By ZAM KARIM
bytz@thestar.com.my
Thin is not in with the Ideapad Tablet K1 but will its relative chunkiness be its Achilles Heel?
GOOGLE Android Honeycomb Tablet users are spoilt for choice. There is just a wide array of models to choose from with various screen sizes that range from 7in all the way to 10in.
The market got a little more crowded when Lenovo joined the fray with its IdeaPad K1, which sports the Android 3.1 operating system and runs on a 1GHz nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor.
While the company was kind enough to loan us its 32GB WiFi version for a review, a quick look at the specifications list didn't exactly excite us. But perhaps there were hidden gems to unearth upon closer inspection.
Size matters
Immediately noticeable was that the K1 does not fall onto the slim Tablet category like most of its 10in rivals. As a matter of fact, place it side-by-side with either the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 or Apple iPad 2, and Lenovo's offering looks rather voluminous. This is no thanks to its 13.3mm girth.
For the record, the Tab 10.1 boasts an extremely slim 8.6mm thickness while the iPad 2 is only 2mm thicker than the Tab.
Tipping the scales at 750g, the K1 is also heavier by more than 200g than the other two Tablets mentioned.
SIDE PROFILE: The K1 looks chunky and bigger compared to the iPad 2 (top) in this side-by-side comparison.
The K1 comes in a matte aluminium body with a glossy plastic panel on the back. Our review unit had a white panel but there are two other colour choices available, namely black and red.
The panel tended to flex easily even when gripped lightly. Its glossy surface is also a fingerprint magnet.
Its power button, volume keys, a screen lock switch and a microSD slot are located on the left side. While at the back, there is the 5-megapixel camera with LED flash.
Initially, we mistook the microSD slot for a microSIM card slot because of its "pop-out" cover that you would normally see on the latest iPhone or iPad 3G. The K1's microSD slot comes with a tiny hole on the side for you to insert a paper clip to open the cover - so, you can see where the initial confusion came from.
The similarity with the iPad doesn't end there. There is also a sole home button that you can see on the right side of the screen.
With Honeycomb featuring an onscreen home key, having a physical button such as this that provides the same function seemed redundant.
The physical home button also doubles as an optical trackpad for limited swiping gestures but it didn't really work that well for us, and after a while, we simply abandoned it.
PLENTY OF BUTTONS: The power button, volume keys, a screen lock switch and a microSD slot are located on the K1's left side.
The K1 does not have any microUSB port onboard but it does have a micro-HDMI slot that supports 1080p full HD video-out and video playback on a bigger screen. Unfortunately, we couldn't test out the feature as we didn't have a micro-HDMI cable on hand.
Not bright
While the resolution is on par with pretty much any other 10in Tablet, the panel doesn't seem quite as bright even when pushed to its maximum level.
With the nVidia Tegra 2 chip and 1GB of RAM onboard, most apps ran pretty smoothly on the device. Definitely no complaints in this department.
Apart from stock Honeycomb apps, Lenovo has preinstalled its Tablet with more than 30 apps out of the box, including popular games like Angry Birds HD, GOF2THD and NFS Shift; video-editing app Movie Story and Movie Studio; security app Norton Security; as well as the full version of Documents to Go.
Yes, you can find the apps on the Android Marketplace but since they come preinstalled, you don't have to waste time downloading them or putting up with data charges to pay.
Lenovo also offers its own App Shop on the Tablet that takes the uncertainty out of shopping on the Android Market. This is because the company vets apps that are on its store for validity, usefulness, and to make sure that they don't contain malware or viruses.
Unlike most other Tablets which have their own user interfaces on top of the OS, the customisation on the K1 is more cosmetic rather than actually providing real value.
Right smack in the middle of the home screen sits the K1's five-way app launcher. By default, it includes shortcuts to e-mail and the browser, along with shortcut icons such as "Listen" for music playback, "Read" that launches e-reader app and "Watch" which you can point to YouTube.
To be frank, you can do without the K1 launcher as populating the home screen with shortcut icons for any favourite apps does the same thing.
Other stuff
When it comes to the cameras, what the K1 has to offer are pretty much standard - a rear 5-megapixel camera and a 2-megapixel one in front. The rear camera also shoots 720p video.
The meek double speakers produced barely enough sound even at full blast so watching movies is a letdown. Plugging in headphones solved the problem but this also means that it will be a solo viewing experience.
In terms of longevity, the K1's two-cell 7,400mAh battery manages to give about eight hours usage.
Wrap up
In the Tablet world where "slim" is the order of the day, the K1's chunkiness really works against it, IMHO.
But the K1 didn't disappoint in terms of performance - there were no issues running the OS and the Android apps.
Also on the plus side, its RM1,299 pricetag can be considered a bargain as what you get is 32GB of storage and a free folio and screen protector.
Pros: Affordable with freebies; good performance.
Cons: Chunky and heavy; dim display; plastic panel flexes easily; poor quality camera; wimpy speakers.
IDEAPAD TABLET K1
(Lenovo)
Android Tablet computer
PROCESSOR: 1GHz nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9
MEMORY: 1GB RAM
DISPLAY: 10.1in touchscreen (1,280 x 800-pixel WXGA)
GRAPHICS: Tegra 2 T20 GeForce ULP 256KB
STORAGE: 32GB
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi, Bluetooth
CAMERAS: 5-megapixels with LED flash (back); 2-megapixels (front)
PORTS/SLOTS: MicroSD card, micro-HDMI out, microphone and audio jack
OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 3.1 Honeycomb
OTHER FEATURES: Ambient light sensor; pre-installed with 30 apps; proximity sensor
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 264 x 189 x 13.3mm
WEIGHT: 750g
PRICE: RM1,299 (free folio and screen protector)
RATING: 3 stars
Review courtesy of Lenovo Malaysia, 1-800-18-2388.