CES 2021 | Lenovo and NEC offer compact Tiger Lake devices — the Lavie Mini 8-inch handheld gaming PC and the Lavie Pro Mobile 13-inch ultrabook

Aside from launching several new products under its own brand at CES 2021, Lenovo also announced new devices made by its joint venture company NEC Corporation. The Lavie Mini and Lavie Pro Mobile are based on the Intel Tiger Lake platform and are designed for ultra portable computing.

Lavie Mini

The Lavie Mini is a pocket-sized convertible PC built for mobile gaming. Coming in Crystal White, the Lavie Mini weighs just 579 g. Don't be misled by the size though as this mini PC manages to pack up to an Intel Core i7-1180G7 Tiger Lake processor with built-in Xe graphics.

The 8-inch touchscreen display sports a WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) resolution and is a 400-nit touchscreen with an integrated IR camera that is Windows Hello-compliant. Complementing the Tiger Lake chip is 16 GB LPDDR4X-4266 dual-channel RAM and an M.2 2242 256 GB PCIe NVMe SSD.

A keypad with circular keys makes typing feel less-cumbersome; the keys are backlit as well. Despite its compact size, the Lavie Mini offers good connectivity. There's Wi-Fi 6 2x2 with Bluetooth 5.1, 2x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen2, and a combo audio jack.

NEC is offering a couple of optional accessories for the Lavie Mini. The first of these is the wireless attachable controller for gaming on the move. The wireless controller has the same layout as that of an Xbox controller. Third-party gaming controllers can be used as well.

The other accessory is the gaming dock. The gaming dock allows switching the output to an external display via the two HDMI ports while also offering added connectivity which includes 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A and 2x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C. The dock allows for charging the Lavie Mini's 26 WHr battery as well.

The NEC Lavi Mini is currently still a prototype; therefore, it is not available for purchase yet.

Lavie Pro Mobile

While the Lavie Mini is still a prototype, the Lavie Pro Mobile is a retail device. The Lavie Pro Mobile is designed for ultra mobility thanks to its 13.3-inch screen and a carbon material chassis that is just 0.66 inches thick and weighs 889 g.

The Lavie Pro Mobile also features Intel Tiger Lake processors and unlike the Mini, this ultrabook comes equipped with a Core i7-1165G7 chip, 16 GB LPDD4x RAM, and a 512 GB NVMe SSD. The 13.3-inch FHD display is nearly bezel-less on three sides, but NEC hasn't provided much information about the display itself.

Despite sporting such as slim profile, the Lavie Pro Mobile's keyboard offers 1.5 mm key travel. Unfortunately, there is no backlighting available. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 come standard along with a decent assortment of ports including 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C with power delivery and DisplayPort-out, 1x HDMI 2.0b, a microSD card slot, and a combo audio jack.

A 49 WHr battery powers the innards, and NEC states that it can last up to 10 hours while being able to rapidly charge up to 80% in an hour. The Lavie Pro Mobile will start from US$1,699. Availability will be disclosed at a later date.