Some of you might know that once upon a time, before the “food thing”, I used to be an IT consultant.
I was an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator) and CNA (Certified Novell Administrator) and did contract work in Sydney and London for some 7+ years.
Back in late 2014, baby Noah broke my brand new laptop just before I was headed to Malaysia. I shared about it on social media and it caught the attention of Lenovo, who offered to send me one of theirs.
While I was very grateful, my hubris developed from years as a know-it-all techie – Lenovo had never been on my radar when shopping for laptops – meant I actively tried to find fault with it.
An initial hiccup setting up that Lenovo laptop turned out to be completely my fault and once I realised and fixed the glitch, everything was smooth sailing. Not only that, while in the past my laptop used to be the heaviest computer I took on my travels, my Yoga 2 Pro was now the lightest, weighing in at less than my iPad + case.
I’ve now been using Lenovo devices for over a year and I will never look back. When I needed a new small tablet for my Kindle books recently, I went ahead and bought a Lenovo on Amazon; that’s how much I’ve come to respect the brand.
A week ago I was sent a Yoga Home 500 multi-mode PC and tablet to check out. I haven’t owned a desktop PC for probably at least 2 years since my last one died; I’ve done all my work on laptops since.
I realised once I unboxed the unit, how much I’ve missed having a large screen – the Yoga Home 500 comes with a huge 21.5” display.
I’ve got the Yoga Home 500 set up on a bench in my kitchen studio, and I’ve been using it for internet browsing, recipe research and social media interactions. Its portability means I can just carry it closer to me so I can follow a recipe while cooking.
As a full-fledged PC I could use it for other tasks as well; I just haven’t had the need because I do most of my writing and admin on my laptop in my study.
We don’t own a television, so this has now turned into our central entertainment system. Baby Noah watches his Wiggles shows on it, and the stereo speakers and beautiful sound allow me to also use it to play music from my Spotify account.
The integrated battery means I can unplug it and set it up as a giant gaming tablet. The unit comes with paddles and joysticks that you can use on some games.
Baby Noah and I have played Ice Hockey on it by laying it flat, and it’s been perfect for some educational apps for his development as well – the musical keyboard and colouring-in apps keep him highly engaged. I also love its sturdiness because Noah being Noah can get a bit rough with his handling.
Of course, thanks to its large screen, I use it to watch my shows when I’m stuck in the kitchen cooking as well 🙂
Yoga Home 500 features –
- Light and portable with 2 ways to work & play
- Designed for all the family to enjoy
- Integrated, 3-hour battery
- Latest Intel® Core™ i processors
- Powerful NVIDIA® discrete graphics
- 21.5” Full HD 10-point multitouch display
- Stunning sound from integrated speakers
- Unique Aura interface when used as a giant tablet
- Ecosystem of multiplayer, multitouch apps
SPECIFICATIONS
OS – Windows 10
Screen – 21.5” 10-point multitouch Full HD with LED panel
CPU – Up to 5th Generation Intel® CoreTM i5
Discrete Graphics – Up to NVIDIA® GeForce® 920A 1G VRAM (gDDR3)
Integrated Graphics – Intel® Broadwell
Memory – Up to 4GB, or 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
Storage – Up to 500GB, or 1TB HDD | Up to 500GB, or 1TB SSHD
Audio – 2 integrated 2.8 W Speakers
Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0. Up to WiFi ac or b/g/n, NFC
Ports – 1 x 1:6 multi-card reader, 3 x USB 3.0, 1 x headphone/MIC, 1 x power DC-in, 1 x HDMI-in
Battery – Up to 3 hour, 6 cell 48Wh
Webcam/Mic 1080p with Dual Mic Array 1080P Light Sensor
Weight 4.62 kg
Dimensions 526.4 mm x 318.6 mm x 39.5 mm
