With a scheduled release date of Oct. 26, TechRadar was pleased to get some hands-on time with the device at a recent Intel Windows 8 event where the Silicon Valley company also showed off the processor behind many Windows 8 tablets: the Intel Atom Clover Trail.
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2
With an expected retail price of around $799 (£500) the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, while it costs as much as a high-end ultrabook, is one of the more solidly built Windows 8 tablets we've spent some time with.
Lenovo users will welcome the inclusion of the keyboard which harkens back to Lenovo products of yore. Replete with a bright-red pointing stick, which has been a hallmark of the brand for years. Road warriors who currently use Lenovo products will definitely feel at home.
While $799 (£500) may seem like a lot to spend on a tablet it's rumored that users will also be able to buy one without the keyboard for anywhere from $100 to $200 less (£60 to £120).
As a mobile device the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 feels great to use. That said, the way the device connects to the keyboard is less appealing than with other units. For instance, we prefer the HP Envy X2 solution where the tablet actually connects to the keyboard as opposed to merely sitting in the keyboard dock.
Compared to the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, the HP Envy X2 actually feels more like a ultrabook and less like a tablet with an optional keyboard.
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2
Sporting a 10.1-inch IPS display with a full resolution of 1,366x768, the tablet is powered by an Intel Clover Trail processor. The unit we saw was operating at 1.8GHz and was able to run several apps simultaneously without a hiccup.
In addition, the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 ships with a full version of Office 2013. For road warriors this is an absolute boon.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 will also benefit from an optional dock that sports an Ethernet port, three USB ports and an HDMI out.