- and the backwards screen position should be good for inflight entertainment. I didn't want anything with a screen larger than 12.5"

Overall Impression: The case feels sturdy, although that twist/pivot hinge might be a single point of failure (go ahead and get either the Lenovo or Staples 2 year warranty).

Display: The display is very nice, viewable from a wider area than the X120e and less washed out. (I still need to see how it calibrates with puck.) One of the benefits of a machine that converts into a tablet are the "Win 8 Button" and real buttons for volume control.

Initial Performance: Granted this is a newer generation CPU than my old machine, but the Twist boots much, much faster on Win 8 than the old machine on Win 7. Part of that has to be the combination of the conventional hard disc and the SSD (I think 24GB).

A couple of difficulties so far...

1. Getting Windows 8 Pro Pack to install was a pain. Installation always stopped at 15% and then failed. I tried several times at home and finally called Microsoft. I spent a hour on the phone with a nice guy in a foreign country. He ran through what I had done, and then took control of my computer. We went through the normal installation drill without luck. Then he went into Task Manager and disabled a bunch of non-essential things that execute on start-up. We tried the Pro Pack installation again and this time it worked. I was able to go back into Task Manager and switch those applications back on -- everthing has been good since then.

2. Can't seem to keep a connection with a Bluetooth mouse. My first try was with a Logitech V470, but I would lose connection at random times. Sometimes plugging in a corded mouse, wiggling it, then unplugging it would bring back the V470 -- other times not. I tried the Microsoft 5000 notebook mouse. Same problem. It also one of the lousiest mice I have ever used (too much scroll wheel resistance and a battery cover that doesn't close flush -- so the mouse rocks on a flat surface), so it's being returned after 15 minutes of use.

Touch Pad: Don't like them anyway, but Lenovo has removed the two lower buttons so it is even more unlikeable.

Internal Battery: This my first laptop with a totally internal battery, but the advertised battery life (always take 1/3 off those estimates for real world performance) looks good enough to take the chance. (Consider a warranty with battery coverage.)

Sleeves: It looks like the Case Logic 13.3" sleeves are a good fit.

Sales: Hats off to the manager at the Leesburg Pike store for working with me on the overall purchase and upgrade and warranty. It is refreshing to find someone who knows their merchandise and also understands salesmanship.

Comments about Lenovo Thinkpad Twist 12.5" Touch Screen Laptop:

Overall great product. First time user of any ThinkPad. Quality is outstanding compared to other laptops I've owned from HP or Gateway. Keyboard is the best I've ever used. Fan is very quiet. Not hot at all. Speakers are surprisingly clear and loud. Only issue is the USB 3 ports don't always recognize my old printer. A restart usually solves this.
I've only had it about a week now and have found the more I use it the more I appreciate the fact that it combines the best of the computer and tablet worlds.

Comments about Lenovo Thinkpad Twist 12.5" Touch Screen Laptop:

Can't say for sure if it's Lenovo or Windows 8 that has all the issues and frustrates me! But they are sold as one unit, and i'm not liking it. Had to reset the computer right after purchasing because it jammed up. also, instructions for lenovo use & 8 are not always helpful or easy to find. In fact, system is missing the "Do Windows" training app. thought having Pad touch & keyboard w/Windows mixed in would be devine, but am finding using a mouse the easiest way to get around, esp in Word. also, the email tile is lame. can't file old mail, the space to read mail is too small, and trying to keep multiple accts under one tile seriously lacks when compared to a Pad. As it stands, recommend you keep your older computer & Windows.