Lenovo Tablet Review

Story first appeared in USA TODAY.


Persuading people to embrace a tablet that's not an Apple iPad compels rivals to come at buyers from a different angle. Lenovo's angle is to market a tablet at mobile professionals and students for office or classroom use. As the Chinese computer maker behind the ThinkPad-branded notebooks that are popular in business, Lenovo would appear to have the chops to pull it off.

The result is the ThinkPad Tablet that went on sale recently. I've appreciated many ThinkPad notebooks dating back to the IBM days — Lenovo snagged the ThinkPad franchise from IBM more than six years ago — so I was curious how Lenovo's tablet would measure up. Well, Lenovo has produced a solid machine — one that in the end I liked but didn't love.

Though the design and use of a tablet obviously differ from a laptop, you get the sense that the device was meant to evoke warm feelings from fans of ThinkPad notebooks. It costs $499 for a model with 16 gigabytes of storage, $569 for 32 GB and $669 for 64 GB. All are Wi-Fi-only; Lenovo hasn't announced specifics for versions with cellular connectivity, though a SIM slot is on board.

The tablet fuses business needs with entertainment and runs Android version 3.1 Honeycomb. It's about an inch taller than an iPad 2 and thicker. At 1.65 pounds, it's got some girth — providing space for a full-size USB 2.0 port that is concealed behind a sliding door. (Apple iPad has no USB.) There's also a microUSB port (you can use for charging) and a miniHDMI port for connecting to a high-definition television (at 1080p) and microSD card reader. There are front- and rear-facing cameras but no flash.

ThinkPad has a 10.1-inch multitouch display protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass. The screen didn't wow me. The home screens are a combination of icons, widgets, a carousel app wheel and a so-called Lenovo Launcher for quick access to frequently used apps, but I found the overall software interface to be cluttered and a little confusing. I rarely used the four physical buttons at the bottom of the screen (in portrait mode) for locking the screen, browsing, returning to a previous screen, and returning to the home screen.

As with the iPad, you can browse the Web (including Adobe Flash video, unlike iPad), fire slingshots on Angry Birds or watch a flick via Netflix. Those are among the preloaded apps, joining an app collection that includes Amazon's Kindle app, Amazon MP3, Slacker radio and the Zinio magazine reader. You can, of course, tap into the Android Market to fetch additional apps or browse through a modest selection in Lenovo's own App Shop, a nod to IT managers who might be concerned about viruses turning up on apps purchased elsewhere.

Still, you are drawn to this machine for its serious side. Along those lines, Lenovo supplies free Documents To Go software that lets you create and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files — an app that otherwise costs $14.99 in the Android market. The machine has security and remote access tools aimed at keeping the IT manager at your company happy. A USB file manager app lets you easily drag and organize files from a USB drive onto the tablet.

What stood out for me, though: a pair of optional accessories. For starters, ThinkPad is one of the few modern tablets to take advantage of a pressure-sensitive digitizer pen that you can use to draw, doodle or capture notes in a lecture hall or meeting room. The pen costs $30 at Lenovo.com. Too bad the company didn't include it gratis.

One place to use the pen is in MyScript's Notes Mobile app. You can leave notes in a notebook just as you wrote them or convert your scribbles into text, with more misses than hits in my test. You can also use the pen in Documents To Go.

The other accessory is a $100 keyboard folio that lets you prop up the tablet to use with a physical qwerty keyboard. When you're done, you leave the tablet inside and fold the whole thing up into a neat cover. It's a fine mobile keyboard, even if it doesn't measure up to the ones on ThinkPad notebooks. I was less pleased with the finicky optical Trackpoint that made me long for its eraser-head counterpart on Lenovo notebooks. Lenovo says the machine will last 8.7 hours off a single charge with Wi-Fi turned on. But I got only a little more than six hours in an informal battery test with brightness turned up to the max and a heavy dose of streaming video. The machine should do better under less-taxing conditions.

If you're looking for a tablet that mixes business and pleasure, ThinkPad fits the bill.

3D PC won't fly without Content

ZD net

Content and market demand will play key roles in determining whether 3D PCs sink or swim, industry watchers say, though the market is confident that this will veer more toward the latter.

Bryan Ma, the associate vice president for devices and peripherals at IDC Asia-Pacific's domain research and practice groups, told ZDNet Asia in a phone interview that with regard to user demand, it is still early days yet, with much of the interest being shown by gamers and those looking to use their PCs as entertainment devices.

