Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11.6" Touch Ultrabook

Windows 10 -- it is not going away unlike a lot of people wish it would. It is here to stay. With that in mind, I took the plunge into Windows 10 land with this convertible laptop/tablet to replace an ageing Nexus 7 (2012 WiFi model) tablet with a Lollipop upgrade. Over time the performance diminished to a point that surfing the web with Chrome was painful. Purchased this 2-1 Thinkpad from Amazon. Prime delivery and I had my Yoga in two days. Out of the box and initial start with a few days of use, here are my experiences. Like: * A full Windows 10 Pro version is loaded onto this system, it is not a watered down/modified version * This version of Win 10 Pro booted to the traditional Desktop, not the Metro interface * Bloatware was minimal (in comparison to Acer or HP laptops -- yuck!) * Four (4) components are replaceable by the user - RAM module, SSD, WiFi/BT Module and battery * Battery is a Yoga 11e specific -- Amazon sells the replacement * RAM is a standard 204 pin SO-DIMM Ram Module -- up to 8 GB is recognized by the BIOS * WiFi is a combo WiFi/Bluetooth Intel module that Amazon sells * SSD is a standard 2.5" by 7 MM thick SSD that can be upgraded * The bottom cover comes off with 6 small Phillips screws -- the screws do not come out all the way, so you cannot lose them * Paired a Logitech M557 BT Mouse with ease (more later on this point) * Keyboard has a nice feel, unlike my older MSI laptop * 11.5" touch-screen that can be used in either standard desktop mode or in tablet mode * Great WiFi reception -- in my neighborhood, all of the WiFi connection points go on for 3 pages * Suspend/sleep mode -- uses about 10% to 12% of battery life in suspend/sleep mode over a 24 hour period of time * Windows power saver mode can be toggled on and off with a quick swipe of the right side of window along with other Win 10 features including "airplane mode" * Uninstalled McAfee AV and installed AVG and Malwarebytes -- easy and no unexpected complications * Uninstalled Office 2016 and put on my copy of Office 2010 Home and Student -- again, no issues * Usable charging cord is 60" to the transformer and the wall plug cord that plugs into the transformer is 36", for a total of 8 feet in length * The charging transformer and connecting wiring are in two pieces * One full size SD card slot - works with SD, SDHC and SDXC SD/MMC cards * One gigabit Ethernet network plug, unlike other netbook's that use only WiFi for network connections * One full size HDMI plug, not a mini or micro HDMI requiring a separate adapter * Outside dimensions: 11 3/4" long X 8 1/2" wide by 7/8" thick and weights 3 lbs, 10 oz without anything else attached * Rubberized corners on the keyboard side of this laptop to help protect it What I don't like: * Track-pad was and is touchy -- no easy disabling keyboard function key unlike other laptops turning off the track-pad to use a mouse instead * 4 GB RAM works on this system, but for it to really shine, you need to upgrade to 8 GB RAM (see below) * First major Win 10 Pro system upgrade took almost an hour and a half to download and install * The Windows.old system file is 20 GB in size on your SSD. I will manually remove it once I'm sure everything is A-OK * Win 10 is a learning curve, so be patient with it * The battery is made into the laptop and removable after taking out 4 screws and unplugging the battery from the laptop. * There are only 2 USB ports - one USB 2 that is powered all the time and a USB3 colored black (denoted a SS on port) and not blue like normal USB3 ports * The charging port is proprietary for this model, you cannot use an old laptop charger with it (see picture - Removed) * The charger is small -- 20 volt, 2.25 A output, but is is rated for 110 V and 220 V with adapters * When in sleep mode, a small blinking red LED on the outside lid illuminates * Some Lenovo system stuff is pre-loaded, but nothing that is overly large and which may take from system capabilities * Smooth, glossy glass finish on laptop screen * Inside and at night, the laptop is bright, but outside in daylight, you have to strain to see the screen * NO backlit keyboard -- the one really negative point for me Let me share some additional discoveries with you that may save some grief. Ccleaner: I have read that Ccleaner (which I have used for years) is not recommended for Win 10. It does not play nice with the Win 10 Registry file. If you use it, use caution for program removal, but not Registry cleaning. Also, MS on certain OS upgrades will automatically erase the Ccleaner program from your system. Just a word of warning. System Restore Points: By default, Win 10, unlike other versions of Windows, turns System Restore off. Get a bad MS patch update and your system could be hosed. I recommend turning it back on in Control Panel. I allocated 10 GB of space. Cheap insurance in case an MS disaster hits you, and it does happen. Intel WiFi Driver software: Upgrade this driver ASAP. I ran mine for 2 days with old drivers. The best I was able to pull down on 2.4 Ghz "N" was 30 MB/sec on Speedtest. The speed results were the same on my Nexus 5 phone and Nexus 7 tablet using WiFi. After upgrading my driver, download speed jumped to 45 MB/sec on Speedtest. Easy to do in Windows Device Manager with Admin privileges. BT driver software: This laptop comes with the latest version driver. I do not recommend loading the Logitech software for the M557 mouse on this system. The default MS BT driver works just fine. Set up with and without Microsoft Account: I set my admin account up without a MS account. Windows sees it as a "local" account without the need to have a Microsoft Outlook account to access admin functions. I then set up a second "user" account using my Microsoft Outlook account. If I need to perform admin tasks, the UAC pops up and I put in my system admin password. I have logged in to my admin account only once only to remove Office 2016 (pesky MS). All MS updates and app store downloads require a MS account associated with this computer. Works for me. Bluetooth: This was a tough one. My Logitech Bluetooth Mouse M557 for PC, Mac and Windows 8 Tablets (910-0 03971) mouse paired right up. Worked great, but then quickly died. Cause: the default for Windows 10 is power saving. It will turn off BT after so long, unless you change the configuration is Device Manager with full admin privileges. When you do any major Windows