Ideapad

[S Prime]

I would like to hear some comments from people who have purchased the Ideapad, to give us some insights into Lenovo's tablet efforts.

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive.

 

[Joelist]

I'll likely have one tomorrow and can comment in detail then, but from what I have heard both Lenovo tablets are the class of the Android Tablet world.

 

[S Prime]

I'll likely have one tomorrow and can comment in detail then, but from what I have heard both Lenovo tablets are the class of the Android Tablet world.

I look forward to your comments. Also, I am surprised to see so little activity in the Lenovo forum here at Android Central.

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

 

[Joelist]

Initial brief thoughts.

1) Very attractive unit, which multicolored base. Uses mix of aluminum and plastic on back and glass front. Tiny flex in back, none in front.

2) Screen is bright and well colorated. Viewing angles are good. It is a HD display but not IPS (but the angles are good nonetheless). Sound is good quality but a little low volume.

3) Has Mini HDMI and proprietary port. Proprietary port has USB cable included as well as charger (and can draw charge from powered USB as well as its own adapter). Also standard size earphone/microphone jack.

4) Has Micro SD slot as well. Slot is protected behind metal hatch.

Physically this is an impressive unit. It is thicker than the Galaxy Tab and heavier, but so well balanced you don't really feel the weight.

Software wise, Lenovo unleashed their expertise in laptops and Honeycomb here has been both skinned and has its functionality extended. The skin is VERY attractive, featuring eye pleasing colors and well thought out functionality improvements. For example:

- Honeycombs scroll function where you can see running applications now has full task manager functionality. Each running app has an X in the upper right hand corner. Click the X and the app is shut down and unloaded from memory.

- Buttons tend to be programmable by the user. Also, extra selections have been added to the bottom task bar to let the user change keyboards on the fly or easily access an apps special controls.

- Screen Capture is built into the IdeaPad

- Printing is built in

- Full version Documents to Go is baked in.

- Full featured File Manager built in.

Seriously, there are a ton of included apps, many of which are not free in the Market (and some not in the Market). Lots of included games as well. Netflix is fully operational.

I'll have more later, but the overall take so far is that this is a VERY strong tablet entry. I would rate it superior to all the other Android tablets easily.

 

[S Prime]

Joelist, did you purchase your Ideapad direct from Lenovo or a retailer?

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

 

[Joelist]

I bought it at Office Depot.

And the discoveries keep coming. It has a feature for using pieces of larger pictures as wallpaper while keeping the picture intact. And Lenovo's keyboard (included as a choice) is nifty.

One thing I forgot to mention. The first time you turn it on skip Google activation. Just get it up and connected to the web then immediately go to settings and look for update. Lenovo has a big one waiting that implements a lot of the goodness I have been describing.

 

[S Prime]

I bought it at Office Depot.

And the discoveries keep coming. It has a feature for using pieces of larger pictures as wallpaper while keeping the picture intact. And Lenovo's keyboard (included as a choice) is nifty.

One thing I forgot to mention. The first time you turn it on skip Google activation. Just get it up and connected to the web then immediately go to settings and look for update. Lenovo has a big one waiting that implements a lot of the goodness I have been describing.

I have not looked at the specs on the Ideapad, but does it come with a mico SD slot rather than the full sized SD stated for the thinkpad? Also, did Office Depot indicate they would carry the Thinkpad?

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

 

[Stu2009]

This is very good news..thank you for your candid review and please add anything else you discover..does it do GPS?

 

[S Prime]

I have not looked at the specs on the Ideapad, but does it come with a mico SD slot rather than the full sized SD stated for the thinkpad? Also, did Office Depot indicate they would carry the Thinkpad?

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

I checked the specs and answered my question and the Ideapad does have a micro SD slot.

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

 

[Joelist]

This is very good news..thank you for your candid review and please add anything else you discover..does it do GPS?

Yep. And bluetooth too.

 

[Joelist]

I have not looked at the specs on the Ideapad, but does it come with a mico SD slot rather than the full sized SD stated for the thinkpad? Also, did Office Depot indicate they would carry the Thinkpad?

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

According to them yes.

 

[S Prime]

According to them yes.

Thanks for your feedback. I look forward to more information.

 

[frh1]

Yep. And bluetooth too.

Does it connect to a bluetooth microphone for speach to text etc., or is it media audio only?

 

[Charlesleonard]

How is the screen in direct sunlight? Also how is the GPS. I log over 1000 miles a week as a repair rep. and will use the unit in my car. Also how is the battery life? Currently using Acer a500.

 

[Joelist]

I still have to test battery and gps accuracy. The screen is nice but as it is glossy may have sunlight issues.

 

[myuser]

I still have to test battery and gps accuracy. The screen is nice but as it is glossy may have sunlight issues.

I'm having a lot of issues with the wireless network connection. I have poor signal quality on n and g networks. On the n connection it keeps scanning resulting in dropped connections. I am about to return it as it's really a problem.

 

[atlantar6]

Can you ease elaborate on Netflix Caching? Is it as easy as downloading a movie for offline viewing? Is it all titles or only certain ones?

 

[S Prime]

I'm having a lot of issues with the wireless network connection. I have poor signal quality on n and g networks. On the n connection it keeps scanning resulting in dropped connections. I am about to return it as it's really a problem.

Out of curiosity, have you tried a factory reset to see if it eliminates your WiFi issues?

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

 

[Joelist]

Strange. I am picking up wifi just fine. Did you push the update as I mentioned earlier?

 

[myuser]

Strange. I am picking up wifi just fine. Did you push the update as I mentioned earlier?

If you are referring to the 725 OTA update, then yes.

Out of curiosity, have you tried a factory reset to see if it eliminates your WiFi issues?

IT Service Professional - I Just Want a Device to be Productive

I'll take a look at this... any idea if it will erase any of my data settings?