As for enterprise demand, he went on to point out that there may be some users who are happy to have 3D PCs to work on their AutoCAD designs or spreadsheets, but such use cases are "limited".

Gartner principal research analyst Lillian Tay concurred, saying that 3D PC is still an "emerging market" and developments still ongoing.

"Currently, PCs introduced are capitalizing on the hype [of 3D technology] and used to test the market. These target the early adopters, especially gamers who want an added unique experience while playing their games, and consumer demand is primarily driven by this group currently," she said in her e-mail.

All about content

IDC's Ma also pointed out the second factor that could influence the adoption of 3D PCs: content. He said that this was similar to the initial challenge faced by 3D movie makers and TV manufacturers, although the latter two sectors have made strides in building up their content ecosystem.

He mentioned that sports programs and blockbuster movies are some of the potential drivers for the 3D PC market, as these play key roles in encouraging uptake for movies and TVs. He also said that pornography, while taboo in certain societies, could also have a significant part in boosting demand for such PCs.

Another industry watcher, Li Ai-Jung, a notebooks product marketing representative for AsusTek Computer, said in her e-mail that the 3D ecosystem, which includes both hardware such as 3D Blu-ray players and content like games and movies, is growing and "becoming ready" for mass adoption. This, in turn, will help boost the demand for 3D PC.

"In Singapore, for example, we are targeting gamers with our 3D laptops, which are able to convert standard 2D-graphic games into 3D with just a single switch. Users can then choose between 2D and 3D display mode [for their various PC activities]," she added.

Hardware makers jumping onboard

Fellow 3D proponent Nvidia told ZDNet Asia that the GPU (graphics processor unit) maker is "not alone" in its 3D push, with others such as Dell Computer, Microsoft and Acer sharing the "same level of confidence" in the technology and related products.

"Whether 3D PCs warrant classification as a whole new form of computing remains to be seen, but the signs are good and the technology convincing and engaging. One thing is for certain, though, 3D technology looks set to grow, in whatever shape or form it presents itself," said Andrew Fear, product manager of Nvidia's 3D Vision, in his e-mail.

Asus, for instance, had earlier announced its partnership with Nvidia to roll out 3D PCs during the recently-concluded Computex Taipei 2010 tradeshow. An earlier CNET Asia report stated that these PCs include Asus' G51Jx-EE 3D-ready laptop, which will come packaged with Nvidia's 3D Vision active shutter glasses, and the Eee Top ET2400 all-in-one desktop PC.

Lenovo is another PC maker that has recently come out in support of 3D PCs by introducing a device of its own. The China-based company announced earlier this month its first multimedia laptop with 3D display, the IdeaPad Y560d.

"While 3D technology has been around for ages, it has not been readily accessible to consumers within the home. Lenovo is helping bridge this gap by delivering consumers a 3D experience on a familiar PC platform that can be viewed and enjoyed when and where they want," said Dion Weisler, vice president of business operations, Lenovo, in a media release.

Recently, too, Toshiba announced its Satellite A665 3D Edition.

As for when 3D PCs will hit the mainstream, the Nvidia executive demurred on commenting directly.

Instead, he quoted Roger Kay, founder and president of research and consultancy firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, saying: "We're just in the early phase of 3D adoption, but the market is likely to grow dramatically over the next five years. In 2010, only about 1 million 3D PCs will ship, [but] by 2014, that number will rise to more than 30 million."

Gartner's Tay provided a more conservative projection, though. She said that the 3D PC market remains niche, and although technology developments are in progress, it will take time before the device category takes off.

"We estimate that it will take until 2015, when autostereoscopic 3D displays become more widely available and users are more comfortable viewing 3D displays [for the technology to be adopted by the masses]. In addition, there is the need to build up a library of 3D software and quicker releases of such software, too," she added.

Lenovo ThinkPad X100e: Powerful, High-Resolution Netbook with Anemic Battery Life

The Washington Post

 

Is the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e a netbook or an ultraportable? The answer seems to be: a little of both. It's faster than most netbooks, with a larger, higher-resolution screen; a spacious keyboard; and a bigger hard drive than you'll usually find in lilliputian laptops. You pay for those extras, though. It's a little heavier than run-of-the-mill netbooks and has limited battery life. The price is nearly in ultraportable territory, too: The machines start at $499, and the configuration we reviewed costs $599. That's a lot for a netbook.

Here's the first thing that'll strike you about this ThinkPad, though--it's red! (If you find that color shocking, you can also order the standard ThinkPad black.) If you associate red with speedy sports cars, the X100e won't disappoint. With its Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and 2GB of RAM, this ThinkPad scored a 52 on WorldBench 6, a screaming speed for netbooks. I didn't notice any drag in opening and switching between applications, fiddling with Windows controls, or browsing the Web.

