Does the world need another convertible device? Lenovo thinks so. The company is trying to cash in on the new convertible tablet and laptop trend with the all-new Lenovo ThinkPad Twist. As the name suggests, this laptop twists, quite literally. Is there a real purpose to the twisting feature, or is this just another gimmick? More importantly, is Lenovo offering anything that consumers really can’t live without or is the Twist just another humdrum product? Here’s the scoop.

Lenovo Twist Hardware

Once you’ve seen a Lenovo ThinkPad, you’ve pretty much seen them all. The Twist looks like all the other ThinkPads on the market. You’ll find the same matte material and compact body that other ThinkPad models are known for. The Twist is a slightly different color (a dark purplish tinge instead of that popular matte black), but that’s about the only really noticeable body difference when looking at the folded Twist. Unfolding the Twist reveals a screen that actually twists. You can twist this screen from left to right and almost all the way around. The 12.5-inch screen can also lay flat or fold into a compact laptop.

Given the fact that Lenovo caters to the business crowd almost exclusively, it’s no surprise that the Twist was built for the business set as well. Keeping traveling business people in mind, Lenovo added a whole bunch of ports to the side of the Twist. You will find a headphone jack, Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, SD card reader (full-size), mini HDMI port, and a MiniDisplay port – yep, that’s a lot of ports!

Image Quality

Lenovo tends to make decent screens, and the Twist is no exception to this rule. The Twist comes with a 1366 X 768 resolution screen with an IPS display. Viewing items on the Twist screen means seeing things rather clearly, and the colors that are displayed are also nice and crisp. If you’re looking for a laptop that will help you out with presentations, the Twist will get the job done. If you want something that can be used to watch movies clearly, the Twist might not be the best option available.

Sound Quality

Let’s face it; few laptops have good sound quality. The Twist is another average laptop when it comes to sound. Don’t expect to crank up the tunes or experience great gaming sound when using the Twist.

Software Details

The Twist comes with a 2.6GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 24GB SSD. You’ll also get a 500GB spinning drive thrown in for extra measure. The base model Twist does have a lot going for it, but Lenovo isn’t giving the new Twist away. At $899.99, the Twist is certainly not the cheapest laptop on the market. If you want to upgrade to 8GB of RAM, you’ll have to tack on an extra $180. When all is said and done, the Twist is a novel laptop that will make the average business person quite happy.