Lenovo pursues the dream of creating a Nintendo Switch PC with the LaVie Mini concept

Every year at CES we see devices meant to connect the worlds of handheld and PC gaming. This year, Lenovo and NEC are still pursuing this dream with the LaVie Mini. The device is a hybrid laptop-laptop game console concept, and it includes a touchscreen, controller, and docking station accessories.

For those unfamiliar with the name, LaVie is a joint venture between Lenovo and NEC, and while most of its products don’t make it to the US, it has had some success at CES in the past, focused on laptops. ultra-light.

On its own, the LaVie Mini appears to be a reasonably powerful and compact computer. The device, if it were real, would have an 8-inch touchscreen with 1920 x 1200 resolution and an 11th generation Intel processor with Xe graphics. Of course, there isn’t really room for a trackpad, but the concept’s design makes room for a Blackberry-style optical touch sensor.

Image: Lenovo

But acting like a laptop isn’t really why this concept exists. It exists to pursue the dream of having a portable gaming computer, more powerful than the devices Nintendo has been famous for making.

LaVie also created a game controller accessory, which connects to the laptop after you fold up the keyboard. The controller has the same buttons and layout as the Xbox gamepad, so it will be familiar to many gamers, although its weight probably won’t – the laptop weighs 1.28 pounds. without the attached controller. For comparison, the Nintendo Switch weighs 0.88 pounds with the Joy-Con attached.

However, don’t start going to the gym to strengthen your forearms just yet. At the moment, there is no announced price or release date for the Mini. We saw many PC makers come up with similar concepts and ideas for portable gaming PCs at CES.

Most, like last year’s Alienware UFO concept, never make it to market eventually, as these prototypes are often less about making viable consumer products and more about experimenting with new ideas and form factors and to get the press attention you need during CES. Some go on sale but don’t end up attracting enough gamers to really make an impact, like the Razer Edge or the first Nvidia Shield handheld.

Still, it’s easy to see why businesses keep coming back to the idea of ​​a computer that lets you play PC-grade games anywhere. The Nintendo Switch has shown that, when done right, handheld gaming can deliver a home console-quality experience that people can’t get enough of. Who doesn’t want to be able to play a game on the go, then come home, put the same device on a docking station connected to their TV, and pick up where they left off?

It’s an experience, by the way, that the LaVie Mini would support with its optional docking station accessory if it ever came to market.

Image: Lenovo

For now, this experience (at least for people who want this device to be a PC) will likely stay outside the realm of products they can actually buy. But the LaVie Mini shows that the dream is still alive and can in fact come true sooner or later. For now, we’ll have to wait until next week’s CES to see if LaVie releases more details on the Mini.