Don't expect powerful video performance, though. The X100e turned high-def, full-screen video into something more like a slideshow. And even at 480p, video stuttered and jerked. Lenovo is mostly marketing the X100e to corporate types and must think that they should be working instead of watching YouTube.

And this laptop is indeed useful for getting work done. The 11.6-inch display has a native resolution of 1366 by 768, significantly more than the typical 10.1-inch, 1024-by-600-resolution netbook screen. And the display is relatively easy to read even from an angle. But I found the on-screen colors a little washed out.

The keyboard is full-size, with large Shift and Tab keys. The keys give the kind of solid feedback touch typists need. Lenovo gives you two options for pointing devices--and that's probably one too many. ThinkPad traditionalists can use the company's signature eraserhead pointing stick, which has its own mouse and scroll buttons. That system works well for those who are comfortable with it. But Lenovo also jammed in a touchpad for all the people who aren't accustomed to the eraserhead. And there just isn't enough room for the touchpad--the surface is small, and the buttons are tiny. They're about a quarter-inch deep and right at the edge of the laptop. If you miss the buttons (not hard to do), your thumb slips off the laptop entirely. The trackpad does feature multitouch, but the response is inconsistent--sometimes a two-fingered scroll works just fine, sometimes the trackpad doesn't notice it at all.

The X100e comes nicely equipped, and you can add more features. Our test model had a 320GB hard drive (you can also save some money with a 250GB disk). The laptop comes standard with gigabit ethernet and 802.11n wireless networking. A built-in 3G wireless broadband card is available at an extra cost. Beyond that, the features are pretty standard--two USB ports on the left, one on the right, plus a multicard reader on the right and a VGA port in the back.

For a small machine, the X100e's sound is impressive. Lenovo has nestled the speakers on the underside of the wrist rest, which slopes up off the surface of the table the laptop's resting on. That design seems to let more of the sound escape, giving the laptop decent volume. And for small speakers, the sound was relatively clean and precise, though understandably light on bass.

At 3.3 pounds (3.9 pounds with the power brick), the X100e is a little heavier than other netbooks, but I hardly noticed the extra weight. With the standard batteries the X100e lasted for only 5 hours and 28 minutes. That's anemic for netbooks, but not unexpected given the X100e's more powerful processor.

Our test unit came with Windows 7 Professional, a nice upgrade from the Windows 7 Starter Edition on many netbooks. Don't look for much else in the Programs folder, though. Adobe Reader is the only piece of third-party software. Lenovo has also loaded its proprietary utilities, including a password manager and power management app. I find Lenovo's utilities more useful than the bloatware that comes on many machines, but that doesn't make them exciting.

At 600 bucks, the X100e we tested isn't the kind of disposable computer that many netbooks amount to. For the price, you'll get sprightly performance, a larger display, and a comfortable keyboard. But if you're looking for great video performance or all-day laptop battery life, look elsewhere.

Review: Lenovo Rethinks Design and Price of ThinkPad

The Wall Street Journal / Walter Mossberg

Lenovo is rethinking the ThinkPad.

For years, the iconic laptop brand, originally created by IBM, has been known for solid construction and great keyboards, but with a boxy black design and relatively high prices. It has a business orientation, though it also has been the choice of some tech-savvy consumers willing to pay a little more and forego flashy style touches.

IBM and Lenovo, a Chinese-owned company that bought the brand in 2005, have at times been bold with the ThinkPad's engineering. For instance, in 2008, Lenovo launched a very thin but full-width line, the X300 series, which uses cutting-edge materials and goes head-to-head with Apple's ultrathin line of laptops, MacBook Air.

But Lenovo has been reluctant to tinker much with the ThinkPad's design. It has retained the classic but boring black-box look and preserved the solid, comfortable keyboard.

Now, to broaden the brand's appeal, the company has decided to depart from that template. It has just launched two new ThinkPads at uncharacteristically low prices, with new designs, sizes and colors, and—shudder—a revamped keyboard.



I've been testing the two new models, and, in general, I like them. They are the least expensive ThinkPads ever offered, and the first available in a color choice other than black. Each can be ordered in red as well. Also, one is the first ThinkPad in years that is a mini-notebook, rather than a full-size laptop.

