Lenovo IdeaTab S2 Review
The 2012 is a big year for Lenovo, the Chinese company is releasing numerous of Ice Cream Sandwich tablets, with the IdeaTab S2 as its global flagship. The IdeaTab S2 is the thinnest Lenovo tablet thus far; the 10″ tablet uses Ice Cream Sandwich and with the optional dock, it can turn to a full-fledged netbook, just like Asus’ Transformer tablets
Weighing 20 ounces and measuring 0.33″ thick, the Lenovo IdeaTab S2 feels light and slim, even with the keyboard dock attached, while the sturdy feel and the textured back further add its appeal. Just like Asus’ Transformer tablets, the keyboard dock significantly increases the battery life.
Powered by a 1.7 GHz dual-core processor, the tablet is sufficiently fast, although not as powerful as Nvidia Tegra 3 tablets, like the Asus Transformer Prime. The Android 4.0 interfaces zap along and the video playback feels quite seamless. In any case, users won’t notice the slightest sign of hiccups. Lenovo adds its Mondrian UI overlay which offers quick access to the apps and services you use most. Along with Lenovo’s own App Shop, users also get the stock Google Play app. Now that Android 4.0 has been around for some time, we will start to see more compatible apps.
The Lenovo IdeaTab S2 comes with a 8 MP rear-facing camera, but like most cameras on tablets it won’t perform as well as cameras on smartphones. The Lenovo IdeaTab S2 has a listed price of $349 and the keyboard dock retails for $150. The IdeaTab S2 directly competes with Asus Transformer Prime TF700T, which uses 10″ Super IPS+ display at 1920×1200 pixels resolution. Asus’ tablet is protected with Gorilla Glass and supports full 1080p video playback.