银幕乔布斯力挺联想颠覆平板传统

    谁说平板电脑一定是扁平的？史蒂夫•乔布斯从来没有这么说过，亚马逊（Amazon）、谷歌（Google）或者三星（Samsung）也从来没这么说过。艾什顿•库彻（好莱坞演员，曾出演乔布斯——译注）甚至认为扁平是完全没有必要的（后面还有更多相关内容）。如今的平板市场，充斥着各种大同小异、毫无特色的扁平产品，衡量硬件创新的标准是轻薄度、屏幕分辨率、电池续航能力和运行速度这些指标。

    而这些都将成为历史。

    上周二，中国计算机业巨头联想公司（Lenovo）推出了一款最新的安卓（Android）平板设备。这款轻薄的设备很快就吸引了众多眼球，因为它打破了常规，在一侧设计了圆柱形的底座。底座所提供的空间可以用于安装大容量的电池。据联想方面透露，这台设备的电池续航能力达到16至18小时，如果属实，它将完胜其他竞争对手。

    这种设计听起来有些笨拙，但看起来却非常精巧。联想表示，圆柱型底座改变了设备的重量分布，更易于手持。内置支架使用户可以将设备放置在不同位置，用于打字、娱乐、阅读或观看视频。联想毫不意外地继续采用了它对可变形超级本的命名规则，将新平板设备命名为Yoga。联想Yoga超级本是市场上最受欢迎的Window 8设备。

    现在断言Yoga平板（其售价为249美元和299美元）肯定会热销还为时过早。IT媒体the Verge非常敏锐地将Yoga平板与苹果公司无线键盘（笔者认为，可以再加上苹果的触控板）的外形进行了对比，结果显示，Yoga平板设备手持非常舒适。

    相对而言，在移动计算领域，联想仍属于新人。但正如今年早些时候，笔者在《财富》杂志（Fortune）发表的一篇文章所述，联想通过一系列规模化的、明智的战略（真正的全球化、多样化）和产品创新，将PC市场的竞争对手远远甩在了后面。现在，这家公司开始将这种创新带到手机市场，联想仅用了两年时间便已经成为中国第二大和全球第四大智能手机厂商。

    目前，联想在平板市场羽翼尚未丰满。它将Yoga系列的功能性和打破常规的外形融合到平板设备当中有着重要的意义。或者正如联想新任“产品工程师”库彻对《今日美国》（USA Today）所言，他希望帮助联想的产品“尽可能方便消费者使用。”库彻是好莱坞明星，曾主演电视剧《好汉两个半》（Two and a Half Men）。库彻已经是一位多产的科技投资人，目前又有了新的副业——担任联想工程师和设计师的顾问。

    聘请名人为商品宣传是联想屡试不爽的一种策略。公司首席营销官、曾在苹果和惠普（HP）任职的戴维•罗曼在日本聘请足球明星拉动销售，在中国则邀请篮球明星代言。罗曼表示，公司与库彻的合作关系将超出普通的营销联盟，因为库彻“将挑战惯性思维，帮助我们寻求突破，为我们带来新的视角，为Yoga平板和其他设备提出自己的技术见解。”

    库彻与联想在洛杉矶展开合作，为Yoga平板举办了一场精心准备的发布会，必然会吸引注意力。只是有一点不尽如人意。发布会举办的时候正值全球各大报纸网站与博客正在热评苹果新iPad Air和iPad Mini。所以，如果你没听说过Yoga，也不意外。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓 

    Who says tablets have to be flat? There was no decree from Steve Jobs, no edict from Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG) or Samsung. Oh, and Ashton Kutcher thinks it's unnecessary (more on that later). Yet the tablet market today is a sea of often indistinguishable flat slates in which hardware innovation is measured in thinness, screen resolution, battery life and speed.

    On Tuesday, Lenovo, the Chinese computer giant, unveiled a new line of Android tablets. The thin devices immediately stand out because of a cylindrical bulge that's built along one of their edges. The cylinder provides the space for a hefty battery that, according to Lenovo, can power the devices for 16 to 18 hours, which if true, blows away the competition.

    The design may sound clunky, but it looks slick. And Lenovo says the cylinder changes the weight distribution of the device, making it easier to hold. A built-in kickstand allows users to place the tablet in a variety of positions, for typing, playing, reading or watching. Not surprisingly, Lenovo named the new tablets Yoga, after its convertible ultra book, one of the most popular Windows 8 devices to hit the market.

    It's far too early to tell whether the Yoga tablets, which are available now starting at $249 and $299, will be a hit. Early reviews, like this one from the Verge, which astutely compares the shape of the Yoga to Apple's wireless keyboard (and I may add, Apple's touchpad), suggest it is indeed quite comfortable to hold.

    Lenovo is a relative newbie in the mobile computing world. But, as I described in a Fortune profile earlier this year, Lenovo has blown past its rivals in the PC market through a combination of scale, smart strategy (truly global, diversified) and product innovation. Now it's bringing this approach to the phone market, where in just two years it climbed to No. 2 smartphone seller in China and No. 4 globally.

    Bringing the Yoga-inspired versatility and unconventional look to tablets, where the company has yet to make a splash, makes good sense. Or so says the Lenovo's latest "product engineer," the Hollywood celebrity and co-star of Two and a Half Men, Kutcher. That's right, Kutcher, already a prolific tech investor, now has a side gig as advisor to Lenovo's engineers and designers. He told USA Today that he hopes to help make Lenovo's products "as consumer friendly as possible."

    Hiring a celebrity pitchman is a tried and true strategy for Lenovo, whose chief marketing officer, Apple and HP veteran David Roman, lined up soccer stars to sell its products in Japan and basketball greats to promote them in China. Roman has said that the partnership will go beyond the typical marketing alliance, as Kutcher "will help us break new ground by challenging assumptions, bringing new perspective and contributing his technical expertise to Yoga Tablet and other devices."

    With Kutcher and Lenovo teaming up for an event in Los Angeles, the Yoga tablets had the well-orchestrated launch befitting a product that deserves attention. Except for one thing. The event was being held just as the reviews for Apple's new iPad Air and iPad Mini were hitting newspaper Web sites and blogs the world over. If you hadn't heard about the Yoga yet, now you know why.