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The Entourage Edge Lives Again – This Time as a Notebook from Lenovo

For almost a decade, companies have been trying to marry an LCD screen and an E-ink screen into a single mobile device. B&N tried the idea with their first ereader, Microsoft and Intel each demoed concept designs, and a mostly forgotten company called Entourage released not one but two dual-screen digital textbook readers.

Now Lenovo is trying the concept in their next notebook.

The Yoga Book C930 has a pair of 10.8″ screens, and weighs 1.7 pounds. It combines 2560 x 1600 resolution IPS touchscreen display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution E-ink.

It is designed so that you can use that E-ink display for writing, drawing, or typing (due to its faster refresh and color, the IPS screen would probably be better for drawing). There’s also a Wacom active pen with 4096 levels of pressure-sensitive input.

It is a pricy little bugger (around $1,000), and it should be available in October for $1000. It’s is rather under-powered for the price:

  • CPU: Intel Core M3-7Y30 or Core i5-7Y74 processor
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: Up to 256GB SSD
  • Battery: 35.8 Wh
  • Connectivity: Wifi, Bluetooth, and optional LTE
  • Optical fingerprint reader
  • Stereo speakers

I for one would pass on this. It costs more than a typical laptop but has a smaller screen and half the RAM of the laptop I’m using right now.

It’s almost as if Lenovo is trying to bring back the era where we were expected to carry around a laptop and a netbook – only now Lenovo wants to charge a premium for the idea. Why would anyone want that?

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Comments


Name August 30, 2018 um 6:25 pm

In the absence of competing manufacturers, what else to expect? Compared to an iPad Pro, $1000 for this might give you better value.


Name August 30, 2018 um 6:52 pm

Reading my comment again, it reads a bit ambigous. I meant to say that this Lenovo device provides better value than an iPad Pro does.


J. Riley Castine August 30, 2018 um 7:27 pm

I have the original yoga book in Android version and the hardware specs are very similar to this new one. Price for is literally half of what they’re charging for that new one. Instead of having the e ink screen that has the touch Halo keyboard. I had hoped that they would just have it rated the previous design but this is a disappointment.


Basem September 1, 2018 um 12:03 pm

Are you sure you can use the E-Ink screen for typing? As far as I know, browsing different technology website, is that the E-Ink can be used for a keyboard, note taking and reading PDF documents (support for MOBI and EPUB is coming).

The screen size is too small. Personally, I wouldn’t think twice to get this if the laptop was 12 inches, supported E-Ink typing, and was priced closer to $500. It would be useful to type in E-Ink and then edit with the IPS screen.

Nate Hoffelder September 1, 2018 um 12:42 pm

one product photo shows the E-ink screen displaying a keyboard.


Name September 1, 2018 um 4:17 pm

@Basem: Typing on the E-ink screen is supposed to work. There’s even a key press animation as can be seen in this video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJjq6v1VEDw


Basem September 1, 2018 um 4:39 pm

Thanks for the youtube link.

Nate: I misunderstood your post. I thought you were saying that it is possible to use the E-Ink screen for word processing, with the LCD IPS switching to a keyboard. It would be useful – due to eye strain – to use the E-Ink screen as a secondary display.

Yes, the E-Ink screen can be typed on with a virtual keyboard.


Roberto September 2, 2018 um 12:16 pm

One of the problems the first Yoga Book had was the missing haptic feedback of a proper keyboard – that is still not adressed, although if you like the rest of the ideas and don´t need to type _that_ much, it might be okay. (What I personally dislike is the Fn button far left, instead of the CRTL. Silly and contrary to most of the stuff available – and practical – , at least in Europe. Maybe with a proper Screen you are open to configure the keys to your like?!)

What I´d like to see in such a device would be a backlight on the e-ink screen, and the option to turn each screen individually on or off, dependant on which side I´d like to use in the folded mode.

I could see this as a perfect device for hassle-free reading of ebooks and (b&w) comics or books on one side, and a quite strong Windows laptop on the other. (I even managed to get Photoshop CS6 to work glitch-free on the old Yoga Book…)

1000 Bucks? (Here it will be 1000-1300 Euros…)
Not my price range and I think quite high for a niche product.

Still, the old windows model started at 600 Euros and was down in about 9 months to 400, now 300-350. So if you like this new model, I´d suggest, wait a few months 😉


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