Lenovo ThinkPad Twist S230u Pro Reviews

The more Ultrabooks adopt something like the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist’s ability to adapt to nearly any situation, the better the market will be as we enjoyed being able to use it in one of its four modes. Its Laptop Mode will keep traditionalists happy, while its Stand, Tablet and Tent modes will offer you the perfect mode for a multitude of situations, although we still can’t find a reason to ever use the Twist in its Tent Mode that doesn’t involve just showing it off to your friends, although we’d certainly love to hear from our readers on their thoughts of the Twist’s Tent Mode uses. One of the few things I wish was different in the ThinkPad Twist was its display. I felt that it didn’t impress enough with its screen size and its brightness as it was difficult to use when in direct sunlight. Its 12.5-inch display felt small, especially when the Twist features such a large bezel for its screen. Hopefully Lenovo might want to consider equipping a future Twist with a better screen. If you’re a long-time Lenovo user, the Twist will come to feel second nature to you as its keyboard, trackpad and TrackPoint will feel familiar to you as well as the slightly rubberized material it’s made out of. It certainly doesn’t have the same flashy design as some ultrabooks have, but what it lacks in its flashiness, it more than makes up for in its performance and adaptability.

There are hints of the usual ThinkPad excellence, but poor build quality and occasionally iffy ergonomics fail to inspire

I can pretty safely say one thing: the Acer TravelMate 100 would've had a much better shot in 2012 than it did in 2002. Windows 8 makes a convertible a much more sensible device than it's been for the last ten years, since it's an OS equally at home in touch and non-touch environments. But building a device like the ThinkPad Twist forced Lenovo to make some odd design decisions, and as a result it looks like a 2002 blueprint forced onto a 2012 chassis. The Twist's price is certainly right — $899 buys you a very capable laptop and a semi-useful tablet — but it has just enough problems that I'm reluctant to recommend it. The keyboard is excellent, but the trackpad isn't. The screen is solid, but the speakers are terrible. But most of all, you're making two key sacrifices to get a laptop this cheap: performance, because you're so reliant on the hard drive, and battery life. Those are tough sacrifices to make. If you can wait, wait. We're early in the Windows 8 game, and Microsoft and its partners are still working out hardware and software kinks. In the next six weeks (through CES in January), we're likely to see a flood of new Windows 8 laptops — and I bet one of them will be an $899 laptop with an SSD that doesn't force you to carry a charger all the time. I hope so, anyway.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Twist is a solid notebook that offers the performance and utility needed from a business notebook. The ability to easily switch between different modes in conjunction with the display's wide viewing angles makes the ThinkPad perfect for everything from casual web browsing to presenting information in a meeting. The device is also easy to transport thanks to its light and durable design. However, the ThinkPad's performance levels are less than stellar, especially given its $900 price tag. Slightly more expensive models such as the Dell XPS 12 and Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 easily outperform this notebook and only cost a few hundred more. If you are looking for a notebook that offers acceptable performance with a whole lot of utility for a reasonable price then the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist is for you. But if you are willing to spend a bit more, there are better options available.

Poor battery life, mediocre performance and display problems make this an average business convertible

As one of the newest members of Lenovo's Thinkpad line, the Lenovo Thinkpad Twist attempts to bridge the gap between laptops and tablets in a convertible Ultrabook format. We decided to put the Twist through the normal suite of benchmark and functional tests, along with some tests specifically geared towards laptops, to gage how well it performs. At a starting MSRP of $829.00 for the base model, the Lenovo Thinkpad Twist offers an intriguing price to feature proposition with its ability to convert from a fully functional laptop into a tablet almost seamlessly.

Lately, we feel like all of our reviews of Windows 8 convertibles end the same way. The ThinkPad Twist has plenty going for it: a bright IPS display, a good port selection, an affordable price and an unrivaled typing experience. Like ThinkPads past, it also offers some useful software features for businesses lacking dedicated IT departments. All good things, but what's a road warrior to do when the battery barely lasts four hours? Something tells us the Twist will still appeal to Lenovo loyalists, folks who trust ThinkPad's build quality and wouldn't be caught dead using any other keyboard. If you're more brand-agnostic, though, there are other Windows 8 convertibles with comfortable keyboards -- not to mention, sharper screens, faster performance and longer battery life. Heck, Lenovo's own IdeaPad Yoga 13, currently going for $1,000 and up, is one of them. If you're wary of consumer machines, though, another option is to just wait: Lenovo was first out of the gate with a Win 8 convertible for business users, but who knows what HP and Dell have up their sleeves? If nothing else, the Twist shows us that Windows 8 and traditional convertibles make a wonderful match. So good a match, in fact, that there will probably soon be more options to choose from.

