CES 2016: Lenovo unveiled iconic PC products

Lenovo has always been innovative when it comes to PC products and this year was no exception at CES 2016 and the company made its mark in the form of multifunctional Think Pad X1 Tablet with a built in projector and a 3D camera, IdeaCenter 610S with a mobile projector that can transform any wall into a 100" screen to all new Think Pad X1 Carbon.

Though it may seem that PC industry is dying, Lenovo's PC business still accounts for 69 per cent of the company’s $46 billion revenue making it the global segment leader and is also number one in overall PC's in Asia Pacific for straight two years.

Speaking on Smartphone business, Lenovo India's Managing Director Rahul Agarwal stated in an interaction at CES that "bulk of the market in terms of smartphones is first time buyers and that is in the price category of 10-15k, and we believe that to get a early stronghold in the market, that is the segment Lenovo will be going for.  He also added that though Lenovo and Motorola both have high-end models, however market for flagship is small. Lenovo's first step is to build a crackle product, feature rich, that comes at a good price and has good after sale service."

He also added that "entire PC industry has missed the bus when it comes to budget PC industry. The PC penetration is 10% in India and if we look at some of the other comparable countries with a higher per capita GDP,  it is a multiple of 30 or 40%. The reason being consumers have opted for other durable goods like two wheeler vehicles, refrigerators over to PC."

Speaking on Tablet Business, Anjana Srinivasan stated that "Lenovo has been growing amidst the decline of tablet business unit globally and it currently holds 6.1% market share. She stated that the growth of phablets (148%YTY), long replacement cycles of tablets of 38 months as compared to phablets of 18 months and lack of innovation has been the driver for decline in sales."

To overcome this decline, Lenovo's Tablet strategy is to bring enhanced entertainment devices to users with a specific use case. Like Yoga Tab 3 pro, the ultimate video tablet with Quad HD IPS display having 50 nits of brightness producing crisp images and is oriented at users who consume more multimedia. Last year Lenovo launched Phab Plus that marries the design of both worlds.

A look at the products showcased at CES 2016

Think Pad X1 Tablet

The multifunctional design of the ThinkPad X1 Tablet offers something that no other tablet can do as we have seen so. At first impression, it looks like regular windows tablet but the trick is at the bottom wherein you can add three clip on modules to transform it into laptop, projector or camera. The modules comes in the form of additional battery packs and presenter module includes a pico projector and can project 60" display.

The third module has a rear-facing Intel RealSense camera capture and edit objects for 3D printing.

I also get a chance to try out the modules and these were easy to add and switch from one module to another. The kickstand was sturdy enough and the screen does not wobbles during typing. The presenter module projected clean display and can benefit professionals

The  full  size  ThinkPad  keyboard  with  the  iconic  TrackPoint  has  three  adjustable  typing  angles  and recreates the classic ThinkPad keystroke feel.

Keyboard and tablet together weigh just 2.4 pounds for an ultra-light  laptop  experience.  What’s  more,  it is  the  first Windows  tablet  with  LTE  Advanced  support  for superfast  connectivity from virtually  anywhere.  The  ThinkPad X1  Tablet  also  features  a  removable  rear panel for serviceability and upgrades. Overall Thinkpad X1 is one of best tablet we have seen so far.

The Think Pad X1 Tablet will be available starting February from $899. The Productivity Module will be available starting February from $149. The Projector Module will be available starting May from $279, The 3D Imaging Module will be available starting May from $149

Lenovo Yoga 900S

Measuring just 12.8 mm and 999 g makes it the world's first thinnest convertible laptop. A new carbon fiber construction is not only beautifully slim but is also lighter than previous models.  The Windows 10 laptop features up to 10.5 hours of video playback so travelers can slip it into their carry-on luggage and fly from one place to another on a single charge. The convertible laptop’s 360-degree watchband hinge with four modes makes it easy to work through a long-haul flight in laptop mode with up to Intel Core m7 processor, or to scan social media feeds in tablet mode.

On our hands on experience with the Yoga 900S, the Quad HD Screen (2560x1440) produced sharp and detailed images making your entertainment more immersive. You do not have to handle laptop in close proximity of your ear to listen to sound and it delivered great audio even if you are standing a bit far from the device thanks to Dolby Audio Premium for crisp sound. New to the YOGA family, it now supports an optional active pen so artists and note-takers alike can unleash their doodles and to-do lists, or annotate webpages on the Microsoft Edge browser using the touch screen.

The YOGA 900S 12-inch convertible laptop starts at $1,099, available starting in March, 2016.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y900 Gaming Laptop with Razer Edition

PC gaming is enjoying a renaissance: analysts predict the market to reach US $35 billion by 2018, partly thanks to superior graphics and processing power, but also thanks to the meteoric rise of the eSports scene and free-to-play games. To serve this growing appetite, Lenovo has launched four new additions to Y series gaming laptop family designed with high performance and portability for enthusiast gamers. On-the-go gamers will want to take a look under the hood of the new ideapad Y900, running Windows 10 and built for total immersive play whether hunkered down at home or at a friend’s man cave. Enjoy an instant boost in performance in more CPU power, more memory and enhanced GFX with a tap of the one key turbo button. With a quad core 6th Gen Intel Core i7 K-series processor for ultimate gaming performance, NVIDIA GTX 980M graphics and a mechanical backlit multi-color keyboard, this 17-inch laptop is ready for the toughest virtual battles. Wired and wireless connections are numerous, and the system includes a Razer BlackWidow Chroma keyboard and Mamba Tournament Edition Chroma gaming mouse.

The Ideapad Y900 RE is available starting in April, 2016.

Lenovo ideacentre 610S: The Compact Home PC with Projector

The ideacentre 610S gives users a new way to experience family entertainment. It is the world’s first compact home PC with an optional removable Think Pad Stack wireless projector. Now users can turn any wall into an instant 100-inch home theatre, project and play favorite videos or holiday slideshows all from a 2.2-liter desktop.

Big on performance in a stylish small design, the Windows 10 PC offers the powerful functionality of a full desktop. The ideacentre 610S packs the firepower of its regular size counterparts with up to 6th Gen Intel Core i7 processor to enable seamless entertainment viewing, up to NVIDIA GTX 750Ti 2GB GDDR5 desktop gaming graphics, up to 16GB DDR4 memory and up to 2TB of storage. Thanks to its unique triangular design and metallic body finish, this plug and play powerhouse can fit nearly any home décor.

The ideacentre 610S desktop starts at $849 with the optional detachable projector, available starting in June, 2016

Lenovo Think Pad X1 Carbon

The company premium business ultrabook continues to stand out as the world’s lightest 14-inch business ultrabook. One of the most refined and best ultrabook available today, the X1 Carbon is thinner, lighter and more powerful than  ever.

According to Lenovo's research on customer feedback  they have now made  a  number  of  improvements,  including  more  display  options,  increased  memory  and  storage capacity, improved connectivity and made the X1 Carbon lighter at just 2.6 pounds. Customers  can expect  Lenovo  to  keep  pushing  the  boundaries and  the  ThinkPad  X1  series  doesn’t disappoint.  The company also stated that as of now there will be no Think Pad X2 or X3 and will focus on upgrading Think Pad X1 Carbon through continued research.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon will be available starting February from $1299.