Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e Pro Reviews

The Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e is a tough midrange convertible-hybrid laptop built to withstand the rigors of the school day.

While expensive, the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook makes up for its relatively steep price with excellent, classroom-friendly features. Lenovo offers a truly rugged design, a flip screen that rotates a full 360 degrees, an excellent keyboard and touchpad, a bright and vivid touch screen and surprisingly good speakers. Given the Yoga's steep price, however, I would have appreciated a longer battery life and an operating system that takes full advantage of the notebook's touchscreen. Some Windows 8-powered notebooks offer superior touch experiences for the same price or less. Still, the Yoga 11e Chromebook should be on every teacher's shortlist. Its sturdy exterior, flippable screen and outstanding keyboard make it a great laptop for even the rowdiest of students.

As far as Chromebooks go, the ThinkPad Yoga 11e stands out from the crowd for a couple different reasons: the design and the convertible construction. Unlike some competing models, the Yoga 11e doesn't look like a toy, and it has the distinct Lenovo feel that fans will be familiar with. The ability to fold the display back completely into a tablet mode is a big plus.Students, for example, will find it easier to use touch-based apps when the keyboard isn't in the way, and reading online materials is easier when the machine is folded up like a slate. Though the device is on the thick side of the spectrum, that girth isn't reflected in the laptop's weight, so it doesn't feel burdensome to use. Of course, some of the machine's biggest perks come in the machine's sheer durability -- Lenovo has gone to great lengths to make sure the Yoga 11e won't easily be broken, and that makes it a good choice for educational institutions and travelers alike. Pricing starts at $459.

If you're looking to get through a whole school or work day, the Yoga 11e fell a little short: It lasted for a respectable six hours and change in our grueling battery rundown test, but was handily beaten by its N20p sibling and the Asus Chromebook.