In addition to a Bluetooth keyboard at $120,
Lenovo also offers a variety of accessories. They include a $40 cover with 2
slots: one for the keyboard and the other for the tablet. It is available in
black and red. Meanwhile, at $50, the Slim cover is thinner and folds
backwards, turning it into a base. You need an extra external port in addition
to the only USB 2.0 port? Lenovo also sells a $100 dock with Ethernet, HDMI and
there USB connections. What stays at the end of the list is a DC charger set (at
$20) and a VGA adapter (at $40).
Screen, stylus and audio
As every other tablet that is powered by
Atom processors, the ThinkPad Tablet 2 has the resolution of 1,366x768 (if you
want 1080p, you will have to buy an i5, or you can try AMD). However, as we
have said many times before, the total number of pixels is not all that matters:
we prefer the screen here, because the IPS technology creates a wide viewing
angle. We did not encounter any problems with glare, and in fact, the screen
that is easy to view means that it’s certain you can deal with using it on your
lap – even if you cannot adjust the angle of the screen on the Bluetooth
keyboard dock. The only thing it has to struggle with is outdoor use: even with
brightness at its maximum level, we almost weren’t able to focus on a photo
under direct sunlight.
The
thinkpad Tablet 2 has the resolution of 1,366x768 (if you want 1080p, you will
have to buy an i5, or you can try AMD).
The specification we tested has a dual Wacom
digitizer set that supports manual and stylus inputs. However, that is not the
standard feature: Lenovo is also selling its versions with manual input that
doesn’t have the stylus (or even the stylus slot). If you want to paint, models
with two sets of digitalizers have the starting price with $50 more.
So, which should you choose to use? We
think that a bit of input with stylus is better than none, but we have to say: the
writing experience here is not smoother than what you would feel on other
Windows 8 devices such as Surface Pro or Asus Taichi 21. Technically, the
stylus can recognize pressure, as we noticed while scribbling in Fresh Paint,
but it feels like it is less sensitive than other styluses available today.
Even with the writing, we felt like we had to push harder than on other
tablets.
However, at this price, most hybrid
computers using Atom do not provide stylus support as an option, so if you want
long battery life and the ability to doodle this time, this could be the best choice
for you. Moreover, at least you have the ability to customize the way the
stylus really works; using the available QuickSnip application, you can program
the buttons of the stylus so that it works as right-click or capturing screen.
You
can program the buttons of the stylus so that it works as right-click or
capturing screen.
Basing on the fact that the ThinkPad Tablet
is a tablet, its volume here proves to be astonishingly abundant, especially in
the quiet space such as a private room and conference room. When we wanted to
hear, we usually set the volume at 50% to 75%. The quality was not bad at all. We
could possibly just get used to the speakers of mediocre tablets at the moment,
but we had fun listening to classic and rock songs. If you do not notice the
distortion of sound on your laptop, for sure you will not either here. And if
you notice it, it is certain you have had Jambox or something convenient.
Performance and battery life
An interesting thing about evaluating
hybrid computers power by Atom is that they often have the same specifications:
Intel Atom Z2760 1.8GHz CPU, Intel HD graphics and 2GB RAM. It really helps us
to directly compare their performance. That is, their scores are nearly equal.
During the ATTO disk test, for example, the ThinkPad Tablet 2 had a slightly
similar score as that of the HP Envy x2 and of Samsung ATIV Smart PC. Its
PCMark7’s scores were also close to x2’s score.
In any case, as we have said many times
before, while Atom may not be suitable for gaming or editing images
excellently, it handles Windows 8 very neatly. Swiping through open programs
feels smooth, and programs boot up very quickly. There was no case of crashes,
which we connot say about every device we have ever tested. If you make a cold
boot, the tablet will take about 15 seconds to boot to the Start Screen, which
is 3 to 5 seconds slower compared to what you can expect from a hybrid computer
powered by an i5. It seems quite reasonable to us. Moreover, the design with no
fan is also largely successful in reducing heat; after 1 hour of surfing the
Internet in IE10, the upper corner of the rear panel was quite warm, but not
hot.
Lenovo says the tablet has battery life of
10 hours. Normally, we found these battery indicators are for the best scenario,
even, to be frank, entirely fiction. But the ThinkPad Tablet 2 is really worthy
as with the manufacturer's announcement. In the standard battery test
(repeating videos, Wi-Fi on, fixed screen brightness), we had 10 hours 27
minutes much more than what we ever had on any Windows 8 computers else powered
by Atom. Technically, devices such as Acer W510 and HP Envy x2 provide longer
operating time, but it is only true when you also count their keyboard dock,
which has a second battery installed inside.
Lenovo
says the tablet has battery life of 10 hours.
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 (Intel Atom
Z2760 1.8Ghz, Intel HD):
·
PCMark 7: 1,423
·
3DMark06: 460
·
ATTO (the highest disk speeds): 83MB/s (read);
35MB/s (write)
HP Envy (Intel Atom Z2760 1.8Ghz, Intel
HD):
·
PCMark 7: 1,425
·
3DMark06: N/A
·
ATTO (the highest disk speeds): 83MB/s (read);
34MB/s (write)
Samsung ATIV Smart PC (Intel Atom Z2760
1.8Ghz, Intel HD):
·
PCMark 7: N/A
·
3DMark06: 374
·
ATTO (the highest disk speeds): 82MB/s (read);
36MB/s (write)
Acer Iconia W510 (Intel Atom Z2760
1.8Ghz, Intel HD:
·
PCMark 7: 1,297
·
3DMark06: N/A
·
ATTO (the highest disk speeds): 81MB/s (read);
28MB/s (write)
Windows 8 systems and battery:
·
ThinkPad Tablet 2: 10:27
·
Acer Iconia W510: 8:19 (tablet only) / 14:17
(with dock)
·
HP Envy x2: 7:53 (tablet only) / 1,230 (with
dock)
·
Acer Iconia W700: 7:13
·
Samsung Ativ Smart PC (AT & T): 7:04 (WiFi
only) / 6:43 (LTE)
Camera
The
main 8MP camera of the tablet is similar to that of other tablets, with
significant detail at full resolution and good color, but just a little dumb.
The main 8MP camera of the tablet is
similar to that of other tablets, with significant detail at full resolution
and good color, but just a little dumb. Latency when shooting photos seems
shorter than that of other products, so you will probably not have to wait for
so long. However, macro performance is an erratic perspective: some of our
efforts for close-up shooting led to a very sharp background and a blurred
subject. Basically, it was the opposite of what we were looking for. As this is
a Windows 8 tablet, of course, there is no way to adjust the focus. (Nor is
there nothing remarkable about special image filters or HDR enhancements).
Meanwhile, the videos showed little shadows, but the microphone wasn’t clear in
the wind and the noise caused much distraction in the background. Remember
that, please, before you take this tablet out in your next trade fair.
