Lenovo Announces Helix Hybrid Ultrabook

Lenovo announced the Windows 8-powered ThinkPad Helix Hybrid ultrabook last week at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013.

Powered by an Intel Core processing (up to Core i7), the ThinkPad Helix sports a "Rip and Flip" design that allows users to utilize the device as a standard ultrabook, detach the display for use as a standalone tablet or flip the display in order to make use of the keyboard and mouse in stand mode.

The Helix also delivers a capacitive touch screen with 10-point tracking and a digitizer pen, as well as a resolution of 1920x1080 through an 11.6-inch display and 400-nit brightness.

USB 3.0 support is included, as is an Ethernet port, mini-DisplayPort, mini HDMI output and up to 256 GB of solid-state drive. Among the other features are a near-field communication (NFC) sensor, front-facing and rear 1080p cameras, as well as an estimated 10-hour battery life: 5 hours of using the tablet by itself and a further 5 hours when it's connected to the keyboard base. Users will also be offered optional LTE wireless broadband.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Helix is currently scheduled for a late February release, with configurations set to start at $1,499.

During CES 2013, Lenovo also announced a Windows 8 Touch portable monitor, the first Intel Clover Trail+ smartphone and the Windows 8-powered Yoga 11S laptop.

Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback

  • victorintelr
    I recently got my X230 Tablet with an i7 for around $1300. Looking at the fact that it's a tablet probably will have a similar processor than mine i7-3520m. The helix was what I was waitng for, however, probably mine will be more upgradable than the tablet, though. And though the battery won't last the 10 hours (with both combined). Also looking at some of the specs of similar lenovo laptops that can barely be modified for similar price. Other than the resolution, I'm happy with my new laptop.
    Reply
  • drapacioli
    So the i7 processor, SSD, and everything needed to make that laptop/tablet hybrid run is in the screen? That's impressive! But what's left on the bottom part of the chassis then besides the keyboard?
    Reply
  • livebriand
    I hope the SSD and RAM aren't proprietary in that like they are in the x1 carbon. If this has a Windows 7 option (for those of us who like the device and touchscreen but only run desktop apps and thus don't want a tablet UI in the way), this could be a really nice device.
    Reply
  • BringMeAnother
    Wow, this thing has everything I want. Better than Surface pro because of dock with mousepad and keyboard and able to close like a laptop and bigger screen. Still, it is similar to the 700T, but the 700T is cheaper. Can't wait for reviews of this to come out.h is important to me.
    Reply
  • greghome
    livebriandI hope the SSD and RAM aren't proprietary in that like they are in the x1 carbon. If this has a Windows 7 option (for those of us who like the device and touchscreen but only run desktop apps and thus don't want a tablet UI in the way), this could be a really nice device.
    Seeing as this is a Thinkpad and it should and have always cater towards the business oriented people, it should come with Windows 7 option ( as the older models still come with Windows XP option )
    Reply
  • Soda-88
    drapacioliSo the i7 processor, SSD, and everything needed to make that laptop/tablet hybrid run is in the screen? That's impressive! But what's left on the bottom part of the chassis then besides the keyboard?A big@$$ battery hopefully
    Reply
  • hp79
    victorintelr,

    your x230t has a regular voltage cpu while this one has the wimpy (compared to regular voltage) low voltage cpu. So it really depends on what you want to do with your device. Low voltage cpu's are still plenty fast for web browsing and office work. If you want to make your x230t run like an Ultrabook, all you need to do is restrict the cpu performance to 80% or so in the power manager. That way, it uses almost the same amount of power as a low voltage cpu, with the same performance. You won't even hear the fan if you do this. Idle power usage are very similar between regular voltage and low voltage cpu, and load power usage at same clock speed is also very similar.

    I also have a x230t, with i5 (for about $1000 with 3 year warranty), and I love the expandability and quietness at full load. Can't even dream of this performance on an Ultrabook. But I have to admit, x230t is very bulky and heavy.
    Reply
  • Solandri
    hp79victorintelr,your x230t has a regular voltage cpu while this one has the wimpy (compared to regular voltage) low voltage cpu. So it really depends on what you want to do with your device. Low voltage cpu's are still plenty fast for web browsing and office work. If you want to make your x230t run like an Ultrabook, all you need to do is restrict the cpu performance to 80% or so in the power manager. That way, it uses almost the same amount of power as a low voltage cpu, with the same performance.This is very misleading. ULV CPUs come from the same manufacturing batches as regular CPUs, it's just that they tested better and are able to operate stably at a lower voltage. Hence the name and why they draw less power. There is nothing "wimpy" about them, particularly the mobile i5 and i7 versions which have turbo boost. There's a design decision to limit their clock speed since their target application prioritizes power consumption over speed. But it's pretty minor. The 2 GHz i7-3667U for example turbo boosts up to 3-3.2 GHz and has a TDP of 17 Watts. The standard power 2.9 GHz version only turbo boosts up to 3.4-3.6 GHz with a TDP of 35 Watts. So there's only about a 12% reduction in speed for a 50% reduction in power consumption.

    You cannot turn your regular voltage CPU into a low or ultra-low voltage CPU simply by limiting its clock speed. The regular CPU didn't pass stability tests at lower voltage, so at the same clock speed it needs a higher voltage than the LV and ULV CPUs (and hence burns more power). Simply limiting its performance to 80% does not make it burn as little power as a ULV CPU.
    Reply
  • Conlan
    9445680 said:
    So the i7 processor, SSD, and everything needed to make that laptop/tablet hybrid run is in the screen? That's impressive! But what's left on the bottom part of the chassis then besides the keyboard?

    The keyboard half includes cooling fans, another battery, and of course, the keyboard.

    -Written via Lenovo Helix
    Reply