Why You Can Trust CNET Lenovo ThinkPad 8 review: Pocket Windows, with a sharp screen
Compact design, a very sharp screen and nice extras make for a very good Windows 8 tablet, but don't expect keyboard accessories -- this one's best used for touch.
- Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Windows 8 computers have slowly been getting smaller: the 8-inch full Windows barrier had been cracked most recently by the Dell Venue 8 Pro, and Toshiba Encore 8, both of which were a bit better than previous 8-inch models. So, if you ever wanted a Windows tablet that felt like an iPad Mini, you have plenty of options. The best of the bunch, however -- provided you can afford a little price bump -- is the Lenovo ThinkPad 8, which like the ThinkPad Tablet 2 applies the ThinkPad brand to a small tablet. This is no laptop, just in case you were confused.
Lenovo ThinkPad 8
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The ThinkPad 8 is a great-feeling device, and one of the most solid 8-inch tablets I've tried. It costs $399, compared to the $300 (or even $270) price for Dell and Toshiba's tablets, but you also get more: 64GB of storage, and a higher-resolution, clearly superior display. Going to 64GB would cost around as much with both of those models, and the ThinkPad 8 has better design, extras, and all-around performance.
It's the best 8-inch Windows 8 tablet out there. That doesn't mean it's the best Windows 8 tablet, however, in fact you could argue that 8 inches is a downright weird territory for an OS that really still wants to be a full computer operating system, with only slight overtures at touch-friendliness. But if you want a full Windows experience on a little tablet, and still leave yourself room for versatility once you get to a desk, this is an intriguing little solution.
| Lenovo ThinkPad 8 | Asus Transformer Book T100 | Acer Iconia W3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $499 | $379 | $429 |
| Display size/resolution | 8.1-inch, 1,920x1,200 touch screen | 10.1-inch, 1,366x768 touch screen | 8.1-inch, 1,280x800 touch screen |
| PC CPU | 1.46GHz Intel Atom Z3770 | 1.3GHz Intel Atom Z3740 | 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 |
| PC Memory | 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz | 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz | 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics | Intel HD Graphics | Intel GMA 1003MB shared |
| Storage | 64GB SSD | 64GB SSD | 64GB SSD |
| Optical drive | None | None | None |
| Networking | 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Operating system | Windows 8.1 Pro (32-bit) | Windows 8 (32-bit) | Windows 8 (32-bit) |
Design: ThinkPad-classy, with a very fine screen
Black matte metal, glass across the front, and a little ThinkPad red LED light on the back logo: the ThinkPad 8 has a slick, clean feel, easily one of the best designs on a Windows tablet. It also looks a bit like an extra-long iPad Mini.
The Lenovo ThinkPad 8 is an 8-inch tablet -- 8.3 to be precise -- and has a sleeker look than the previous (and larger) ThinkPad Tablet 2.
At 5.19 inches by 8.83 inches and 0.35 inches thick, and weighing 0.95 pound, it feels dense but manageable. It's heavier than a Retina iPad Mini, but the same weight as the Dell Venue 8 Pro. The Toshiba Encore 8 is a tiny bit heavier still.
A Windows logo on the front display is a touch-sensitive button for snapping back to "tile" mode, and gives off a slight haptic buzz. A flat sleep/power button and volume rocker on the top edge of the right side, if you're holding in upright portrait mode, are the only other buttons. A headphone jack sits in the middle of the lower edge, and the only other ports are a charging port, Micro-HDMI, and a pop-out panel where a microSD card can be inserted. The ThinkPad 8 can support USB 3.0 via its Micro-USB port, which is also where you charge the tablet.
The 8.3-inch, 1,920x1,200-resolution IPS display is easily the ThinkPad 8's best feature: screen quality pops, viewing angles are stellar, and there's a little more screen room for 10-finger multitouch. Still, the extra-wide 16:9 aspect ratio is better for watching movies than for Web browsing or magazine reading: even Windows 8 tile-based app icons feel like they're not filling the long-rectangle space properly, leaving too much empty space.
Games, videos, and Web pages all look fantastic, however. Stereo speakers which pump sound through two little grilles on one side of the tablet's back sound really good, too, but it's too easy to accidentally cover up the speakers with your fingers.
An 8-megapixel flash camera on the rear and 2-megapixel on the front, both able to shoot 1080p video, looked better than expected, and offered more than I'd need for my average chats or tablet photography.
Accessories not included
The ThinkPad 8 has a clever magnetic Quickshot Cover that folds over on one corner to allow the rear camera to work, and bends back to a tent-type mode for a desktop-viewing stand. But, it's not included with the ThinkPad 8: you have to buy it separately, for $34.99.
There's no stylus, either, something the Dell Venue Pro 8 included. And, unlike the ThinkPad Tablet 2, there's not even an optional made-for-ThinkPad 8 keyboard or keyboard case. You can dock the ThinkPad 8 via a USB 3.0 dock, but you could also just snake an HDMI cable into the Micro-HDMI port and connect to a monitor, too.
It means that the ThinkPad 8 isn't really as modular a tablet-to-desktop PC solution as other products, including Microsoft's own (but much more expensive) Surface Pro 2.
