We’ve seen a recent trend towards dual-displays on certain notebooks, with the keyboard doubling as an extra screen. Lenovo’s new Yoga Book C930 with its e-ink display is very much their star of the show, unveiled today at IFA 2018, currently underway in Berlin, Germany.  

Lenovo notes it’s the world’s first dual display notebook with an extra E Ink display, and while the regular touchscreen LCD display is pretty much standard (10.8", 2560 x 1600), it’s the E Ink display (also 10.8" but Full HD) that draws the eye. Since we were here at the launch in Berlin, we got to play around with the Yoga Book C930 a bit. It’s a good looking, fun device, and yes, we believe it’s practical too.

There are basically three modes available depending on your needs. Firstly, it’s a regular keyboard, which in our opinion did not do too bad a job of typing, considering there’s no key-travel, although haptic feedback is provided. If you need to jot down notes or want to scribble, it turns into a notepad, and you can write on it with the Precision Pen that’s in the box. Finally, and since this is a Yoga –  the screen can use the hinge to fold back onto itself – you can use it as a e-reader, with support for different formats.

Importantly, the Yoga Book C930 is not a big machine, coming in at 9.9 mm thick, which means it can actually be used as an ebook reader or notepad without making it awkward. At 775 g, this notebook is also not too heavy, although we doubt if this would be your first choice if you’re only looking for an ereader.

Two processor options are available, with the Intel Core i5-7Y54 being the one, and the m3-7Y30 the other. It’s stocked with 4 GB RAM (LPDDR3) and up to 256 GB SSD storage, with microSD card support offered too (512 GB). Lenovo notes that the 4650 mAh battery  should last close to 8.6 hours, so basically a full working day. To make sure videos sound as good as they should, there’s also two speakers with noise cancelling support included. On the side is two USB Type C ports, and a microSD card/SIM card tray. Interestingly, tap the device twice on its cover when it’s closed and it pops slightly open – quite cool.

As one of the new range of products launched by Lenovo, the Yoga Book C930 might not find a place in the home for someone looking for a benchmark busting workhorse. But we can easily see it being carried around by both consumers and professionals alike, after a product that will attract attention, while also offering what we believe to be a very practical E Ink solution.