That's not a straightforward comparison since the Helix plus dock has two batteries and the Air has a single battery. Very different kinds of machines in that respect.
Performance wise you're not losing anything by going with Ivy Bridge. But Haswell would get you better battery life. Of course, it may be some time before Lenovo revises the Helix with Haswell.
Honestly, I have no inclination to compare it to the MacBook Air since this is a tablet with a pen, which is a very different animal from the MacBook Air.
Just ordered one refurbed from Lenovo! $560 for 1st Gen i5 (the 2nd Gen m5 are still too expensive IMO). I was considering the Asus after having a Surface Pro. Other reviewers seemed to have a bias against the Helix and didn't even cover the details you did (2nd battery, keyboard doubling as dock, digitizer inserts INTO casing -- I've lost 2 Wacom pens from poor storage design of the pen --, etc.) I can get all the features I want from Helix for less money than M$ Surface line.
You can find the Helix for much lower prices now. I just bought one new from Amazon and it cost $1,555.25 for the i7, 8gb RAM, 256gb drive model. It was a pretty good deal, being about 30% off, so about $600 of the original price of $2,179.00
still worth buying? the first gen.. just for taking notes, reconding classes and light gaming like Football Manager, and so.. i found an i7 version of this with an attractive price in my country. I mean, its a dated device, but still an i7. Other stuff like dell venue pro with 5y71 are pricier here (and does not bundle the keyboard). Turning my currency into US dollars, right now i am able to buy an used first gen Helix i7/8gb/256gb with keyboard for 560 dollars - for your comparsion, a Dell venue pro CoreM 5y71/8gb/256gb costs 850 dollars, plus the keyboard for 146 dollars. What do u think?
+Victor Boechat It is still worth buying, people criticize the processor being 3rd gen but it is still fast. I have the same one you are looking to get. But I paid $350 for it used on Craigslist. You are right it still is an i7, I do not like the coreM because I don't think it's fast enough for what I use it for (video processing) but for class work the CoreM would be absolutely fine. I do not know how much it takes football manager to run but I would advise against running games on a 3rd Gen i7 because the graphics portion is not as strong as say the 4th gen and forwards. The CoreM would have trouble with that as well. But for pure power this is a good laptop/hybrid and I would definitely recommend it.
***** I bought the i5 version (brand new) for a great price (for my high taxed country). I paid something like 370 dollars (converting), and believe me, its a great price (FYI, Surface Pro 4 in US costs 999 dollars - here, it costs the equivalent to 1800 dollars). Actually i was looking for the cheapest device (without an atom) and someone just sold it to me. Its 4gb / 128gb, not as fancy as yours, but hey, i just need to handle Word and Chrome. Actually i paid less on this than i would pay on a lower clocked core M without the keyboard. Should also handle some games (i'm not planing to play Fallout 4 on this).
Question: In onenote 2010 or 2013, if you put your palm down on the screen when using the digitizer, will it DISABLE the capacitive touch function and enable ONLY the digitzer so that the ink doesn't go to your hand instead? The Toughbook H2 and 19 have DUAL TOUCH screens, and when you put the digitizer down on the screen it DISABLES the touchscreen. Also, can you disable the touchscreen and make it ONLY respond to the digitizer pen? Thanks!
Great review, please could you quote metric specs when talking about size or weight as imperial would you believe doesn't mean a hell of a lot to the rest of the world. Otherwise brilliant review again.
I decided to get an Asus T300 LA, Microsoft is having a great deal right now in the microsoft store with Office 365 and without Office 365. The keyboard I would say is on par with the Thinkpad Helix. Though sadly, the keyboard isn't backlit.
In your official written review, please do not make the same mistake as other publications by comparing the Helix battery life to a 13" Haswell Macbook. Be fair and compare Helix battery life to the equivalent sized 11" Haswell Macbook.
I wonder why it took them so long to finally release it. I was willing to live with some of its compromises and high price back in Feb, but it seems foolish to buy an Ivy Bridge device when Haswell is starting to hit the market. Imagine how much battery life a Haswell version of this would get. Oh well. Thanks for the awesome review, Lisa.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 15.6" Touch Screen Laptop is a 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 and it has Up to 5 hours or more. That is not very good for an ultrabook, but it is ok because of it's processor.
