The Lenovo Yoga over time.
This concept was first introduced several years ago and even won a Red Dot Award for design back in 2005. The first iteration is pretty close to what we have today and features a keyboard and trackpad that pop out so the user can stand it up like a tent. It then folds all the way back to become a tablet.
In 2007 there was buzz indicating that the ThinkPad Reserve Edition was the Yoga dressed up for business. Alas, it turns out the Reserve was just a fancy notebook in a leather case.
In 2009 the Yoga resurfaced again, but this time as a smaller, more PDA-like device. Not surprising given the netbook madness still in effect.
All of those were concepts and Lenovo never promised a ship date, so this year’s Yoga is likely to be the real deal. So we hope.
Looking back on all the iterations and designs gives me hope for other Lenovo products I’ve loved and lost. There was the U1 Hybrid (which I was promised 2 years in a row) and the Skylight Smartbook (which died because the entire category died). Maybe these will find new life as a Windows 8 tablet and an ultrabook, respectively. *cross fingers*
