Lenovo unveils touch keyboard tablet, ‘pen’ that can write on paper and screens
Chinese electronics giant's new keyboard learns where your fingers land on each key to reduce the amount of typing errors
Chinese electronics giant Lenovo has launched an Android tablet with a touch keyboard and a stylus that allows users to write on paper and digitally at the same time, in a move that will pit it against the likes of Huawei and Apple in a battle to find growth in a declining market.
The Yoga Book, which was unveiled at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, features a 10.1 inch screen and is 9.6 millimeters thin, as Lenovo targets the product as a portable productivity and entertainment device.
Key features include:
•64 gigabyte internal storage with space for a 128 gigabyte Micro SD card
•4 GB of RAM
•Fast charging technology
•Availability in Android and Windows 10
•Android version starts at US$499
•Windows version starts at US$599
•It also comes with an LTE version that allows users to put in a SIM card to connect to the mobile internet. This version costs adds US$100 more to each version.
Lenovo is trying to set itself apart from its rivals with two features - the touch keyboard and the ability for users to write digital notes while using pen and paper.
Firstly, the touch keyboard has no physical keys and is attached to the tablet's main screen via a hinge. The keyboard learns where your fingers land on each key, which will help reduce the amount of typing errors.
Secondly, the Yoga Book comes with a stylus that's shaped like a pen. It has interchangeable nibs. One is a stylus tip to use on the tablet's screen and the other is an ink nib which enables users to write notes on physical paper with ink, which can be converted by the Yoga Book into digital notes on the screen. Lenovo is selling a magnetic clipboard that attaches to the Yoga Book's touch keyboard. Once it's attached, the tablet will recognise it and users can write notes on the paper which will simultaneously become digital. The tablet uses the pressure and movement technology in the pen to translate and recognise a person's writing.
Lenovo said the product has been three years in the making and is aiming it at millenials who've grown up with touch screen devices.