One of these two new models, the X100e, is a small, netbook-like machine with an 11.6-inch screen—starting at $449, though the upgraded configuration I reviewed costs $599. The company refuses to call the X100e a netbook. Its keyboard, screen and resolution are better than what many netbooks offer, but it's also heavier.

The other new line is called the ThinkPad Edge. It's a full-size machine, with a 13.3-inch screen, that is more rounded than traditional discount laptops, and has a silvery band around its edges. It starts at $579, though the step-up configuration I reviewed costs $799.

Both machines retain the solid feel of a ThinkPad. Neither is the lightest computer in its size class, though they're not overly heavy. The little X100e weighs 3.3 pounds and the Edge weighs 3.6 pounds with its base laptop battery, and 3.9 pounds with a larger battery.

And both retain a classic ThinkPad feature—the TrackPoint, a small red nub in the middle of the keyboard that can be used to move the cursor. It is an alternative to the touchpad that each machine also includes.

In my tests, both new ThinkPads proved snappy, though neither has the latest or most potent processors. Both ran Windows 7 fine, and handled well a variety of popular software—Microsoft Office, Firefox, iTunes and Adobe Reader. One caveat: The test units Lenovo sent me had twice the standard memory of base models or typical used computers. And my test Edge had a more powerful processor.

Under my tough battery test, where I turn off power-saving software, keep Wi-Fi on, set the screen at maximum brightness, and play a continuous loop of music, the X100e's battery lasted 3 hours and 44 minutes. In normal use, you could likely get 4½ hours or more.

The Edge had a battery time of 4 hours and 16 minutes, so you could likely get over 5 hours in normal use. But the costlier Edge configuration I tested had a larger laptop computer battery than the base unit, so would likely last only two-thirds as long.

Start-up times on the two were respectable for a Windows PCs: ready to go from cold start in just over a minute. The touchpads on both also feature multitouch gestures, like the ability to use your fingers to resize or rotate photos.

What about the new keyboards? Instead of the closely packed, large, scooped keys that ThinkPad loyalists love, the X100e and Edge have "island-style" keyboards, with distinctly separated, flatter-looking letter and number keys. The Backspace, Shift, Enter and Tab keys are large and prominent. Lenovo eliminated the little-used SysReq, Scroll Lock and Pause keys.

I found the letter and number keys to be comfortable, accurate and fast, with a solid, reliable feel—even on the smaller X100e. Lenovo explains this is because the letter and number key tops aren't really flat, but have the same curve as the tops of classic ThinkPad keys.

But the new keyboard has compromises. On the Edge, the Delete key was too small and insufficiently prominent. On both devices, the Home, End, Page Up and Page Down keys are far apart, and the latter two are tiny and hard to press, especially on the Edge. The Num Lock key and virtual numeric keyboard are gone.

All in all, ThinkPad lovers looking to save money, and other users of discount computers considering a ThinkPad, might find these new models worth a try.

Lenovo Says Business will Focus on Mobile Internet

BEIJING (AP) - Lenovo Group expects wireless Internet products to account for up to 80 percent of its sales within five years as it pursues expansion in faster-growing emerging markets, CEO Yang Yuanqing said Friday.

Lenovo, the world's fourth-largest personal computer maker, jumped into the mobile Internet market in January with the unveiling of a smart phone and two Web-linked portable computers.

"Mobile Internet is very important," Yang said in an interview. "Even today, cheap notebooks sales already are higher than desktops. Mobile Internet products are going to be 70 to 80 percent of our sales ... within three to five years."

Yang said Lenovo plans this year to focus on promoting mobile Internet and sales in emerging economies in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Lenovo, based in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina, was hit hard by the global crisis, which prompted its core corporate customers to slash spending and go for refurbished cheap laptops. It suffered three losing quarters before rebounding to a profit in the second half of last year.

Yang said Lenovo's longer-term strategy, dubbed "protect and attack," calls for building up its dominant presence in China. The country accounts for nearly half of Lenovo's global sales but it faces competition from industry leaders Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., which are creating products tailored to Chinese customers.

In the latest quarter, Lenovo said cheap computers sales in India and other emerging markets rose 52 percent over a year earlier, far ahead of the 13 percent sales growth reported for the United States and Western Europe.

Lenovo, which acquired IBM Corp.'s PC unit in 2005, says its global market share last year rose to 9 percent, its highest level to date.

Yang said Lenovo has no plans for foreign acquisitions but is ready to look at any deals that fit its strategic plans for mobile SEO.

Corporate spending on computers has yet to rebound but companies are expected to step up purchasing in the second half of this year, Yang said. He said he could not foresee when global discount PCs sales might recover to pre-crisis levels.

