When my dad bought his first laptop, I remember offering to carry it from one room to another because it was so darn bulky. As things were, back then, it was as portable as a computer could get! Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since. Now, it’s just not about how light or portable your laptop or Ultrabook is. It’s also about whether it is flexible enough to put your yoga teacher to shame! One such brand new device is the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist. The ThinkPad series has always been associated with serious-looking, business-oriented devices. The T wist however, bends over backwards, to make sure you have more fun with your laptop than usual. Of course, we mean it literally!

The ThinkPad Twist is, before anything else, an Ultrabook. Which means it sports a no-bulk, all-trim design. Like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon we reviewed last year, the Twist too is constructed using a magnesium alloy. But Lenovo has gone one step further in sturdying the unit up by protecting the 12.5-inch display with Corning Gorilla Glass. Personally, the 12.5-inch screen seems just the right size for pretty much everything! I watched a couple of old seasons of Family Guy and apart from the occasional reflection nothing would distract me from the show. While typing out documents or browsing web pages too the screen neither seemed too cramped nor too expansive. It was just right.

This was mostly while in the laptop mode, with the screen sometimes twisted by a couple of degrees for better visibility when I had company. The display of the Twist rests on just one hinge or at least just one spot on the body. It twists around this from side to side and bends over itself for what looks like a tent mode of viewing. The company says this is a mode that can be optimised for watching movies or videos.

When you switch between modes, there’s a small (and kind of hard to press button on the right side of the screen) so you can lock the orientation once you have the display in place. With auto-rotate on, the screen did take a more than a couple of seconds to adjust to the new modes of display.

You can twist and collapse the display over the keyboard so you have a rather massive tablet that you can use. I wasn’t too comfortable using the Twist in this mode because at less than an arm’s length the display just becomes too big a screen for prolonged use. However, those who might feel otherwise can switch to this mode for reading e-books or browsing through long web pages.

The keyboard has all the system shortcuts you can think of alternating with the function keys. During three weeks of usage I didn’t have to go into Settings to change anything on the Twist. Needless to say, the keyboard is absolutely amazing for typing. This won’t come as a surprise for most existing ThinkPad users. But if you’re new to the ThinkPad design, then you’re definitely in for a tactic treat.

Between all the twisting and turning the hinge seemed quite sturdy and there were no creaks or jerks at any point of time. Keep in mind that, in the tablet mode, the display is not completely detachable from the body. So, in case you want to carry just a hybrid tablet around, the Twist is not what will fit the bill.

While using the display to watch videos is a pretty decent experience, there’s not much to say about the embedded speakers in the Twist. As is the case with most laptops/Ultrabooks in the market the volume levels on this one too are just a notch above abysmally low. While I made sure the volume was pumped up to the max with every video I played, I still had to pull the unit closer to me or just give up and plug in earphones, if the former did not work.

One of the early complaints during the couple of weeks that I used the Twist was the trackpad was way too sensitive for my liking. For example, whenever I wanted to move the cursor to the right, it would prompt a Windows pull-in bar instead of just moving the pointer. This happened way too many times before I resorted to just using the touchscreen display to point at things.

The ThinkPad Twist I tested runs on an Intel iCore i5 processor and has overclocking speeds of up to 1.7 GHz. For the tasks we indulged in which mainly included writing articles, mailing, web surfing and occasional gaming, the unit handled all these very effectively with barely a lag ever.

Apart from these quirks, there were very few things I found wanting in the Twist. The unit almost always booted real quick, anywhere between 7-10 seconds. Even after hours of watching media, the unit barely ever heated up.

But, one of the definite downsides to the unit is its rather short battery life. Over the course of testing, the most power consuming activity I indulged in were the marathon sitcom sessions and the battery lasted for just a little more than 4-4.5 hours most of the time. This is a disadvantage for business men or young professionals who are looking to carry their Ultrabook around while travelling.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Twist is a decent machine when it comes to productivity but lacks certain key qualities when it comes to multimedia. As Ultrabooks go, it sports a decent screen in a sturdy body while packing in more flexibility than the common consumer might know what to do with.

Rs 71,000

Love – Well-designed, ergonomic keyboard, truly flexible form factor

Hate – Average battery life, mediocre speakers, ungainly tablet mode

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