A tablet with a 50-inch display? It sounds like madness – the tablet equivalent of the oversize 1980s mobile phone.
Yet the Chinese firm Lenovo, with the launch of its Yoga Tablet 2 Pro, has made this a reality.
Whereas most tablets have a screen size of between seven and 11 inches, Lenovo’s latest offering makes the iPad Mini seem just that: mini.
The device itself packs a high-resolution 13-inch screen, bigger than most tablets on the market. But thanks to the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro’s inbuilt projector, the display can extend to a whopping 50 inches.
A press of a button to the side activates a small “pico” projector in the Yoga tablet’s trademark adjustable stand. The projector needs to be about two metres from a wall or ceiling to project a 50-inch image; it is ideal for use on the plain white walls commonly found in UAE apartments, villas and offices.
The mini-projector worked well, proving ideal for occasional use in a home cinema. The resolution of the projected image was not exactly razor-sharp, and had a distracting halo of light around it. But for a device of this size, it was passable.
One neat feature is how the tablet automatically corrects the projected image according to the angle at which it is held, so the sides of the screen are not slanted.
The tablet itself has up to 15 hours of battery life, but that’s reduced to three hours when the projector is on. Stream a two-hour movie from YouTube at top volume and the battery will still be going strong.
Although billed as a home entertainment device, the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro has obvious uses in the business world (although it only runs on the Android operating system, rather than Windows, which would have been preferable). A special projector app allows you to use the tablet in split-screen mode, showing – for example – a PowerPoint presentation on the projector, but additional windows on the tablet screen itself.
But while the technology may be smart, the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro does not overcome that age-old problem of projectors: the need to prop them up to get the angle right. During the tablet’s trial, I resorted to a rather old-fashioned piece of technology for this purpose: a paperback book.
q&a projection is the name of the game
Ben Flanagan reveals more about Lenovo’s new Yoga Tablet 2 Pro.
Do I need a new tablet?
Probably not. But with sales in decline globally, tablet-makers would very much like you to think so.
Why do I need to upgrade?
Good question. It’s a competitive market out there, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for tablets to stand out from the crowd. Apple’s new iPad Air is a bit thinner, while Samsung’s Galaxy Note Pro has a long battery life – but these are hardly groundbreaking innovations.
What about Lenovo’s new tablet?
The Yoga Tablet 2 Pro has at least one ‘unique’ feature: a subwoofer speaker at the rear, which – combined with the front-facing Dolby speakers – gives the tablet quadruple the audio power of the average tablet, according to Lenovo. It also has an inbuilt projector – a rarity, but not a first, in the tablet market.
It sounds pricey …
It will be. Lenovo’s Yoga Tablet 2 Pro will be available in the UAE from December, with a recommended price of Dh2,499. By comparison, a 16-gigabyte iPad Air 2 with cellular will set you back Dh2,399, or Dh1,899 with Wi-Fi connection only.
Why buy something from Lenovo?
Some have tipped the Chinese electronics giant as the ‘next Apple’. Lenovo has risen in the ranks in the tablet world, and now outsells ASUS and Acer brands, according to IDC. A year ago, Lenovo recruited Ashton Kutcher as its ‘product engineer’, and the Hollywood actor is said to have had a key role in the development of the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro although other Lenovo technical staff were definitely involved.
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