Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx Review

Introduction:

Just last month, we checked out the well-rounded performer in the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, which did justice in the tablet market with its long withstanding ThinkPad brand. However, if you're still itching to save some money on a Windows 8 tablet, then the Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx might seemingly be the better fit. Looking at the two side-by-side, you'd be hard pressed to see any major differences in specs, but more importantly, let's cross our fingers and hope that the slightly lower price point of the Lynx doesn't compromise in the performance.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• USB cable adapter
• Quick User Guide
• Important Safety and Handling Information

Design:

Sheesh! Talk about bland and boring here folks with the Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx. In fact, there's nothing too pretty with this one, as it feels hollow and cheaply constructed. Quite frankly, it doesn't help either when its plastic casing is on the brittle side of things – and the rigid pattern of the rear does little to give us a decent grip in the hand, essentially giving it a slippery feel. Yet, we do appreciate that it's light weight (1.4 lbs) and skinny (0.37" thin) for its size, but its boxy figure and overall tasteless design doesn't give it the killer appeal of an actual lynx.



In accordance to its lower price point, not surprisingly, the Lynx is sporting a physical Start button below its display – as opposed to something touch sensitive. On the opposite side, there's a no-frills 2-megapixel front-facing camera that's enabled for 1080p video recording, which is the only one on this budget tablet.

Unfortunately though, everything around the tablet's trim is flush to the surface, making its physical buttons (power, volume control, and orientation lock) notoriously difficult to feel out. Regardless of that, it's comforting to know that this budget tablet is sporting the usual set of ports we'd come to expect on a Windows 8 tablet – these include the microHDMI port, microSD card slot, 3.5mm headset jack, microphone, microUSB port for charging/data connectivity, and left/right speakers.


Sure, we're thankful that Lenovo throws in a USB port adapter, but it means that we need to remember bringing it along for the ride all the time. Lastly, on the bottom edge, there are notches that allow an optional keyboard dock to attach to the tablet – albeit, it's an additional $130 cost, but does bring along 2 full-sized USB 2.0 ports and extra battery life.

Display:

As expected, there's nothing that jumps out too extravagantly with the Lynx's 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 IPS LCD display. Churning out a pixel density of 135 ppi, which is undoubtedly below the average nowadays, we're constantly finding ourselves doing some serious pinch zooming in the web browsers to properly see fine text. As for color reproduction, we can't complain too much seeing that it's a bit on the neutral side, but there's some noticeable bleeding around the edges of the display that becomes more prominent at certain viewing angles. Using it outdoors, its 400 nits of brightness does well to handle direct sunlight, but it does require some shielding every now and then. Yeah, it's sufficient enough to use, but like its design, it ultimately comes off as bland.



Interface and Functionality:

Depending on how you look at it, some might appreciate the fact that the Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx is as stock as it goes for Windows 8 slates, but at the same time, we wish there is more to discover with the experience. Nonetheless, it's the same experience you'll find on any other Windows 8 tablet out on the market right now. Just like everything else before it, the start screen is comprised out of those cool looking and dynamic live tiles. Surely appreciated, desktop mode brings us back to the tried and true look of Windows past – with legacy software support too!


Glazing over the tablet's core set of organizer apps, there's nothing out of the ordinary with their presentation and functionality, seeing they're the same ones commonly found with the platform.


Spacious indeed with its real estate, we're able to comfortably and effortlessly type away long messages with its on-screen keyboards. Becoming a staple at this point with all Windows 8 running tablets, its responsiveness and fantastic auto-correct feature helps to quicken our pace. Unlike its close family member in the ThinkPad Tablet 2, this model lacks the additional usefulness of some kind of digitizer stylus.



Processor and Memory:

Outfitted with the same internals used by the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, the Lynx performs similarly. By no means a powerhouse, its dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and an integrated Intel HD SGX545 GPU, is effective enough to handle most non-intensive tasks – yet, it strains when it's pushed to the limits. So much so that signs of slowdown and choppiness begin to be apparent with heavy multi-tasking and playing 1080p videos.

Despite being graced with 64GB of internal storage, it's more like 32.5GB of free storage after all is said and done. Although it's chopped in half out of the box, it's nice to know there's a microSD card slot that's ready to supplement its capacity.

Internet and Connectivity:

It's more of the same here people in the web browsing department, considering that the Lynx is capable of delivering a fine experience with barely any fluff. Loading complex pages, rendering is pretty instant on the fly, which means kinetic scrolling and pinch zooming are both accompanied with that buttery smooth performance that we kind of expect. Beyond that, there isn't anything else that gives it an advantage over other Atom-based Windows 8 tablets.


At the moment, the Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx is being made available as an 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi only tablet – with no indication of other variants that might include cellular data connectivity. As for the rest, its other connectivity features include GPS and Bluetooth 4.0. Sorry folks, there's no NFC with this one!

Camera:

Nope, we're not at the very least sad to know this one is only brandishing a front-facing camera. To tell you the truth, if it helps to keep its price down, we'll tolerate the lack of a rear camera. Naturally, we can't have high expectations with the front-facing cam's quality, since it's pretty bare with the fine details and very grainy looking. Nevertheless, it's adequate for video chat, but not so much with self-portraits.



Multimedia:

Hello Windows 8 music player! By now people, it shouldn't surprise many to know it's the same old player we find on all other Windows 8 devices. Indeed, it relies heavily on the Windows 8 "Modern UI," but the audio quality from its two speakers is pathetic. Not only are they dinky with the power output, but some audible levels of strain and distortion are noticeable as well.

More than sufficient for watching videos, since its size is spacious and that there's a decent amount of luminosity, the Lynx's only major fault is found with higher resolution videos. On one side, it's great that there's a wide support for various video codecs, but 1080p videos are simply too taxing to play for this tablet. Well, 720p videos and below have no issues at all with playback.



Battery:

Carrying along a 6800 mAh battery, combined with its battery efficient processor, the Lynx is able to give us a solid one-day of normal usage. Setting the brightness to its maximum and using it primarily for surfing the web and sending emails, we're able to easily get a day's worth of juice. Still, it's something you'll want to recharge nightly if you're a power user.

Conclusion:

Seriously, if saving money is all that you care about, there's no arguing that you'll be doing just that with the Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx. Despite its less than appetizing design combined with its entry-level specs, the Lynx is able to deliver the same level of performance as other Atom-based Windows 8 tablets. However, in making it a more competitive option, you'll need to fork over another $130 to make it a convincing netbook replacement – and that's on top of its $550 price point! Honestly people, the ThinkPad Tablet 2 seems to be a convincing option too at $679, seeing it's packing a rear camera, digitizer stylus, full-sized USB port, and an overall better design, but heck, the savings found with the Lynx might be enough to sway people to its gaze.

Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx Video Review: