Right now … tablets are “the hottest” products on the market. Everybody is making them, even Amazon and book sellers have tablets available for sale. And the funny thing is … they DO actually sell a lot of them! This is all thanks to apps, e-books, e-zines and newspapers, which have been the main driving force for tablet owners.
Now we’ve all heard of Apple iPads and Android tablets, as they’ve been around for a number of years, but there is another player lurking in the dark … Windows RT/8 tablets. These Windows RT/8 tablets have only recently been spotted at keynote speeches and IT exhibitions such as CES. Actual availability of these tablets have been extremely limited, due to several reasons, including a lacklustre Windows 8 apps store, and the confusion over which OS type (Windows RT/8/8 Pro) manufacturers will adopt.
Another hurdle is the cost of the components used to cope with the Windows 8 OS, making these tablets hugely expensive when compared to others. An average Windows 8 tablet will probably set you back at least USD $600, RT models will be cheaper and less powerful. With all these negative points stacked up, it’s no wonder Windows 8 is getting such bad press, and it doesn’t help when there are media groups determined to give Windows 8 a hard time. The only thing I can say is … let’s see for ourselves.
So when we got the chance to take a look at a Windows 8 tablet, we couldn’t refuse. Having an actual tablet running Windows 8 Pro in your hands is quite exhilarating feeling, albeit over-rated.
Big PC layers like Dell, HP and Lenovo have been jostling to get their Windows 8 tablets out to mass market for some time now. However, there have been delays over what type of processor different manufacturers will be using … some opted for an Intel Atom or the more powerful low-voltage Core i5, while other have chosen AMD’s APUs … with some even using Nvidia’s mobile chip, the quad-core Tegra. Whatever they use, the bottom line is that it’s ultimately governed by the OS … Windows 8.
In this quick hands-on review, we’ll be taking a look at the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 … It’s one of the thinnest and lightest Windows 8 (Pro) powered tablets available on the market. According to Lenovo, it’s the tablet you’ve been waiting for …
“Three of the world’s leading technology companies collaborated to build the world’s leading tablet experience. Featuring the best that Lenovo, Microsoft and Intel have to offer, the ThinkPad Tablet 2 redefines business, appeasing IT manager and end user alike in one productive, mobile, reliable device.”
The Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 certainly looks attractive, especially with its sleek design and matt finish. Under the bonnet, you’ll find the new dual-core Intel Atom processor Z2760 with four-threads, capable of running up to 1.80 GHz. It also features 2GB LPDD2 SDRAM and 64GB (e-MMC) of storage, which is just about enough for most Windows users these days. However having said that, will it really be enough to run a FULL version of Microsoft Office 2010?
The screen is a 10.1 inch (16:9) IPS LED touchscreen (backlight, anti-glare, 5-finger multitouch) and is capable of HD WXGA (1366×768) 720p resolution. For graphics, its powered by an integrated Intel HD SGX545 GFx, supporting 12 bit, 1080p video @30fs and DX9.
All-in-all, the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 seems to be a very powerful and full-featured tablet that runs Microsoft Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro. Let’s take a closer look at the specs.