Hi Lisa, how it compare with Surface Pro2? Especially in battery life? And what do you prefer, having heavyweight real keyboard or touch cover? Is touch cover really that bad? Thank you very much if you can answer me :D
please do a review of the Newest thinkpad helix with ultra Pro keyboard and Intel Core M-5Y71 2.9Ghz Cpu. dont forget to mention its an M.2 SSD stick and if its easy or hard to upgrade to 512GB. thank you !!!
I am curious about the touchscreen - can you switch from using a digitizer to your finger quickly and easily? Also, can you use both at the same time, or use multiple fingers(multitouch)?
Question, how do you feel about this in comparison to the new Haswell units coming out? Would it be worth it to wait, or do you think the hardware on the Helix would prove to be good enough during this next generation of processors?
It's a decent option for some people...use it as an all-day laptop in class to take notes (or out on the job), come home and chill with it as a media-consumption tablet on the couch...charge up overnight and repeat.
Hi Lisa, is this faster than the thinkpad tablet 2? I'm a travel blogger and I often need to edit photos and upload images, videos and blog post while traveling. Which one would you recommend? Surface Pro, Thinkpad tablet 2 or thinkpad helix? Thanks
Hi , great videos. I need an advise. I am looking for a Windows 8 or 8.1 ; 64bit, icore (3 or 5 or 7) ; wifi + sim card ; 10inch to 13 inch ; full HD 1920x1080 ; tablet (or) hybrid laptop ; with the best MP of front and back cameras ; Digitizer pen What will be your choice for the above specs.
Lisa, are there any other win8 hybrids (hybrids as in tablet/laptop) that integrate the pen IN the dock or tablet? I'd purchase this helix as it's the only one I know of that integrates the pen into the machine but I also need backlit keyboard.
HI Lisa, I always learn from your reviews. I have a question for you Im trying to get a loptop but trying to decide wich one should I buy iIm looking at. Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 1.8GHz 1080p 11.6" Convertible Touch Ultrabook Features include an Intel Core i5-3337U 1.8GHz Ivy Bridge dual-core CPU, an 11.6" 1920x1080 LED-backlit LCD, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, and Windows 8 Professional 64-bit. the other is a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2 Intel Haswell Core i7 2GHz 14" Touchscreen Laptop features an Intel Core i7-4510U 2GHz Haswell dual-core processor, 14" 1920x1080 (1080p) LED-backlit touchscreen LCD, 8GB RAM, 500GB hard drive with an 8GB SSD, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, 720p webcam, 4-cell battery, and Windows 8.1 64-bit. both of them are on sale same price $700 USD, I appreciate if you could tell me wich one would be a better buy since one has more ram, better procesor, and the other one is fancy, I dont do any heavy work on the computer but do travel a lot. I appreciate any advic . Thank you.
I have an Envy and an anvyx2 the envy runs better but has a bad viewing angle for videos. The x2 has some very useful features, but seems to get stuck thinking at times.
Hey Lisa A beautiful review. Some questions as I will be gifting it to my DAD who plays a lot in excel. 1. He works a lot on Microsoft excel and on very heavy files, in fact many at one times. Will this machine be able to match up the speed and give a flawless juggling between the sheets. 2. Do we have an option of installing Windows 7 on this machine and if we do, is it recommended as my dad don't like W8. 3. Can we connect it to an external dock which connects the bigger screen Thans a ton
@@undelleted3291 Hi thanks for replying! I bought a Samsung Ativ Smart Pro for only $120. although the battery needs replacement but I thinks it's still a good deal considering it's a core i5. :)
What would you recommend in 2019 that is like this? Budget $400. Looking into the surface go 8gb w wacom pen ThinkPad 260 with wacom pen Are there any other touchscreen 2 in 1 laptops w stylus for drawing?
These Hybrids are all crazy expensive. Is the logic it's 2 devices in one, so we should pay x2 the amount? I really hope the Samsungs Ativ Q, can shave a fair amount off that price, as it sounds like a must have artist device.
Yes, you can close it for use in tablet mode, should you need the ports and secondary battery.
your reviews rock! your so thorough & professional its incredible.
You can get the laptop's measurements in metric on Lenovo's website, so I don't both offering that "translation".
I've been looking forward to this review! Thank you so much.
Depends on whether you need the digital pen mostly.
Lisa is one of those people that I'd die seeing randomly in public. Awesome reviews. Clear, precise, and as others have mentioned, objective and fair.
We reviewed the Lenovo IdeaPad Z400 Touch. It's not likely we'd do the Z500 as well.
Finally!!! Helix review by Lisa Gade. Kudos and keep up the great work Lisa..
