We’ve overviewed the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex touch-enabled Windows 8 convertible laptop series recently and now the first models are available in the United States. The 15.6-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15 – 59387556, 59387570, and 59391566 are the first three offered configurations, having processors as the main difference.
As same as all Flex-series notebooks, they have a hinge that allow them to run in multiple modes, namely in the normal laptop mode and in a stand mode with the screen facing backwards, which is suitable for movie watching and presentations. Also, they can lay flat on the table. The screen rotates up to 300 degrees, so you can’t put it in the classic tablet mode, which is possible on the Yoga series with 360-degree hinges, namely the IdeaPad Yoga 11s, Yoga 2 13 Pro and ThinkPad Yoga.
The IdeaPad Flex 15 – 59387556, 59387570, and 59391566 have the Intel Core i3-4010U, i5-4200U, and i7-4500U Haswell dual core processors, respectively. The prices are $600, $698 and $794, justifying performance differences between the chips. You can find a chart comparing these three CPUs on this page.
The i3 is optimal for routine web, office, and multimedia playback tasks, while stepping up to the mid-tier i5 adds some potential for more complex work like video and photo editing. The i7 is currently the fastest ultra-low voltage Core-series CPU and allows you to complete tasks even faster. All of these contain the Intel HD 4400 integrated graphics, which has enough muscle to decently render some modern 3D games on lower settings.
The trio of laptops has a 500GB hard drive, just like the wast majority of mainstream consumer notebooks on the market, so there are no surprises in this field, but also no disappointments. The i3-based model comes with 4GB of RAM, while the remaining two models feature 8GB, but even 4GB is enough for almost all home and office usage scenarios.
Unfortunately, the screen resolution is 1,366-by-768 on them, so the Flex 15 – 59387556, 59387570, and 59391566 configurations don’t follow the accelerating 1920×1080 full HD trend. However, Lenovo announced previously that the IdeaPad Flex 15 15.6-inchers, as opposed to the Flex 14 14-inchers, will be optionally available with the full HD resolution and these are expected to hit the market soon. The Flex series’ screens include 10-point multi-touch support and are glossy.
For audio experience, they provide stereo speakers, while for video chats there’s a 720p web camera.
On the networking and connectivity front, the Flex 15 models are standardly equipped mobile machines with Wi-Fi, Ethernet LAN, and Bluetooth connections, one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, combo audio jack, and multiformat card reader, but Lenovo has also added Intel Wireless Display as an extra feature.
Interior of the notebooks sports a gray brushed aluminum keyboard deck, the AccuType ergonomic keyboard with smile-shaped keys and incorporated numeric pad but with no backlight, and a single-piece trackpad with integrated click buttons. The lid is done up in a soft touch finish in dark gray color. The weight of 5.1 pounds is about average for the 15.6-inch category, while the thickness of 0.9” is quite small for non-ultrabook laptops.
The battery inside them is a 4-cell unit, good for up to eight hours of power autonomy, according to Lenovo’s calculations.
In a nutshell, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15 – 59387556, 59387570, and 59391566 are well equipped mainstream touchscreen notebooks oriented toward multimedia, with added “stand mode” functionality, and good built quality, but also with shortcomings like absence of keyboard backlight and relatively low display resolution.
what is the height and weight of this device?