Lenovo gets vocal at CES 2019

Lenovo

Lenovo, best known for its Idea and Think Pads has three new voice assistant devices, four new Yoga’s – one with an AMOLED screen – and a slew of new product at CES 2019. Read on!

A clock version of Lenovo’s 10” Google Assistant speaker.

It is like Google’s Home Hub without a camera for absolute privacy. It has all OK Google features, 4” screen, 6W full-range speaker (Dolby Noise Reduction), two passive radiators, Chromecast and a USB-A port to charge your smartphone too.

Lenovo

GadgetGuy has been using the 7” Google Home Hub in the bedroom, and it has been great to play relaxation/sleep music from Spotify, answer random questions, and even play YouTube. But it is still a little large for the bedside table, and Lenovo’s 4” screen should be an even better fit.

Lenovo is heading down the smarthome path with a range of accessories on its way.

Two Lenovo Smart Tabs (Android Tablets) with Amazon Alexa and a Dock

We are not sure why Android tablets need Amazon Alexa as they come standard with Google Assistant – perhaps it is best of both worlds.

The M10 ($299) and P10 ($399) are 10.1”, FHD, IPS tablets. The more expensive P10 is thinner, lighter, has more memory/storage, better front/rear cameras and more speakers. We think its $100 well spent. The Datasheet for P10 is here, and the M10 is here.

The Amazon Alexa ecosystem (GadgetGuy overview here) opens you to the world of Amazon – shopping, Prime Music/Movies, and much more.

I suspect Alexa controls to the dock replete with dual 3W speakers, 3-far-field mics, Bluetooth 4.2 and tablet charging. The tablet switches automatically to Alexa Show Mode when docked.

Lenovo Yoga S940 Window 10

Last year the Lenovo 920 (360° design) took GadgetGuy’s fancy (review here) with its Bronzed Aussie sleek build, 14” 4K screen, 8th Gen Intel Core i7 and lot of go-fast stuff.

Lenovo

 The 13.9”, S940 is a laptop with the focus on using AI to help you. For example, AI can filter out background (ambient) noise in teleconference, tell when you are taking a break and lock the display, detect shoulder surfing (someone looking over your shoulder at the screen) – just a few of the Lenovo Smart Assist AI-enabled features.

Battery life is around 9.5-15 hours (4K Dolby Vision or FHD HDR400 screen). The screen has ultra-narrow bezels, wraparound glass and is gaining more than its fair share of attention at CES 2019.

Lenovo

Lenovo Yoga C730

4K AMOLED 15” – all you need to know. I will be lusting after this. It has JBL speakers, HRD/Dolby Atmos/Vision and has my favourite 360° hinge design. We are not sure if this is coming to Australia – damn.

Lenovo

Lenovo Yoga A940

It is an all-in-one, 27” desktop to entice Microsoft Surface Studio users. The 27” screen has a 4K option (both with HDR400 – 4K with Dolby Vision as well) and a Precision Dial optimised for Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, and more.

Lenovo

Lenovo Legion Gaming get more grunt

The latest Lenovo Legion gaming line-up is more powerful than ever — with a new range of high-performance PCs and an entire family of re-designed gaming accessories and monitors. The latest gaming additions to the Lenovo Legion line-up include:

  • Savage new Lenovo Legion Y740 and Y540 Laptops
  • Sleek Lenovo Legion K500 RGB Mechanical Keyboard and M500 RGB Gaming Mouse
  • Ergonomic Lenovo Legion H500 Pro 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset and H300 Stereo Gaming Headset
  • Stylish Lenovo Legion Y27gq Monitor and Y44w Monitor for ultra-fast, smooth and immersive gaming
  • Upgraded Lenovo Legion T730 and T530 towers and C730 and C530 cubes to the latest NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs

For business a new ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga

ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th Gen and X1 Yoga 4th Gen are both thinner and lighter than ever.

Lenovo
  • X1 Yoga 4th Gen now available in an all-aluminium chassis
  • New display options, including a 400 nit FHD display with ThinkPad Privacy Guard
  • New Dolby Atmos Speaker System with four far-field mics
  • Latest 8th Gen Intel Core processors
  • New Cat16 LTE-A option and enhanced WLAN and WWAN antenna design
  • ThinkShutter now available on both HD and IR cameras
  • New ThinkVision 43.3-inch P44w monitor offers dual-display capability without bezels
  • A selection of accessories including the ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock Gen 2, a Lenovo Pro Stereo USB Headset, the Lenovo VOIP 360 Camera Speaker, the Lenovo Powered USB-C Hub, the Lenovo 700 Ultraportable Bluetooth Speaker and a Lenovo Commuter Backpack.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon has an optional visible carbon fibre weave top cover. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga has a new precision-machined all-aluminium laptop in a beautiful iron grey colour.

Lenovo 2019 price and availability

US dollars are only a guide – for Australian dollars add approx. 50%. Not all items will come to Australia, and release dates are in US Northern Hemisphere seasons, e.g. Spring is Autumn here.

  • Smart Clock $79.99 – Spring
  • Lenovo Smart Tab P10 is $299.99 – pre-orders on www.amazon.com and www.lenovo.com.
  • Lenovo Smart Tab M10 is $199.99 – ditto
  • Yoga S940 starts at $1,499.99 – May
  • Yoga A940 starts at $2,349.99 – April
  • 15-inch Lenovo Yoga C730 with AMOLED – March
  • 15/17-inch Lenovo Legion Y740 Laptop starts at $17499.9/1,979.99 – February15-inch Lenovo Legion Y540 Laptop starts at $929.99 – May
  • Legion T730, T530, C730 and C530 desktops with upgraded NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs TBA
  • Y27gq Monitor starts at $999.99 – April
  • Y44w Monitor starts at $1,199.99 – April
  • ThinkPad X1 Carbon starts at $1709 – June
  • ThinkPad X1 Yoga starts at $1929 – June
  • ThinkVision P44w starts at $1299 – April