We never reviewed the vivobook 550cb, so I don't have lots of hands-on advice for that model.
That's not a straightforward comparison since the Helix plus dock has two batteries and the Air has a single battery. Very different kinds of machines in that respect.
We'll likely do a smackdown with the Vaio Duo 13. Sadly, I don't have the Duo 11 anymore.
The Yoga 11s review is coming soon.
You can upgrade to Win 8 Pro if you wish or you can order it with Pro.
thank you for explaining the tabs @2:20!!!! i couldn't figure out what they were for.
Performance wise you're not losing anything by going with Ivy Bridge. But Haswell would get you better battery life. Of course, it may be some time before Lenovo revises the Helix with Haswell.
Which RT tablet? The Yoga 11? I'd go with full Windows rather than RT honestly unless your app needs are fairly limited.
We're trying to get the Razer 14 in for review.
You can upgrade the mSATA SSD but not the RAM.
Lisa, we need a review of the 2nd Gen Helix with the Core M processors, any idea when you'll have one?
Hello anybody can help-me how can i use The helix on my TV whithout HDMI hole . Sorry for The english
Yes, Intel 4th gen processors so far so significant improvements to battery life. Not much difference in computational performance though.
Can you have the screen in portrait mode stand up and typing on the keyboard simulating a typewriter and a piece of paper?
Will it blend?
Honestly, I have no inclination to compare it to the MacBook Air since this is a tablet with a pen, which is a very different animal from the MacBook Air.
hi, I have the same product but the pen is not working now any idea why?
Thanks. The Helix looks anything but cheesy in person. It does make the competing Samsung ATIV 700t look cheesy though.
Just ordered one refurbed from Lenovo! $560 for 1st Gen i5 (the 2nd Gen m5 are still too expensive IMO). I was considering the Asus after having a Surface Pro. Other reviewers seemed to have a bias against the Helix and didn't even cover the details you did (2nd battery, keyboard doubling as dock, digitizer inserts INTO casing -- I've lost 2 Wacom pens from poor storage design of the pen --, etc.) I can get all the features I want from Helix for less money than M$ Surface line.
You can find the Helix for much lower prices now. I just bought one new from Amazon and it cost $1,555.25 for the i7, 8gb RAM, 256gb drive model. It was a pretty good deal, being about 30% off, so about $600 of the original price of $2,179.00
maybe i think buy this for 2023 in my bday
Then you might beat me to it ;) We will review the Vaio Duo 13, but we're still waiting on our review unit.
Thank you again for another excellent review!
Are you planning to review upcoming smartwatches?
I am a very big fan of tech I love your videos I hope one day I'll be a detailed tech reviewer like you Lisa nice job.
Thanks for the review. Informative as usual.
The Lenovo Y500 has quite good color gamut at 89% of sRGB.
Thanks for another great review, Lisa.
Thanks!
Hi Lisa, do you have any idea when toshiba pure pro and write tablet will be out in market ? Thank you .
still worth buying? the first gen.. just for taking notes, reconding classes and light gaming like Football Manager, and so.. i found an i7 version of this with an attractive price in my country. I mean, its a dated device, but still an i7. Other stuff like dell venue pro with 5y71 are pricier here (and does not bundle the keyboard). Turning my currency into US dollars, right now i am able to buy an used first gen Helix i7/8gb/256gb with keyboard for 560 dollars - for your comparsion, a Dell venue pro CoreM 5y71/8gb/256gb costs 850 dollars, plus the keyboard for 146 dollars. What do u think?
+Victor Boechat It is still worth buying, people criticize the processor being 3rd gen but it is still fast. I have the same one you are looking to get. But I paid $350 for it used on Craigslist. You are right it still is an i7, I do not like the coreM because I don't think it's fast enough for what I use it for (video processing) but for class work the CoreM would be absolutely fine. I do not know how much it takes football manager to run but I would advise against running games on a 3rd Gen i7 because the graphics portion is not as strong as say the 4th gen and forwards. The CoreM would have trouble with that as well. But for pure power this is a good laptop/hybrid and I would definitely recommend it.
***** I bought the i5 version (brand new) for a great price (for my high taxed country). I paid something like 370 dollars (converting), and believe me, its a great price (FYI, Surface Pro 4 in US costs 999 dollars - here, it costs the equivalent to 1800 dollars). Actually i was looking for the cheapest device (without an atom) and someone just sold it to me. Its 4gb / 128gb, not as fancy as yours, but hey, i just need to handle Word and Chrome. Actually i paid less on this than i would pay on a lower clocked core M without the keyboard. Should also handle some games (i'm not planing to play Fallout 4 on this).