upgrades, like the November 2015 cumulative (1511), it will again turn power save on again. You then have to go back and turn power save off to Bluetooth or your BT device will not operate. Frustrating to say the least since Windows 10 overrides your personal preferences. Take a look at my review of the M557 mouse linked above. I gave better instructions on how to avoid the problem I had and will save you some grief later using a BT accessory with this laptop/tablet. RAM upgrade: I performed this task. This laptop takes a standard 204 pin SO-DIMM DDR3L-1600 Ram Module . The original was a SK Hynix 4GB PC3L-12800S (DDR3L-1600) SO-DIMM Ram module. I replaced that 4 GB module with a Crucial 8GB Single DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Notebook Memory CT102464BF160B module and it runs much better. Upon boot, I have 1.6 GB RAM used and the Swap file was small. After some pounding, RAM usage goes up, but never to the level of the swap growing out of control. Now, that is not to say my RAM replacement was totally painless. With computers, they sometimes never are. My first RAM Module was defective and gave me a BSOD within 3 minutes of boot. Shut down and restarted, within 90 seconds, second BSOD. Only change was RAM, so my diagnosis was easy. Received the warranty module and popped it in. The replacement module worked flawlessly, no BSOD even after running it hard for hours. Amazon sells the Crucial module that works. Check the link out. Touch-screen: Touch-screen is active all the time. I found it works better in tablet move, using the tiles (icons) to start programs. I also found it easier to use touch than to use the track-pad. The response time is very good, far better than my slugged Nexus 7 tablet. Accuracy is spot on. There is a calibration setting in Windows 10, but I have not touched it since everything with touch works. Keyboard: It feels just like my desktop keyboard with the feel and clicking sounds. Like I said before -- no backlit keyboard. I really miss this feature and to put it in at the factory wouldn't cost that much more. A real missed convenience. Track-pad: Touchy is the best way I can describe it. Brushing against it will cause the cursor to jump around. I have the sensitivity cranked to the lowest setting to help with the problem. There is no hot keyboard function combo to turn it on or off like other laptops. You can turn it off, but it requires going into device manager and play with the settings. A pain to perform this task. Overall, I really like this 2-1 Yoga unit. I have something smaller in size that I can take everywhere. It is heavier than an iPad, but I have the power and connectivity of a true, full blown Windows laptop at my fingers. It is not a desktop replacement by any stretch of the imagination. I have a Intel Core i7 desktop with dual 23.5" monitors and it will smoke this little 2-1 right into next week. Being out and about, this laptop helps me remain connected with the rest of the world. I can recommend this unit to you without reservation. But I have to reserve my 5 star blessing due to the glossy screen, under-powered LCD touch-screen lighting, track-pad toggle and the lack of a back-lit keyboard. I strongly give this 2-1 laptop/tablet my 4(+) star rating. Nit picky, yes, but factual -- This is what I want to read when I read reviews for a purchase like this. Thank you for reading my long winded review. I hope it helps. PS: Amazon removed my pictures for some unknown reason. I can only guess that Amazon felt my computer parts pics were inappropriate or misleading in some unknown way. ******* 2016-04-09 - Update I have now owned this laptop for one month. In a nutshell, I like it better today than I did a month ago. Taking a week long trip to Arizona, I put this laptop through its paces as my desktop replacement on the road. I hooked up to both private and public WiFi connections like McDonald's (when they work). WiFi never dropped on me using either private or public WiFi. On public WiFi, I used a VPN service (no plugs here) and it performed as expected. My RAM module works perfectly. The replacement RAM module listed above works as expected and now with a full month of harder use, I can definitely conclude compatibility. Upgrade RAM, you will not be sorry. Battery Life: Surfing the web and email open, I can get about 5(+) hours on battery. If I shift into power saving mode, that time goes up, but how long varies with the demand on the CPU. Movies and videos tax this system and brings the battery life down. Recharge time is reasonable -- plugged in and several hours later, I'm back to 100%. Win 10 and power save will prolong the battery life between charges. Customizing: Win 10 allows for some customizing like wallpaper and boot screens. In fact, changing the boot screen background was easier on Win 10 than my older Win 7 machine. VoIP: I use Google Hangouts as my VoIP service. Making several 3 hour (180 minute) calls, this laptop kept the connection on WiFi solidly. This performance is just like my desktop system. No complaints here. I, again, can recommend this laptop/tablet combo without any reservations. It has some minor points I wish were corrected, but you learn to live with them. Looking forward to see just how long this laptop will last. If it is like my older MSI laptop, it will exceed 6 years and it is still going strong. ******* 01/04/2017 - Update Almost 10 months has passed since I purchased this 2-1 convertible laptop. In a nutshell -- it just works! My use continues to be my portable window into the computing world while I am out and about. In my ownership time, I have had several major upgrades with Win 10. The upgrade process went well, but when the process starts, you have little control over the upgrade process. One night, I did something minor with this unit, but it turned into a needless and frustrating 2½ hours Win 10 upgrade/patch session. GRR! The downside to Win 10. I have read about some end user update control features coming in the next major upgrade to Win 10 in the Spring of 2017. Let us see. Nothing has changed in my opinion of this laptop. This Yoga laptop performs just as I had expected. I'm looking to upgrade the SSD once I cross the 1 year warranty period. Not that I am running out of SSD space, but disk space is something that you can never have enough of on a computer. Besides, the price of SSD drives keep dropping and performance just keep getting better. Stay tuned for that upgrade update.