GADGET/GIZMO SPECIAL... Work With A Twist

 Work With A Twist

Lenovo’s hybrid affordable ultrabook is cleverly designed for a variety of positions

SPECIFICATIONS: 

Unique twisting display; Intel Core i5 - 3317U (1.7 GHz / 3 MB / 5 GT/s) / Integrated ; 12.5¡¨ IPS 350 nit high-definition multi-touch screen with anti-scratch and anti-smudge; 30-days standby 

The Thinkpad Twist from Lenovo looks every bit the conventional ThinkPad ­—­ ­­­same graphite black colour, the big ThinkPad logo with the lit up i, the little red trackpoint, the red accents on the space bar — and yet it has a trick up its sleeve. Open it in regular notebook mode, and then, just push the left side of the screen back to make it twist and revolve to face the back. Once it’s in twist mode, the screen also angles to give you a number of different positions to work with. You can bend the display back flat so that the keyboard and screen are all in one line on a table — but that’s not a very useful position. You can angle the display so that you use the touch screen and browse while the keyboard faces the other way and is half hidden by the screen. You can also put it in tent mode, ideal for watching something. And you can flatten the display on to the keyboard section to go into a tablet mode.
 

The Twist isn’t the same premium finish as the Yoga because it’s from the more affordable Edge series, but the moving parts for the screen seem very strong and work smoothly, without making you wonder just what this laptop is going to do next, as has happened with some other hybrids and convertibles.
 

The Twist is, obviously, running the full Windows 8, but Lenovo has also put in a whole lot of other applications that are, frankly, quite an annoyance. The touchscreen works smoothly and is really nice and bright and strong coloured. It’s important to have the viewing angles perfect when you have a device that swivels and turns as there would be no point creating a clever design with many positions unless you can see from all of them. Lenovo has done a good job with that. An on-screen pop-up guides you on twisting the display so that you don’t try to move it in the wrong direction. The ultrabook is not as paper thin as the ones at the top end, but is quite light and sturdy.
 

But the design of the Twist does have a few annoyances. One of them is the little power button on the side of the screen where it’s very difficult to find quickly. Of course, when you own the ultrabook, you’ll soon know where the button is and get used to it. It’s also rather close to the button that switches the orientation of the screen and I constantly got the two confused. There’s also a peculiar plastic strip on top of the screen that just doesn’t look elegant. A nice touch is the Windows button on the bottom centre under the screen to give a quick way to get back to the desktop.
 

I’d venture to say that the two things that are notable about the Twist, design-wise, is the twisting action it’s named after and the keyboard, which is 100 per cent Lenovo, including the old red trackpoint that is signature of the ThinkPad series from as far back as it was with IBM. The keys are very comfortable to type on and everything is mostly where you expect it to be. And this is very important because a poorly thought out keyboard can affect productivity at work — and the Twist is really a business laptop, not highly configured to be a home entertainment or gaming machine. The touchpad is very nice and supports all the swipe gestures of Windows 8 and that’s useful if you’re not in a position to keep reaching out for the screen. The one thing missing is a nice stylus which would have enhanced its usefulness and flexibility in the workplace. After all, one could have taken good advantage of Windows 8’s handwriting recognition.
 

For a business machine, it has all the ports you would need. Check the configurations before opting for the Twist as there could be different options for the Core i3, i5 and i7 models, when available. The i5 model costs Rs 79,990.
 

Sony Cybershot RX100 II

Rs.42,500/

All of last year, Sony’s RX100 was touted as the best compact camera by tech publications and sites. It was a bit of a breakthrough really that large sensor in a light pocketable and yet solid body.

Well, now the RX100 II is here and while it isn’t as light and is, in fact, a bit bulkier, it’s got new capabilities. It also has a new price and a pretty expensive one. The RX100, which is still available, costs Rs32,000 and the RX100 II Rs 42,500. At that rate, you have to wonder whether you’d rather go in for a “real”camera. But then, the size is the whole point. Both RX100s are for those who don’t want run-of-the-mill point-and-shoot cameras but nor do they want to carry a hefty DSLR. So, one is paying for a capability to size ratio.
 

The RX100 II is a 20.2 MP camera with an F1.8 to 4.9 aperture. It has the same 1-inch sensor as its predecessor but now it’s back-illuminated and Sony claims that means a 40 per cent improvement in low-light images. I saw the difference straight away when I tried a low-light shot. There was more sharpness and greater detail. There was also a big difference with macro photography, which wasn’t so hot on the RX100 but which is much better on the RX100 II. Apart from that, the image quality is comparable.
 

What makes the RX100 II an upgrade? It’s got a hotshoe for adding accessories, for one.

However,  if you’re going to add things like viewfinders or anything else, you’re defeating the purpose of a really compact camera. The RX100 II also has a stepped zoom and more menu options. But it’s just that much less pocketable, so ,I’d say, look for the RX100 if you’re an enthusiast, but for something more if you’re a professional on the lookout for a second pocketable camera.
Mala Bhargava

(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 18-11-2013)

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