When my laptop decided to go paranoid, I switched to using the Lenovo Yoga 8 B6000 tablet. And it’s been awesome.
So, until the beginning of this month, I didn’t have a tablet.

Me showrooming at Croma back then

Me: I don’t have a tablet, so could you walk me through the different features?
Salesman: You don’t have a tablet?!
Me: I do not.
Salesman: And you don’t know the features of a tablet?
Me: I do not.
Salesman: Do you have a feature phone or a smartphone?
Me: Dude! I am not from the 18th Century. I am just a first time tablet user.

But anyways, the Lenovo Yoga was the obvious choice from the universe of options that were on display. It lets you do some pretty cool stuff and ranks way above others in terms of battery life and ease of use.

Fast forward to today. I have begun writing this post on the Lenovo Yoga 8 B6000 tablet, whilst getting a foot massage and a pedicure at a salon.

It’s been only 2 weeks and the Lenovo Yoga is already my calendar, address book, music player, voice recorder, traffic indicator, camera, games console, newspaper, GPS navigator, blogger, fitness indicator and social media contact device. Sometimes when I’m bored, I even use it to make phone calls. The best part is, it has a lot of stamina (Read Batter Life). I can use it with ease without having to worry about battery life.

It took me less than 5 mins to set Lenovo Yoga up with the Bluetooth in my car, and I was very pleased for figuring that out. I can do a whole lot of things with the Lenovo Yoga vis-à-vis my office computer which doesn’t let me access facebook, twitter, Linkedin, web based emails – security firewalls that are slightly less stringent that the ones used by the US government.

And yeah, it doesn’t drain the life out of your eyes. If you have had LASIK surgery and use a smartphone regularly, then you will know what I am talking about.

But, besides going over the cool features of the tablet, I thought it would be fun to share what a somewhat typical day looks like for me at the moment.

A somewhat regular day

Around 8:00AM: The alarm rings. I go for the Snooze option till I can no longer be on bed. I finally get up at 8:30. (Its winter and my blanket is super warm and cozy )

Around 8:30 AM: I check my emails, Whatsapp and other important updates, automatically synced to my tablet, respond to important mails and then finally head for the shower. I can respond to and send emails, search my folders, and delete old messages. I can also send and accept appointments.My reminder tells me that I have to take mom to the annual health check-up today. Today looks like another hectic day.

Around 9:00AM: I head for breakfast. I bring my tablet with me, so that I can look things over and plan my day.I’ve gained weight, and the Fitbit is helping me take it off again. I’m still not down to the weight I was at, but little by little…step by step…I know I’ll get there. The mobile app for the same on the tablet keeps me updated throughout the day.

9:30 AM: I start preparing a spot at my kitchen table to take pictures of products I’ll talk about in an upcoming blog post. I use the tablet for the pictures, although not of DSLR standard, are brilliant enough.

10:00 AM: Today, I am travelling to Pune, a 4 hour drive. I switched on the ‘Navigation’ app and the ‘Google Maps’ app. From this, I can figure out the directions and traffic status. This, I must say, is one of the best features of the tablet. Technology at its best. Because people who know me in real life also know that I get lost easily. I connect my phone to the car stereo to listen to my favourite playlist. Wow. The Mumbai Pune expressway rocks.

14:30 PM: Finally arriving at my destination (better late than never), I head to the hotel. Time to find a place for Lunch. I use Zomato to find restaurants that are close by, check the menus, and, most importantly, the ratings. This handy app, which is available for the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, allows me to try local establishments rather than relying on chain restaurants. It can then switch over to Google Maps which gives me walking or driving directions to the location.

15:00 PM: The meeting has started. I don’t carry the notepad and pen to take down notes. Instead, I use the tablet. The icing on the cake is, the Lenovo Yoga tablet looks very sexy and appealing. Perfectly suited for use in a formal meeting or a casual one.The fact that it can be positioned in multiple ways, is so unlike those boring standard laptops or tablets out there.

16:00 PM: Finally done with the Meeting. Now time to head back home.On a way back, we got a flat tire. This would’ve caused a major delay, but the tablet had the ‘Justdial’ app installed, which let me quickly get in touch with the nearest service centre. The convenience of that was awesome.

17:00 PM: “The Irritating Boss”. My boss called me and wanted me to send over the power-point deck and the underlying calculations I was working on yesterday. I was supposed to send them tomorrow and so, they were still in draft mode. I quickly opened the files (For those who think that a tablet is just a big smartphone, they are mistaken), made some changes and emailed them across, instead of having to wait until I got home, when it would be too late. That was a huge thing.

19:00 PM: Vashi is here. There is a Mega Sale going on at Raghuleela Mall. That’s music to my ears. I have to buy some stuff as gifts for the upcoming wedding season (Why the hell is everyone on a wedding spree?, but anyways…). Again, the flipkart and Snapdeal app will tell me whether the mall discount is actually a discount or just one of those shopping discount scams.

20:30 PM: Finally back home. Rescheduled taking my mom to the doctors, to tomorrow morning. Right now, I would prefer to read and read, till I doze off. The perfect size of the screen lets me to read ebooks conveniently, without stressing out my eyes. The long battery backup comes extremely handy. Its been over 5 hours of active usage and I still have plenty of power to last for a couple of hours of reading, till I sleep.

23:00 PM: Time to turn in. I realize that I have been productive and connected during my entire travel day without opening my laptop.

These are just a few of the apps on my phone and a tiny number of those that are available.

Why did I go for a Lenovo tablet over a laptop or a better smartphone?

Lenovo Yoga being what it is, it offers the perfect combination of long battery life, more utility value than a smartphone and a lot more portability than a laptop. In short, it is the swiss army knife of gadgets, and offers the best of all worlds.

Of all tablets, Lenovo Yoga is trying to do something different and unique, taking a risk to give the user that extra bit of world class experience at an affordable price. Hats off to the product team at Lenovo.
PS: You realise the importance of most importantly, the battery when you feel helpless in front of a dead phone. Every one of us has been there atleast once.

And the must haves of an ideal tablet are;

• Tablet as a card – An ideal tablet should letme store tickets, vouchers and loyalty cards on your phone. I can simply shove your phone under the scanner to board a plane, enter a concert or get your 10th coffee free at your favourite cafe. It’s going to be a sleeper technology, but it’s the next piece of the puzzle in Lenovo’s plans for world domination.
• Lots of battery power – I guess I am paranoid about battery backup. But this is the most common complaint by smart gadget users.
• Simple to use & “Cool” – This is what Microsoft did wrong and Apple did right. Need I say more?

P.S: This entry is for Indiblogger’s Lenovo #Betterway Contest. Check out the Lenovo India Facebook page for more details..https://www.facebook.com/LenovoIndia