Pure Windows tablets haven't particularly taken off, but Lenovo hopes to change that with its ThinkPad 8.
Rather than running Windows RT, as with the Surface Pro 2 , the ThinkPad 8 runs the full Windows 8, so there are no app restrictions.
Getting enough power in an 8in tablet to run full Windows used to be tricky, but Lenovo has opted for an Intel Bay Trail processor . This impressed us when we benchmarked it, outperforming the old Atom series and providing enough power for a fully-fledged desktop OS.
Indeed, Windows 8 on the ThinkPad 8 ran smoothly, with the Start Screen and its apps all running fine with smooth transitions. We also saw desktop apps running, with the ThinkPad 8 hooked up to two monitors via its USB3 port. In effect, then, the ThinkPad 8 is a tablet when you need it, but a fully-fledged computer when you need that.
The Full HD display looked great, with excellent viewing angles. As the screen is 8in, rather than the usual 7in for a smaller tablet, it's that much easier to read.
Lenovo has an optional QuickShot cover, which attaches magnetically to the side of the tablet. As you'd expect, closing the cover also puts the tablet into power-saving mode automatically.
The cover doesn't get in the way of the camera
It's also got a neat party trick, with a fold-down corner. When you fold the cover back and lay it flat against the back, you can simply flip down the corner to expose the camera and automatically launch the camera app.
With eight hours of battery life and 64GB on-board, there's both the power and storage for the ThinkPad 8 to be used seriously as a laptop replacement. It just remains to be seen if people will be willing to use Windows 8 as their tablet.
The ThinkPad 8 will be available globally soon, with the LTE version coming shortly after.