"I'm not an economist," he said. "Even for economists, it's difficult to forecast."

HP Reclaims Battery Life Crown from Lenovo

Computer World

One week after Lenovo Group Ltd. introduced a ThinkPad with a 12.2-hour runtime, Hewlett-Packard Co. says it's recaptured the record.

HP's new EliteBook 2540p business laptop can run for up to 12.5 hours, edging out Lenovo's ThinkPad X201s by about 20 minutes.

The caveat is that buyers of the ultraportable EliteBook 2540p must opt for a slower, lower-voltage Core i7-640LM processor and a pricier 9-cell Lithium-Ion battery ($39 more than the 6-cell battery) to achieve that runtime, said an HP spokeswoman. Else, the maximum runtime for the EliteBook drops down to about 11.5 hours, she said.

That situation is similar to the ThinkPad X201s. Users must also opt for a 9-cell battery and an Intel Core i7-640LM CPU to hit 12.2 hours.

Similarly, the runtimes for both the Lenovo and HP laptops are only achievable using batteries warranted for one year of usage. Such batteries tend to degrade and lose their maximum capacity quickly after that first year.

As an alternative, Lenovo last week began to offer long-life batteries warranted to hold their runtime for 3 years, or about 1,000 charges.

Those matched HP, which last year introduced its Long-Life laptop computer batteries, built by Boston Power Inc., that are also guaranteed to hold their charge for 3 years.

The tradeoff is that long-life Lithium-Ion batteries, while more durable, can't offer the same high capacity/runtime out of the box as the largest Lithium-Ion batteries.

Of course, jaded laptop owners will argue the 'war of specs' between the two vendors means little, due to the small margin between Lenovo and HP, and also the notorious unreliability of the MobileMark benchmarks both vendors used.

Lenovo Expects Lift From Windows 7

Reuters

Lenovo, the world's fourth-biggest personal computer maker, expects a boost in its PC sales from the launch of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 7, its chairman said on Saturday.

"It will have a big impact, and we have made a lot of preparations for it," Lenovo Chairman Liu Chuanzhi said in remarks, translated from Mandarin, which indicated the impact would be positive.

Liu spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of an industry forum but declined to give a revenue contribution forecast.

Earlier this week, Lenovo launched two new laptops under its corporate line, both running the new Microsoft operating system.

Industry-watchers are betting on further recovery of computer sales next year as the global economy improves and businesses replace old machines. However, opinion is divided on how strong the impact of Windows 7 will be.

Microsoft Corp launched Windows 7 on Thursday, its most important release for more than a decade, aiming to win back customers after the disappointing Vista.

Taiwan's Acer Inc's chairman J.T. Wang also told Reuters recently he expected the launch of Windows 7 to be a positive factor for sales as consumers look to upgrade computers running on the Vista or the 8-year-old XP system.

PC shipments in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan, grew 17 percent in the third quarter, research firm IDC said on Tuesday. Lenovo had the largest market share in Asia.

Lenovo Group Reports Loss, Expects Rocky Road Ahead For PC's

Story from the Wall Street Journal

Lenovo Group Ltd. swung to a net loss for its fiscal fourth quarter because of hefty restructuring charges and weak demand.

Lenovo, like other global personal-computer makers, has been hurt as the global recession has made consumers reluctant to upgrade their PCs. Lenovo and its major U.S. rivals, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., have restructured in recent months to cut costs.

Lenovo on Thursday posted a net loss of $264 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a net profit of $140 million a year earlier.

The company took a $116 million restructuring charge in the quarter. Sales fell 26% to $2.77 billion.

Lenovo, China's largest PC maker by shipments, said it expects market conditions to remain "very challenging." The company said it expects contraction in the global economy will put continued strain on the commercial and consumer PC markets.

The global recession "has significantly affected the world-wide PC-market demand as many large enterprises delayed purchase decisions" and reduced information-technology budgets, Lenovo said. "Even the growth of the China PC market has slowed."

Still, Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing said at a news briefing that he expects the Chinese market to remain Lenovo's main growth driver. He said the company has seen significant improvement in demand in China since the end of the quarter. And there seems to be a corresponding demand in used Lenovo laptops.

Mr. Yang declined to predict when the company will return to profit.

Lenovo booked $146 million in restructuring charges for the fiscal year, mainly for reductions in its work force. Mr. Yang said the company has no plans for further layoffs.

Lenovo reported a $226.4 million loss for the fiscal year, compared with a profit of $484.3 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 8.9% to $14.9 billion.