Lenovo Windows 8 ThinkPad Tablet 2 - Tablet + dockable Keyboard Combo

[Kazy]

eCost has pricing info for the Thinkpad Tablet 2:

32GB/1GB RAM/Win8 = $626
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8 = $705
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8, including Pen = $746
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8 Pro, including Pen = $799
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8 Pro = $745

[Bronsky]

eCost has pricing info for the Thinkpad Tablet 2:

32GB/1GB RAM/Win8 = $626
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8 = $705
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8, including Pen = $746
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8 Pro, including Pen = $799
64GB/2GB RAM/Win8 Pro = $745

My guess is that you will be able to pick up the 64GB/2GB/W8Pro w/pen for under $600 with a coupon after it is released by Lenovo on the Barnes and Noble site.

[e-schreiber]

So a few weeks ago you saw a brief controversy about the Intel power management software, and at the same time Intel's Otellini made the unusual comment that Windows 8 "isn't ready" and "has bugs." Then a few days later Microsoft came out with an unexpected update that, among other things, "improved battery life."

I noticed that soap-opera too. All very intriguing. I thought the same thing when those pieces of news were unveiling. It's ok if an OEM postpones the release of a product a few weeks. That's much better than releasing something half-baked.

[Rommie2k6]

I'm confused, why does the base model only have 1 GB RAM? Isn't the RAM part of the Atom SoC, and so should be standardized at 2 GB?

The prices are ridiculous. TPT2 $629 model is a joke... 1GB RAM with no chance of upgrading it (no SO-DIMM slot). A true base model would be 64GB SSD, 2GB RAM with stylus and without any accessories... and it's priced at $749... what the hell... Even with a 25% coupon, that's $600.

FYI, I was just looking at some Dell Latitudes earlier today and I can get a business-class 14" laptop with decent mid-range i5 CPU, 1080p screen, discrete gpu for $650. I still find it ridiculous that I am paying the same for an underpowered Atom tablet slate or a decent mid high-end laptop with much better specs. I hope that Dell comes up with a better price than the TPT2.

[Erik Latranyi]

I'm confused, why does the base model only have 1 GB RAM? Isn't the RAM part of the Atom SoC, and so should be standardized at 2 GB?

The prices are ridiculous. TPT2 $629 model is a joke... 1GB RAM with no chance of upgrading it (no SO-DIMM slot). A true base model would be 64GB SSD, 2GB RAM with stylus and without any accessories... and it's priced at $749... what the hell... Even with a 25% coupon, that's $600.

FYI, I was just looking at some Dell Latitudes earlier today and I can get a business-class 14" laptop with decent mid-range i5 CPU, 1080p screen, discrete gpu for $650. I still find it ridiculous that I am paying the same for an underpowered Atom tablet slate or a decent mid high-end laptop with much better specs. I hope that Dell comes up with a better price than the TPT2.

Go buy a laptop and quit your whining in every thread around here.

[Steve B]

Erik, just try the ignore list for people you don't want to see. It's a dream, and dramatically improves the browsing experience of the website.

[noxxle]

Anyone concerned about how hot this device might get?

I have a shuttle xs36v mini pc which has the intel atom D2700. Shuttle Global - XS36V. It rises to 60C with web browsing/email tasks and overheats when gaming. The entire case gets almost too hot to touch.

[e-schreiber]

No way this thing will be hot. The Atom D-series is for desktops.

[manuelcalavera]

First post.

ok, this is kinda my first choice. but two things are really bothering me. first of all the display's resolution is kinda low. Though I didnt have any problem with my TPT but it seems 1080p is getting a standard. BTW, Lenovo ThinkPad 2 review: Hands on and video | IT PRO Reviews says that the colors are kinda washed out.
The other one is Clover Trail. Man there's no even one proper review of it in the whole internet. Even Acer W510's reviews did not say anything about CT's performance. In the mentioned link from ITPro, it says that it has problems running full hd video and multitasking in a same time. What if this means the pen has going to have issues ?

and a question. Its keyboard has battery or not ?

[BellevuePaul]

First post.

ok, this is kinda my first choice. but two things are really bothering me. first of all the display's resolution is kinda low. Though I didnt have any problem with my TPT but it seems 1080p is getting a standard. BTW, Lenovo ThinkPad 2 review: Hands on and video | IT PRO Reviews says that the colors are kinda washed out.
The other one is Clover Trail. Man there's no even one proper review of it in the whole internet. Even Acer W510's reviews did not say anything about CT's performance. In the mentioned link from ITPro, it says that it has problems running full hd video and multitasking in a same time. What if this means the pen has going to have issues ?

and a question. Its keyboard has battery or not ?

So far no one has formally reviewed the tablet, and no one has seen a working keyboard (and lived to tell about it). So anything you read is speculation. There are several videos on YouTube, including at least 2 made by Lenovo, so the best information to answer your questions is there.

In my own opinion, 1080p may produce a slightly sharper video image. The tradeoff is that a tablet with that resolution will have significantly shorter battery life than normal HD. Also, when using regular Windows desktop applications on a 10" 1080p screen you would need to use the pen quite a lot, because a finger is much too large to click accurately. So those are two important tradeoffs to consider. If video resolution is more important than 10 hours of battery life, you might want a larger tablet or maybe a convertible like Yoga.

There is no way to know for sure now whether Clover Trail will be fast enough. No one has had the chance to really independently test this on any brand of tablet, so don't believe anyone's opinion on this until real independent reviews come out (next week, I hope). In theory the fact that Clover Trail has 4 threads should mean that the interaction with the device should be faster and smoother than the last version of Atom, because disk and network operations can be on separate threads from the GUI (all GUI operations remain on the same thread). But number-crunching in a single-threaded application (such as a VBA macro) won't be much faster than the old Atom. Excel worksheet recalculation and other MS Office operations use all 4 threads so they should be much faster than the previous version of Atom. So you have to consider this in light of your needs.

All of the sources I have seen say that the keyboard does not contain a battery. This makes sense since it is a bluetooth keyboard, designed to be used when not in physical contact with the tablet (when the tablet is in its dock, for example). For me, this is preferred since this would be my second computer, and therefore has to be off to the side of my desk where an attached keyboard is hard to reach. 10 hours of battery life in the tablet itself is pretty good, and I think it is all I would need, even on a long international flight. Your needs might be different. I suggest trying it out in a store before deciding (to see if you like the screen and colors), and read the independent reviews when they come out.