@Joseph Richter Yes, its good if you get it for a good price
Question: In onenote 2010 or 2013, if you put your palm down on the screen when using the digitizer, will it DISABLE the capacitive touch function and enable ONLY the digitzer so that the ink doesn't go to your hand instead? The Toughbook H2 and 19 have DUAL TOUCH screens, and when you put the digitizer down on the screen it DISABLES the touchscreen. Also, can you disable the touchscreen and make it ONLY respond to the digitizer pen?
Thanks!
Great review, please could you quote metric specs when talking about size or weight as imperial would you believe doesn't mean a hell of a lot to the rest of the world. Otherwise brilliant review again.
However you can use any wacom digitzier on the helix no prob. which is very common from other tablets or just buy individually
I decided to get an Asus T300 LA, Microsoft is having a great deal right now in the microsoft store with Office 365 and without Office 365. The keyboard I would say is on par with the Thinkpad Helix. Though sadly, the keyboard isn't backlit.
In your official written review, please do not make the same mistake as other publications by comparing the Helix battery life to a 13" Haswell Macbook. Be fair and compare Helix battery life to the equivalent sized 11" Haswell Macbook.
I will definitely feel uncomfortable if there isn't your laptop review anymore. : ( Best notebook review!
Hi Lisa please I want to know whether this laptop has an HDMI port?
When will you be doing a Thinkpad Yoga review?
Hi Lisa, i´m a huge fan of your reviews.
i used the helix for a week and had heat issues - curious you didn´t mentioned it.
I wonder why it took them so long to finally release it. I was willing to live with some of its compromises and high price back in Feb, but it seems foolish to buy an Ivy Bridge device when Haswell is starting to hit the market. Imagine how much battery life a Haswell version of this would get. Oh well.
Thanks for the awesome review, Lisa.
I wanted this, but I just couldn't wait any longer for a new Laptop, so I got the Y500. I'm loving my Y500 right now.
Ask me after I've reviewed the Sony Vaio Duo 13 :)
Is it good for drawing?
You make great reviews!
MobileTechReview
As usual, amazing review.
Looking forward for Thinkpad Helix Vs Surface Pro 3
Good review as always please do a review of razer blade pro 17.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 15.6" Touch Screen Laptop is a 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 and it has Up to 5 hours or more. That is not very good for an ultrabook, but it is ok because of it's processor.
Hi Lisa, how it compare with Surface Pro2? Especially in battery life? And what do you prefer, having heavyweight real keyboard or touch cover? Is touch cover really that bad? Thank you very much if you can answer me :D
So they have digitizer and non digitizer models??
please do a review of the Newest thinkpad helix with ultra Pro keyboard and Intel Core M-5Y71 2.9Ghz Cpu. dont forget to mention its an M.2 SSD stick and if its easy or hard to upgrade to 512GB. thank you !!!
I am curious about the touchscreen - can you switch from using a digitizer to your finger quickly and easily? Also, can you use both at the same time, or use multiple fingers(multitouch)?
I've seen that after docking all the ports at the bottom of the tablet are unusable, aren't they? Anyway that's a wonderful device.
Question, how do you feel about this in comparison to the new Haswell units coming out? Would it be worth it to wait, or do you think the hardware on the Helix would prove to be good enough during this next generation of processors?
It's a decent option for some people...use it as an all-day laptop in class to take notes (or out on the job), come home and chill with it as a media-consumption tablet on the couch...charge up overnight and repeat.
Does anyone know if helix graph card has single or dual memory chanel?
Hi Lisa, is this faster than the thinkpad tablet 2? I'm a travel blogger and I often need to edit photos and upload images, videos and blog post while traveling. Which one would you recommend? Surface Pro, Thinkpad tablet 2 or thinkpad helix? Thanks
Hi , great videos.
I need an advise. I am looking for a Windows 8 or 8.1 ; 64bit, icore (3 or 5 or 7) ; wifi + sim card ; 10inch to 13 inch ; full HD 1920x1080 ; tablet (or) hybrid laptop ; with the best MP of front and back cameras ; Digitizer pen
What will be your choice for the above specs.
can you please do a lenovo z500 vs asus vivobook 550cb please !!!!
i can not choose which one I should buy.
please help
Can it be closed when docked backwards?