Despite a few niggling hiccups, Lenovo managed to cram a tremendous amount of value and utility into the ThinkPad Twist, and for a startlingly affordable price. We haven't seen a Windows 8 convertible with a lower price tag than the Twist's. We're fans of the Dell XPS 12 for its loud, punchy audio and bright 1080p display, but even the most potent Core i7 version of the ThinkPad Twist costs less than the baseline version of the XPS 12, which starts at $1,199 with the same Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM you'll find in the $899 Twist configuration we tested. The ThinkPad Twist also offers the ability to use the laptop in the sharing-friendly stand and tent form factors, which are available elsewhere only in Lenovo's own IdeaPad Yoga 13. The Yoga's 360-degree flip-back lid takes more room to switch between form factors, however, and it leaves the keys exposed in tablet mode. Plus, the Yoga suffers from frustrating touch-control quirks. Of the two Lenovo convertibles, we prefer the Twist for its excellent controls and more wallet-friendly price tag. No, the ThinkPad Twist isn't perfect, but it's more than the sum of its parts—especially if the parts you're talking about are the merely adequate display and lackluster battery. If you're looking for a Windows 8 convertible with strong business chops, the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist should be at the top of your list, even if its AC adapter should be in your briefcase.

In spite of the somewhat confusing misnomer, the ThinkPad Twist is actually a member of the Edge family. This is Lenovo’s attempt at producing an affordable, business-minded convertible that compromises in a few key areas in hopes that its adopters won’t mind. After all, it inherits many critical traits of the classification, ranging from a good IPS display panel to a responsive touch interface and clever transformation design. And it adds other business-class perks, such as a spill-resistant keyboard and an above-average assortment of ports.

Although the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist has its flaws, it does what it's designed to do very well. That is, it's a fantastic business-oriented tablet-Ultrabook hybrid, and it's a great choice for a business user. The Twist's performance is a little on the low side for systems in its class, but it's nothing to be too concerned about. The twisty screen is particularly useful if you're working with someone and you want to quickly show them what's going on on your screen (assuming they're sitting on your left – the screen only twists one way). And of course, the spill-proof keyboard and mobile data option are great for traveling businesspeople. Don't get me wrong – the ThinkPad Twist has some issues, and it's not designed for entertainment. But if you're just looking for a business tablet-Ultrabook hybrid, then this laptop is definitely worth a look.

Although the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist has its flaws, it does what it’s designed to do very well. That is, it’s a fantastic business-oriented tablet-Ultrabook hybrid, and it’s a great choice for a business user. The Twist’s performance is a little on the low side for systems in its class, but it’s nothing to be too concerned about. The twisty screen is particularly useful if you’re working with someone and you want to quickly show them what’s going on on your screen (assuming they’re sitting on your left – the screen only twists one way). And of course, the spill-proof keyboard and mobile data option are great for traveling businesspeople. Don’t get me wrong – the ThinkPad Twist has some issues, and it’s not designed for entertainment. But if you’re just looking for a business tablet-Ultrabook hybrid, then this laptop is definitely worth a look.

We weren’t surprised to find that Lenovo’s new convertible is a good laptop. The company’s experience in this area has paid off with Microsoft’s move towards touchscreen devices. No other convertible on the market can match the value proposition of the Twist. The Twist is a great laptop, even when the convertible hinge is taken out of the equation. Battery life is robust, the keyboard is excellent, and build quality is good. Most small laptops fail in at least one of these areas. It’s shame that these benefits are soured by the display. Though technically capable of excellent image quality, the glossy finish and dim backlight make for frustrating use. If Lenovo added a matte display, it would’ve instantly added a point to our review score. Until then, the Twist will remain a promising laptop we wish we could recommend.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Twist is a bit of a throwback to the pre-iPad, pre-Windows 8 days of convertible touch-screen laptops. The center-hinge design isn't as eye-catching as some of the flipping, folding, or sliding competition, but it makes for a slim, usable tablet experience. Even better, the Twist gives you a magnesium alloy thin ultraportable, with one of the best keyboards you can find, for a very reasonable price.