Let me put it bluntly at the very outset: The modern worker is a merciless user of his devices—mobiles, tablets or laptops, the last category especially comes in for some special ‘shock and awe’ treatment. Let us not forget these are pandemic times, most of us are working from home and office workloads are unusually heavy. The young workforce is working on various projects concurrently across multiple devices. Yet, switching between tasks and platforms often results in the loss of efficiency. In short, there is a dire need for powerful devices, ubiquitous internet access, and cloud-based apps that make working anywhere, anytime, possible.
Honestly speaking, this reviewer was rather intrigued when Lenovo sent us its new innovation—ThinkBook Plus—for trial purpose. It is a well-made, nicely designed laptop with an ergonomic keyboard and two screens (yes, you guessed it right), with prices starting `99,990. My guess is it is meant for those who are looking for something that is innovative in design and appearance and yet great at multitasking.
The ThinkBook Plus comes with a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel IPS main display, Intel i7-10710U 1.1Ghz processor, 16GB of DDR4 memory, and a 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD. It supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5, and ships with Windows 10 Pro. Amazon’s Alexa app is built-in, and Lenovo hopes you’ll take advantage of the integrated far-field microphones to talk to your laptop like a smart device.
When opened, the ThinkBook Plus looks just like your regular device, with thin bezels around the display, aluminum base and lid, and well-built chassis.
However, when you close it, you are going to see the secondary screen. Let me take a deep-dive here. Basically, we are looking at a dual display setup; you can take notes or read e-documents on the 10.8-inch display, even when the laptop is closed. The 13.3-inch laptop panel delivers crisp, clear details. Since many users will be doing the majority of their work on the interior of the laptop, the anti-glare display is fine for undertaking mundane tasks such as writing reports, surfing the Internet or watching YouTube videos and movies. The bezels are nice and slim, giving viewers a bit more real estate to play with.
Talking about the lid, the ThinkBook Plus features an innovative e-Ink cover display that helps users to be more productive when multitasking by improving focus, collaboration and creativity. The e-Ink display is made from Corning Gorilla Glass NBT, a unique glass solution for touch-enabled notebooks that provides enhanced scratch resistance, and reduced scratch visibility. The key point here is the traditional clamshell laptop has indeed come of age.
Without doubt, the innovative e-Ink cover display has to be the major highlight here. In terms of its usability, you can collaborate better by staying focused during meetings by receiving only essential notifications on the cover display such as calendar appointments, instant messages or important emails. You can also use it as an e-reader and to review and annotate PDF documents. You can take notes instantly with the integrated Precision Pen, which can be synced with Microsoft OneNote. You can also control internet voice/video calls quickly with meeting hotkeys and experience better audio clarity with Harman speakers and Skype-certified microphones. With Amazon Alexa for PC integrated, it is possible to quickly execute several common tasks, without the need to open the laptop.
Additionally, you can create and convert real-time ideation into diagrams and notes by sketching on the cover screen with the Precision Pen. You can review documents quickly without distractions on the cover display that supports annotations. Of course, you always have the option of opening the laptop for more complex tasks, leveraging the power of Intel i7-10710U 1.1Ghz processor, Windows 10 Pro, standard solid-state storage (SSD) and Intel UHD Graphics 200.
Plus, the ThinkBook Plus is loaded with fast and convenient features such as Smart Power On, which lets you log in and boot up in a flash with one touch. With Modern Standby, you can wake the laptop from sleep in less than half of a second— and be able to browse the web a second later. It has a pretty decent 4 Cell 45Wh battery, which Lenovo says should be good for about 10 hours on a single charge. My guess is E Ink displays generally don’t consume a lot of power—in fact they only need juice when refreshing—so I don’t expect that it will affect battery life too much.
Bottom line: Lenovo has created a dual-screen laptop that is great and performs well. The ThinkBook Plus is pretty fast, smooth, sleek, and just the perfect size for a work laptop that travels easily. The innovative cover display shows your important notifications, so no more checking your mobile for email during meetings. Lenovo’s idea of putting a second screen is indeed laudable.
SPECIFICATIONS
Display: 13.3-inch FHD IPS display (main), 10.8-inch e-Ink cover display (lid)
Processor: Intel i7-10710U 1.1Ghz
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 200
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro
Memory & storage: 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
Battery: 4 Cell, 45W battery
Estimated street price: Rs 99,990 onwards