Great review as always! Any chance to review the 2nd gen?
I would like to see a review on the ThinkPad x230t.
Why thinkpad t530 never been review??
Lisa, are there any other win8 hybrids (hybrids as in tablet/laptop) that integrate the pen IN the dock or tablet? I'd purchase this helix as it's the only one I know of that integrates the pen into the machine but I also need backlit keyboard.
Should I get the thinkpad helix or should I wait for the sony duo 13?
should i get the helix right now or should i wait or get the yoga 13
Lisa, is this a good primary machine candidate?
This is an innovation a little too late with the Haswell launch. I hope they do a Haswell refresh with a high res display.
HI Lisa, I always learn from your reviews. I have a question for you Im trying to get a loptop but trying to decide wich one should I buy iIm looking at. Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 1.8GHz 1080p 11.6" Convertible Touch Ultrabook Features include an Intel Core i5-3337U 1.8GHz Ivy Bridge dual-core CPU, an 11.6" 1920x1080 LED-backlit LCD, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, and Windows 8 Professional 64-bit. the other is a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2 Intel Haswell Core i7 2GHz 14" Touchscreen Laptop features an Intel Core i7-4510U 2GHz Haswell dual-core processor, 14" 1920x1080 (1080p) LED-backlit touchscreen LCD, 8GB RAM, 500GB hard drive with an 8GB SSD, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, 720p webcam, 4-cell battery, and Windows 8.1 64-bit. both of them are on sale same price $700 USD, I appreciate if you could tell me wich one would be a better buy since one has more ram, better procesor, and the other one is fancy, I dont do any heavy work on the computer but do travel a lot. I appreciate any advic . Thank you.
MTR - no doubt best reviewer out there
This is undoubtedly the the most offensive keyboard dock in existence... Love your reviews Lisa.
Can you also upgrade from standard Windows 8 on it to Pro?
Which would you personally rather own? The DUO 13 or the Helix?
Does it work with any wacom stylus or just the proprietary digitizer pen included?
I asked a rep on the Lenovo chat today if they plan a Haswell refresh, and was told they are. Screenshot is available on my twitter @lemonquat.
Hi i want to know if you can work with autocad application
I have an Envy and an anvyx2 the envy runs better but has a bad viewing angle for videos. The x2 has some very useful features, but seems to get stuck thinking at times.
Can we increase ROM?
Hey Lisa
A beautiful review.
Some questions as I will be gifting it to my DAD who plays a lot in excel.
1. He works a lot on Microsoft excel and on very heavy files, in fact many at one times. Will this machine be able to match up the speed and give a flawless juggling between the sheets.
2. Do we have an option of installing Windows 7 on this machine and if we do, is it recommended as my dad don't like W8.
3. Can we connect it to an external dock which connects the bigger screen
Thans a ton
Thank you for a nice review! Do you know whether the ultrabook would work with (Debian) Linux installed on it?
Im guessing it beats the snot out ou the HP Envy x2
where did you get all these laptops for review?
currently for sale for $280 used. is it worth it?
Better go with x230/ 230t
@@undelleted3291 Hi thanks for replying! I bought a Samsung Ativ Smart Pro for only $120. although the battery needs replacement but I thinks it's still a good deal considering it's a core i5. :)
@@BEM_01 congrats, this sounds like a good deal. It is a nice tablet
I just bought one of these used. How do I transfer everything from my old ssd to this one?
Anybody know if they fixed the heat issue?
Hi what is the holder that you used to hold the unit when you removed it from the keyboard dock
What would you recommend in 2019 that is like this? Budget $400.
Looking into the
surface go 8gb w wacom pen
ThinkPad 260 with wacom pen
Are there any other touchscreen 2 in 1 laptops w stylus for drawing?
I'd go with the 260, it's probably built the best and you can upgrade the RAM. The Helix can be picked up dirt cheap (
Can we see a review on the sony vaio duo 13??? I'm buying it next week
Does it work for a mouse and also can you play pc games on it
ITechVideos yes it gets around 60 FPS
Nice review. Do you think League of Legends will go on it?
Can you Luck at lenovo ideapad z500 touch please
Lisa, if you still have sony duo 11 please make a smack down video too..:)
These Hybrids are all crazy expensive. Is the logic it's 2 devices in one, so we should pay x2 the amount?
I really hope the Samsungs Ativ Q, can shave a fair amount off that price, as it sounds like a must have artist device.
can i buy this now ??