Today’s professionals already embrace mobile computing. Yet many of them face a dilemma: they love the flexibility of a tablet, yet they still require the power and performance of a laptop.  That’s one big reason why mobile workers now carry an average of 3.5 devices.

These challenges call for a new approach: convertible devices that combine the best qualities of a tablet and a laptop, all in a single, highly versatile form factor. In this eBook, you will answers to these questions:

• How are different industries embracing convertibles?
• How do you determine whether convertibles are right for your organization?
• What are the key features to consider when selecting a convertible?
• How does the new ThinkPad Helix Ultrabook™ Convertible revolutionize mobile computing?

Download the Mobility Unleashed eBook:  www.lenovo.com/helix

Originally posted by Jason Evangelho, Forbes

The first laptop I owned was a ThinkPad T20, and the next one may very likely be the ThinkPad Helix which Lenovo unveiled at CES 2013. In a sea of touch-inspired Windows 8 hardware, it’s the first ultrabook convertible with a form factor that gets everything right.

The first batch of Windows 8 ultrabooks get high marks for their inspired designs, but aren’t quite flexible enough to truly be BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) solutions. Lenovo’s own IdeaPad Yoga came close, but the sensation of feeling the keyboard underneath your fingers when transformed into tablet mode was slightly jarring. Dell‘s XPS 12 solved that problem with its clever rotating hinge design, but I wanted the ability to remove the tablet display entirely from both of those products.

Enter the ThinkPad Helix with its “rip and flip” design.

2012 was a pretty big year, in terms of mobile and enterprise mobility. Look at just a few of the milestones that spring to mind in a quick mental review of the year’s biggest mobile headlines:

A friend of mine was responsible for creating the BYOD pilot program for a Fortune 10, $50B healthcare company. In the process he learned several important and surprising lessons, which he has kindly passed along in blog form.

One lesson he learned is that the biggest cost in developing a large corporate BYOD policy rollout may not be directly related to technology or devices at all. In many cases, it’s the tab for lawyers and HR staffers to review proposed policies, and to develop the lengthy contracts employees ultimately need to sign to use their personal devices on the corporate network.

The EDUCAUSE 2012 Conference right around the corner!  The annual conference is the premier gathering of the brightest minds in higher education IT, and Lenovo invites you to join us in booth #1614 to get hands-on demonstrations of some of our latest products.

We will have hands-on demonstrations of the new ThinkPad Tablet 2, featuring Windows 8, as well as our full portfolio of ThinkPad Ultrabook PCs including the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.  See how it stacks up to the competition before the show with this X1 Carbon vs MBA infographic.

Find out more about our product showcase at EDUCAUSE here or request a 1:1 meeting with us to learn more about Lenovo, discuss our education strategy, or understand our product roadmap.

To help you prepare for the show, we invite you to download these complimentary e-briefs:

• 4 Key Mobility Trends for Instructional Technologists to Watch

• Mobile Tech Transforms Higher Education: 5 Key Trends to Watch

• Instructional Technologist’s Guide to Mobility Advances: 4 Opportunities to Make an Impact in Higher Education

Learn more about Lenovo at EDUCAUSE here:  www.lenovoeducause.com

Windows 8 is finally out. The question for enterprise is, should we care? While I don’t see any enterprise professionals doing cartwheels over it, the early returns do look somewhat promising – at least for portable devices.

I myself laid eyes on a bevy of news Windows 8 devices at a hardware vendor’s coming out party a few weeks ago, and I liked what I saw. However, there was a distinct consumer flavor to these offerings (as one might expect from the company that pioneered personal electronics back in the 1970s).

But some more robust Windows 8 devices are also on tap, and I have to think they could have some serious allure in the corporate sector. To date, while many enterprise organizations have come to tolerate the tablet, I think the number of large enterprise companies that actively embraced – or God forbid, actually pushed tablets out to users proactively – you could count on your digits, without removing your shoes. I believe that most tablets in the enterprise initially came in the back door, or in many cases, through the boardroom door as executives showed up to work with their shiny new devices and demanded that IT hook them up to the corporate network.

Originally Posted by Aaron Goldberg, Tablets at Work Blog

When we start to talk about using tablets in an enterprise, one of the first things that must be understood is that the tablets we all know and love are not industrial-strength designs focused on the needs of a commercial organization.  Rather, these are consumer-first products that have real limitations when it comes to using them for business.  And this isn’t just a hardware discussion, although there are some key hardware differences.

1.  Operating System

The first large difference that has to be addressed is the operating system.  And the operating system is dramatically impacted depending on what the tablet is used for.  Consumer tablets are for browsing, running little apps, games, and generally “light-weight” work. 

Originally Posted by Kristin Bent, CRN

Apple, Lenovo Face Off

There’s no doubt that the iPad has taken the tablet market by storm. Its sprawling collection of apps and eye-catching display have made it the clear-cut winner in the consumer market. And with the bring-your-own-device trend picking up the pace, Apple’s flagship tablet has been inching its way into the hearts of enterprise users, as well.

But, there’s a new tablet in town that may just have what it takes to de-throne the almighty iPad: Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet 2. Running Windows 8 and sporting a long list of security features sure to make IT teams smile, Lenovo’s latest gadget could rise to become the ultimate business-ready tablet.

Here’s how it shapes up against the iPad.

Originally Posted by William Hong, Lenovo Blogs

Most of us only fuel our cars approximately once per week.  When can we expect to get the same mileage from our laptops?  Imagine charging your laptop once on a Sunday, and having it last a 40-hour work week without ever needing more juice.  With ever more efficient hardware and processors, we can see that sort of performance on the horizon.  So when exactly will it happen?

“If the MacBook Air is a porcelain doll, the X1 Carbon
is a G.I. Joe strapped with Kevlar.” – Gizmodo

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Check out the infographic below to see how the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and MacBook Air stack up against each other.

Which is better? You decide.