Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 8 will let you use metal instead of a stylus

When we think of using input devices on tablets or smartphones, our mind usually jumps to a stylus, but Lenovo wants to make you think about a real pen without ink or even a fork, for that matter. The new Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 isn’t too much of an innovation compared to the Fall launches of the Chinese company, but it brings forth a new technology: AnyPen. AnyPen Technology will let you use any kind of metal object as a stylus alternative to input text or drawings into the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2.

Neat right? Imagine waking up in the morning, with your stylus missing, and finding yourself in need of a device to help you groggily write a note about your dreams last night. The keyboard would be annoying to use in such a state, so a stylus would be ideal, but there’s none at hand at the moment. Don’t fret! If you have a tablet with AnyPen Technology from Lenovo, like the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2, you can use your nail file or the end of your Swiss army knife (which you keep in handy when you sleep because you’re paranoid) to draw and poke at the tablet, without damaging it. You can also use pencils and ball-point pens if you like, but I find Swiss army knives are the best when it comes to accuracy. Jokes aside, the AnyPen Technology really allows touch input from any kind of pointy device, which means if you don’t really want to buy a stylus, you don’t have to.

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 comes with an 8 inch display that has a 1080p resolution and runs on Windows 8.1. The AnyPen input isn’t all there is to the device, though, as the slate comes with the new 64 bit Intel Atom CPU backed by 2 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. Lenovo also packed some neat stereo speakers with Dolby Audio and Wolfson amplification into the slate, so that you can enjoy high quality sound. The tablet also features an 8 MP rear camera and a 1.6 MP front camera and all the package is powered by a pretty beefy 6700 mAh battery.

If you’re wondering about battery life on the tablet, the company says it will hold out for 15 hours, which wouldn’t be surprising at all, seeing as Lenovo slates have an extremely good track-record when it comes to battery life. The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 keeps the design element of previous Yoga tablets, meaning that you will have various modes you can use it in, including a hang mode, stand mode, tent mode and a tablet mode, which comprise my favorite features on Lenovo tablets in general. The price for the tablet that supports any kind of metal stylus alternatives is set at $300, which is quite affordable and appropriate in my mind. You should be able to buy it later this month and it will be available for U.S. customers, too.