Review: Lenovo Thinkpad 8

I had the pleasure of working with the Lenovo Miix 2 earlier in the year, an 8-inch quad-core windows tablet, which aside from some problems, I did have an overall enjoyable experience. At Ces in January, Lenovo unveiled the Thinkpad 8, becoming the thinnest and lightest tablet in Lenovo’s arsenal to date. I’ve had the Thinkpad 8 for a number of weeks now pushing it to its limits with quite a few functions, and I am very impressed on how it held up.

Out the box the Thinkpad 8 feels like a solid device, even though it is their lightest device it fits comfortably in your hand while reading, watching movies, etc. It is equipped with an 8.3-inch Full HD (1920×1200) Display With IPS Technology that makes you go ‘Wow’ when you watch a video on it. I remember mentioning when I spoke about the Miix 2 that reading comics was one of the highlights of my time with the device, I once again have to repeat that here for the Thinkpad 8. I started reading Fables on it and the colors on the screen are more vibrant than the physical pages from the graphic novel itself. I’ve watched a number of movies and TV shows from various streaming services all of which look crystal clear on the Thinkpad 8′s display.

The tablet is powered by an Intel Z3770 Quad-Core processor clocked at to 2.39GHz with a 2MB cache. Its an incredibly fast device that received no hiccups through heavy usage. It even ran games better than I had expected. With the Miix 2 I had a problem running Halo: Spartan Assault where the game would load up but not be responsive to the controls and the menus were zoomed in for no reason, I did not have that problem with the Thinkpad 8. I was able to play the trial with no slowdown, or any visual defects and enjoy the experience. The Thinkpad 8 comes stock with 64 GB of flash memory, however I m having the same issur that I encountered with the Miix 2, which is the actual usable memory being incredibly low. From the box you have 41.8 GB out of 64 GB available. You can always expand your memory with an SD Card, and I definitely recommend that you do. In regards to power consumption the tablet can last up to 8 hours a day before it needs to be recharged. I will say this comes from heavy use because I have left this tablet in stand-by mode a number of times without having to charge it. Also 8 hours is a typical workday schedule which plays in with the Thinkpad demographic, of the working individual. The sound quality on the Thinkpad 8′s speakers is clear and crisp however the speaker is located on the back of the device. It is not the loudest but it gets the job done, and with any type of media playing, if you’re not in a silent room than I highly using headphones to enjoy your media.

The cameras on the Thinkpad 8 can both snap photos and record in 1080p with the front camera at an unimpressive 2 MP and the rear with 8 MP with flash and auto-focus. I do not know what it is but I can not stand behind this camera. I’ve taken enough pictures to know that this would not be my stand alone camera application. I love using this tablet but I will put it away and whip out my phone every time a photo opportunity occurs. To be fair the pictures are clear from the tablet and the flash does its job, but the pictures come out too grainy. That being said this camera should not be the end all be all in regards to buying this tablet, hell a camera shouldn’t be the end all be all with purchasing any tablet, but I digress. Something I noticed when taking pictures is when you look at a photo you took you can choose from a number of shots taken within the picture you took. It gives you the ability to pick the best version of your photo, which I thought was pretty neat.

You can get the tablet running on Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 Pro. There is a $100 difference between the two and personally I do not see the difference between them, and for the general user you’re better off with the regular 8.1 version because you receive a full version of Office Student Edition 2013 with your device. Our review unit was a Windows 8.1 Pro version and I was unfortunate to test Office on this device, but I can safely assume it ran just as well as it did on the Miix 2, which was flawless.

The Thinkpad 8 has some great add-ons that the Miix 2 didn’t have. The Thinkpad 8 charges from USB 3.0 and comes with the 3.0 cable plus power adapter which means faster charging and quicker content transfers between tablet and computer. Also, since this device has such an incredible screen, you can transfer your screen content to a monitor or TV via a micro HDMI port on the side of the tablet. This is great for on the go entertainment and to show projects for presentations at school or work.

The double edged sword for the Thinkpad 8 is its accessories. The tablet has a number of compatible devices that make it a great device for on the go word processing and project management, unfortunately we do not get any out of the box. The one accessory that I felt should have been stock with your purchase is the Quickshot Cover. The Quickshot Cover is a magnetic cover that attaches to the side of the device and the micro felt fiber protects the front screen from scuffs, scraps, and scratches. Aside from its protective abilities it has the magnetic closure that will put the device to sleep when its closed, and turns the device on when you flip the case open. The case also works as a stand and can put the device in tent mode for easy media viewing and for work purposes. The unique feature of the case is how it folds on the corner to expose the back camera. No matter what the tablet is doing weather its in sleep mode, turning on, or you’re running an app, if a photo opportunity occurs and you have to take a picture with this tablet you can fold the corner and it will automatically take you to the camera application to capture the moment. The Quickshot cover is retailed at $34.99.

Overall, if you were wondering which I believed was better, the Miix 2 or the Thinkpad 8, I am happy to say that the Thinkpad 8 has come out the victor. It’s the best 8-inch tablet you can get for your money if you’re trying to stray away from a Surface. Being able to use the Thinkpad 8 with a Bluetooth keyboard made me enjoy the device even more. It really shows its potential as a stand alone device for your office needs. Sure it’s not as fast as a laptop or desktop, but it gets the job done, and you can bring it with you on the go during vacation and business trips. Over the months, Windows 8.1 has grown on me, in previous reviews I’ve stated my dislike for the latest Operating System, but after getting the hang of more, I’m beginning to enjoy it on my home computer and tablets.

If this is a device you would like to get your hands on, the Thinkpad 8 retails starting at $399 and $499 for the Windows 8.1 Pro version.