Processor, performance, specs, and configurations
There's only one configuration of the ThinkPad 8, really: 2GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage (Lenovo claims there's an upgrade to 128GB for $140 more, but I couldn't find it on the order page on their site), and a quad-core Intel Z3770 Atom processor that's part of the Bay Trail family, which has given surprisingly decent performance in products we've tested. This particular processor is better than the one in the Dell Venue 8 Pro we reviewed, and as you can see in our tests, it performed better, not dramatically so, but noticeably. Really, it's a very good processor for everyday tablet use, and could even hold its own doing some basic computing on a larger screen. Just don't expect to do any serious gaming or graphics work.
Lenovo also has the Miix 2, yet another 8-inch Windows tablet with similar features, and weirdly, it costs about the same ($389) (http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/ideatab/miix-series/miix-2/#customize) despite offering a slower processor, a lower-res screen, and only 32GB of storage. Don't get that: get the ThinkPad 8.
The ThinkPad 8 is $399 for its main configuration, which comes with Windows 8.1, or you can add Windows 8.1 Pro for $100 more. Our review unit has Windows 8.1 Pro. I wouldn't recommend anyone pay up for that, unless you have a clear reason to.
Working and playing: From a ThinkPad 8
I tried writing this review on the ThinkPad 8, but gave up. The screen feels too small for some Windows applications, and the process of digging up and using another keyboard and mouse defeats the simple appeal of tablets like the Surface. The ThinkPad 8 is best used as a pure tablet, or docked into a suite of other desktop accessories. The on-screen keyboard on Windows 8 just doesn't feel fun to use at all.
As for play, viewing movies on this tablet is fantastic. It's fun to casually read on, too, to view photos, or even to lightly game. But the problem quickly becomes the limited app library Windows 8 still suffers from, as opposed to Android or iOS. Windows 8 has lots of classic applications, but fun, progressive, independent apps and games? Well, not quite so much.
That's where 8-inch Windows tablets still feel really lost in the middle.
It's an imperfect fit for Windows. That's not Lenovo's fault, that's Windows 8, which wants to be on a computer with a larger screen and a keyboard/trackpad. At least, that's what I felt; after using the more versatile, Netbook-like Asus Transformer Book T100 and the bigger-screened, keyboard-optional Surface Pro, the ThinkPad 8 feels too much like a product meant to consume rather than create.
The best Windows productivity apps (and desktop-type applications, which can run on full Windows 8 here) don't work their best in an 8-inch, touch-only world. There's no stylus, either, something Dell's Venue 8 Pro has. But, Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2013 is included, at least, as is common on many of these tablets...unless you chose the Windows 8.1 Pro software, which doesn't include the free software. Go figure.
There are too many options for Windows 8 PCs out there, and the ThinkPad 8, as good as it feels in the hand, doesn't feel great to produce on.
Battery life
The ThinkPad 8, running Windows 8.1 Pro, ran for 422 minutes, or 7 hours and 2 minutes, using our video-playback test. The Dell Venue 8 Pro lasted a little longer: 7 hours, 30 minutes. The Toshiba Encore 8 fared the best at 8 hours, 52 minutes. Don't pick the ThinkPad 8 if you want the best battery life. Seven hours is decent, but iOS and Android tablets all do significantly better.
Conclusion
Is Windows 8 best for you as a PC, or as a tablet? If you choose the latter, it's hard to think of a better design than the Lenovo ThinkPad 8. An 8.3-inch screen with 1,920x1,200 resolution offers a Retina-like richness to images and text, and the design feels solid, clean, attractive.
Is Windows best suited for a small tablet? Not really. But the ThinkPad 8 does work for media, apps, and everyday basic functions really nicely. It just doesn't come with a keyboard or trackpad.
You get a good package for $399, including an impressive 64GB of storage. And if you think of the ThinkPad 8 as a little computer in your pocket that can pair with keyboard and monitor into a full connected device back at home, you'll probably love this. But it's not the same as a Surface, or a Lenovo Yoga, for that matter.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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System configurations
Lenovo ThinkPad 8
Windows 8.1 Pro (32-bit); 1.46GHz Intel Atom Z3770; 2GB DDR3 SDRAM 800MHz; 32MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics; 64GB Sasmung SSD
Toshiba Click W35Dt-A
Windows 8 (64-bit); 1GHz AMD A4 1200 APU; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 512MB AMD Radeon HD 8180 Graphics; 500GB 5,400rpm hard drive
Acer Iconia W3
Windows 8 (32-bit); 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760; 2GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 1003MB (shared) Intel GMA, 64GB SSD
Sony Vaio Tap 11
Windows 8 Pro (64-bit); 1.5GHz Intel Core i5-4210Y; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1600MHz; 1739MB (Sharedl) Intel HD Graphics 4200; 128GB Tosiba SSD
Asus Transformer Book T100
Windows 8.1 (32-bit); 1.3GHz Intel Atom Z2370; 2GB DDR3 SDRAM 800MHz; 32MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics; 64GB SanDisk SSD
Dell Venue 8 Pro
Windows 8.1 (32-bit); 1.3GHz Intel Atom 3740D; 2GB DDR3 SDRAM 800MHz; 32MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics; 32GB Sasmung SSD