Lenovo refers to its IdeaPad Tablet K1 as the ‘anything, anywhere, anytime DO Machine' and is targeting mainstream consumers with this Honeycomb offering.
Out of the box the K1 looks much like Apple's first generation iPad; there's a black border that flanks the device's LCD screen and the entire tablet is surrounded by a silver frame.
Like some of the tablets we reviewed in our July grouptest, the K1 is designed primarily to be used in landscape. A 2-megapixel front facing camera sits just above the top border of the LCD screen, whereas a useful home button sits on the right border of the screen. The position of this button struck us as odd because given the device's landscape setup, it would have made more sense for the button to be located directly opposite the webcam.
The K1's volume controls, screen orientation lock switch and power button are located on the left border of the device and, thankfully, within a few hours of using the device, we were naturally reaching for the buttons when we needed them. Aside from changing the position of the home button, the only other design aspect we had an issue with, was with the rear of the tablet. Made from plastic, the shell exhibited noticeable flex when pressed and made the K1 feel less premium.
Priced at US $599 and offering 32GB of storage capacity the Tablet K1 is reasonably priced when you consider its capacity, 10.1-inch LCD screen and its use of Honeycomb 3.1. In our grouptest only two tablets were cheaper; the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and the Packard Bell Liberty Tab both of which offered the slightly older Android 3.0 OS. With a weight of 750g the Lenovo is also slightly lighter than the Acer and Packard Bell offerings.
The 10.1-inch LCD runs at a native resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels and returns striking visuals. Visuals are crisp, sharp and rich in terms of colour vibrancy and thanks to the 16:10 aspect ratio, watching movies is a border-free affair. The LCD screen is responsive to quick pokes and swipes, so using the device is a frustration-free experience. The tablet's Nvidia Tegra T20 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of DDR2 memory also contribute to the great user experience, as we never experienced any lag.
The Ideapad is also packed with
surprising number of apps and games as standard. You get apps such as Lenovo Social Touch, Norton Mobile Security and many more. In terms of games the K1 features Need for Speed: Shift, Angry Birds and others so without spending any additional cash, there's plenty to do with this tablet as soon as it's out of the box. Given that apps and games can retail for between $1 to as much as $15, the inclusion of these apps and games makes the Lenovo a great value purchase.
