Yoga ruler became the hallmark of Lenovo, like, say, ZENBOOK at ASUS. However, “in the back” this conceptual segment breathing is another – Flex. Previously, we have already seen some of these models, eg, Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15, Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 10, it’s time to talk about their fellow man near – Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2 14D, the first generation which has been presented in 2013.
As is clear from the title, the diagonal of the display of the gadget is 14 inches, which is slightly less than the usual standard for us “pyatnashek.” The device is enabled with respect to a good stuffing that is based on AMD A6-6310 processor and graphics card AMD Radeon 4 (Beema). But the main feature, of course, is its ability to transform. In this case, unlike Yoga, line Flex has a much more adequate price tag.
Design
By and large, all the models under consideration range similar to each other. As a rule, they differ only in the diagonal of the screen and use the stuffing. As for other aspects, for example, materials, workmanship, etc., the difference if there is, then irrelevant. Thus, in the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2 14D used plastic, which on the surface podladonnoy made with imitation brushed aluminum. By the way, the lid has a matte finish. The color of the uniform housing – graphite, a cross between a dark gray and black. Attract attention sharpened corners that certainly an amateur, but we are pleased.
On the cover, in addition to the manufacturer’s label on the top left, nothing. Another sign is the same under the screen, and above it – the webcam icon. Colors and materials of the bottom is the same as the upper part of the gadget. Unfortunately, it is quite easily soiled due to the soft-touch coating. Unscrew all bolts located on the perimeter, you can access the hard drive and RAM, and upgrade them if you wish.
A lot has been said about the transformation of the Flex line in previous reviews, but briefly recall clearly will not be superfluous. Thus, the opening angle ranges laptop 300 degrees, respectively, it can be applied to two modes: a console and a laptop. With the first all clear, but for console mode, simply turn the keyboard to the other side, that it was the “face” to the surface, on which stands. Very convenient that between the loops and the working surface is provided with two rubber feet, two are located on the perimeter of podladonnoy surface, which can not be found in ordinary laptop. All this is done in order to position the console gadget does not slide on the surface. In this mode, you can watch movies, sit on the Internet, in general, deal with those things, which is quite suitable for touch control. And a few words about the mechanism of transformation. In this latter case carried by two hinges, which are sufficiently stiff. Here are just some specific positions of fixing the display is not, so in console mode using the touch screen you may notice slight variations in the screen.
Dimensions IdeaPad Flex 2 14D could be more modest, but, in principle, that is, too bad: 343h251h22 mm. Weight is also good – 2.1 kg.
Display, sound and webcam
Unfortunately, the laptop screen can hardly be called exemplary. As has been mentioned above, its diagonal is 14 inches, and resolution – only 1366×768 pixels, matrix type – TN.
With these parameters unreasonable to talk about the high image quality: color reproduction is lame, the viewing angles are pretty mediocre, and horizontally still all right, and vertically – frankly disappointing. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the glossy screen coating, which means that to use it on the street with such a performance can not be considered.
Since the console mode involves work without using the keyboard, then it is useful to discuss the quality and touch input. In this regard, there is no problem, all laptops have a Flex line fast response and good sensitivity, the hero of our review was no exception. Also, do not forget about the ability to manage both the 10th fingers using multi-touch gestures (such as touching and holding, rotate, scroll, etc.).
Two speakers located on the bottom, does not affect their abilities, because the device does not belong to the class of multimedia. No, for everyday tasks sound should be enough, but still someone can cut the ear. However, the headset as headphones save the situation. Among other things, it was not a laptop without a webcam, the resolution of which is 1 megapixel.
Keyboard and Touchpad
If the user was already familiar with keyboards Lenovo, then this will not be a revelation to him. Keyboard AccuType island type is typical for this manufacturer buttons with a rounded bottom. This shape provides comfort and operability. Marking buttons – white, functional optional colored orange. All the keys, in general, the standard size, ie, the usual each user. The most commonly used [Enter], [Schift], [Caps Lock] and others – a little more elongated, but not so much that it caught the eye.
The keyboard is comfortable to use and more due to the fact that the metallized surface podladonnaya comfortably cool. During very heavy printing can feel like the keyboard flexes slightly. Fortunately, much discomfort this fact does not cause, and with it you can easily get used to. Needless to say, that when using the device in a console keyboard with touchpad is automatically disabled.
By the way, all those who like to work at night, a few will be disappointed, as the backlight is not provided. Will have to be content with just glare screen or typing blindly. Numeric keypad is not expected, but there are a number of function keys, oriented vertically, which contains the button [Home], [End], [Pg Up] and [Pg Dn]. As for the power button, which in other laptops are often located in the keyboard, this device is taken out on the right side of the housing. Such a location reasonably unfettered access to the end of transformer, no matter in whatever mode he may be.
Touchpad markedly shifted to the left. The manipulator is large enough has clear boundaries, so touch it quite easy to find. The touchpad is excellent sensitivity, the sensor works just the same lightning speed without having to repeat the command. Of course, it supports multi-touch gestures, including zooming and scrolling, dragging, etc. Physical keys not, but there is a vertical bar that indicates the conditional zone of their location.
Performance
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2 14D (59,416,588) comes with 64-bit operating system Windows 8.1, which is perfectly adapted for touch input. AMD A6-6310 processor clocked at 1.8 GHz, which, if necessary, the ability to increase up to 2.4 GHz, thanks to technology Turbo Boost. The processor is configured to 28-nm process technology, second-level cache is 2 MB, and TDP – 15 watts.
Filling device also includes a graphics card AMD Radeon 4 (Beema). It has 128 shaders and has a clock speed of 800 MHz. This performance is comparable to the video controller Intel HD Graphics 4200 or a AMD Radeon HD 7470M. It also supports DirectX 11.2 and Shader 5.0.
Demanding games, of course, the device is not on the “teeth”. They either will not run at all, or will be very slow. Of course, you can try running them on low settings, but not the fact that an attempt will be successful. Less severe toys or outdated will normally at medium or high settings.
Amount of RAM is 4 GB DDR3-1600 MHz standard, the maximum supported 8GB same. Storage of information entrusted to the hybrid drive, which consists of a hard drive capacity of 500 GB with a spindle speed of 5400 rpm and 8 GB SSD for caching data.
Ports and Communications
Transformer Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2 14D offers wishing to use the following interfaces: port USB 3.0, video output HDMI, RJ-45 jack for headphones, socket for charging and a button Novo – on the left side. The latter allows the system to run Lenovo OneKey Recovery, BIOS, and get into the boot menu. There is also a large enough ventilation grille to remove warm air.
The right side is equipped with two USB ports standard 2.0 card reader 2-in-1 (SD / MMC), power button on the laptop, battery status indicator, which changes color depending on the condition of the battery and a slot for a Kensington lock.
Front and back nothing. Wireless communication is presented modules Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n and Bluetooth 4.0.
Battery and heating
Capacity 4-cell Lithium-ion battery is 3350 mAh. By and large, the device does not have a high autonomy, which, of course, is a significant disadvantage, because the gadget on the idea of engineers must be mobile. In fact, the battery can not actively work with him all day, maximum – 4-5 hours, and then in the Web-surfing. If a load increase, while reduced to about 2 hours.
Conclusion
Unlike laptops series of Yoga, Flex segment is much cheaper, but at the same time losing quality. The hero of our review are two modes of transformation: the laptop and the console while loop, which has a mission to hold the gadget in the second mode, can not sufficiently hold the screen, because of what may be slight variations in the body.
But disappointed we display low-resolution matrix TN. In Transformers new generation would like to see something a little more modern. Filling is the most impressive, it forces to cope only with undemanding tasks. Also, do not deserve praise and indicators of autonomy. And, despite the fact that the transformer is only $ 450, buy Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2 14D is hardly justified. But if you still are not indifferent to such devices, we advise you to pay attention to the model IdeaPad Flex February 14 with Full HD-display processor family Intel Core i and a discrete graphics card NVIDIA GeForce 840M.
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