If Windows 8 tablets with Intel's Clover Trail silicon under the hood were once a curiosity, well, they're certainly not novelties anymore. We've seen lower-powered hybrids from virtually every PC maker, providing a cheaper counterpoint to Core i5 and i7 systems, but still offering useful accessories like keyboard docks. In addition to one of our favorite Atom-powered slates, the ThinkPad Tablet 2, Lenovo is shilling the IdeaTab Lynx (also known as the IdeaTab K3011) for $549 and up. So how does this system stack up? Click through to find out.
The IdeaTab Lynx is a straightforward slab of black tablet -- a thin and light one, at that. At 1.41 pounds and 0.37 inch thick, it won't weigh your hands down. It feels good in your palms, too, thanks to a pleasantly grippable textured backing. The Lynx may be comfortable in the hand, but the overall look is hardly high-end; the whole package feels plasticky and chintzy, and the backing seems like it could come off without too much effort (though, to be fair, it never did). The front of the device is completely bare save for Lenovo branding and a 2-megapixel front camera sitting above the 11.6-inch display. Of course, the front side is also home to the physical Windows 8 Start button, which sits in its typical spot below the screen and responds well to our presses.
Along the left edge of the device sit a button for toggling auto-rotate on and off, the volume rocker and a skinny speaker grille. The top of the device sports the power button and a microSD card slot, which is accessible by removing the plastic cover. On the right side, you'll find a headphone / mic jack, a micro-HDMI port and another small speaker, while the bottom edge has the micro-USB port along with slots for connecting the optional keyboard dock. On the back of the device, Lenovo's name is spelled out in silvery, reflective letters, and the diamond pattern invites your fingers to give it a scratch. One extra tidbit comes bundled: a micro-HDMI-to-VGA converter, which lets you connect the Lynx to compatible monitors and projectors.
The optional keyboard dock ($199) supplements the Lynx with two USB 2.0 ports, a built-in battery and a charging port in addition to a set of chiclets. The dock is made of plastic with a slate-grey finish, and the hinge with the docking connectors can fold down for more compact storage. It adds 1.45 pounds to the tablet, bringing the total weight to 2.86 pounds. The IdeaTab branding sits at the bottom-right corner of the keyboard deck, and a very petite touchpad is below the spacebar. Like several other dockable devices we've tested, the Lynx locks into place when you press the button at the top of the dock (this is also how you remove the tablet). This system works seamlessly -- no complaints there.
We do have some grumbling to do when it comes to the keys. These chiclets are the same U-shaped smile keys we've seen on the Yoga and other Lenovo devices, and while they're roomy and well-spaced, the deck itself exhibits a disturbing amount of flex. If you, like us, associate this brand with high-caliber keyboards, you're likely to feel a bit let down by this layout -- it's definitely not ThinkPad-level quality. On a typing test, we notched about 45 words per minute, which is significantly lower than our usual score, and our error rate was higher than usual. The dock also includes a small touchpad, which we found to be very finicky. It often had trouble distinguishing our left and right clicks, which meant clicking on an icon could take several more seconds than it should.
Like other Atom-based slates, the Lynx sports a standard resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. That doesn't mean image quality is run of the mill, though. Movies and YouTube clips streamed on the 11.6-inch panel look crisp, with accurate tones and good detail. Also like competing Clover Trail machines, the Lynx benefits from IPS technology, which allows for wide viewing angles. We had no trouble making out images and on-screen text even from the far right and left of center. As a touchscreen, the capacitive, five-touch panel works seamlessly, recognizing every swipe and tap we throw at it. Executing common Windows 8 gestures such as pulling in from the right to bring up the Charms bar register without a hitch. We'd even venture to say that this screen is more responsive than some others we've tested, as we don't recall a single instance of having to repeat a gesture on the Lynx.
We pumped the volume up to 100 percent and threw a few top-40 hits at the Lynx's tiny side-mounted speakers, and the results were as expected: audio is strong enough to fill a small room, and it sounds a bit canned, but not noticeably warped or overly tinny. We appreciate that the grilles aren't located on the rear side of the tablet, which leads to more muffled sound.
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