The Lenovo Horizon 2 is nothing if not ambitious. This
Windows 8.1 all-in-one PC packs a ton of features into its massive
27-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 touchscreen display. With a screen that size, you
start to get into the pricier class of all-in-one computers. The
Horizon 2 is priced at $1,499.99 (about £1,499, about AU$1850.31), which
is around the same price as similar systems.
An
anti-glare matte touchscreen display offers plenty of real estate for
work and entertainment. Plus, the Horizon 2 automatically switches to
the HDMI-in input when a device such as a Blu-ray player is plugged in,
even when the main system isn't powered up.
Lenovo
picked a screen touting excellent color for video and gaming, with wide
viewing angles. Although the Horizon 2 generally looks decent, my main
issues are with the power and volume buttons on the right side. They are
a little too small and feel kind of cheap. There's also a millimeter
gap between the screen and the frame where the power LED shines through,
which is the one fly in the ointment. A
wireless mouse and keyboard set comes with the system, but both need
some getting used to. While the slim aluminum keyboard looks sleek (and
has a nice weighted top), keys – such as the Caps Lock, Tab, Right
Shift, and Backspace – are all half sized. Furthermore, the Home keys
are arranged in a single slim column. Meanwhile, the full sized mouse
has some sort of silicone surface applied to it that makes it feel
gummy. It attracts dust and dirt that you can feel under your fingertips
when you use the scroll pad.
It's a Transformer
Powering
the system is an Intel Core i5 chip, with 8 GB of RAM, and Intel
integrated graphics that switch over to an Nvidia GeForce GT 840A when
running games. Amid gobs of storage (1TB, if you're counting), the
Horizon 2 offers plenty of connectivity as well.
Three
USB 3.0 ports, a built-in 1080p webcam, AC Wi-Fi and NFC (Near Field
Communication) are all featured here. This last one is important –
mostly because there's no built-in memory card reader: the Horizon 2 can
lay flat. Pushing against the top of the system lowers it until the
kickstand locks into place and automatically launches the pre-installed
Aura 2.0 software. When
laid flat, the Horizon 2 becomes a tabletop tablet PC, but it's just as
effective to think of it as a sort of XXXL Windows 8.1 tablet. The
system can run off battery power for about 1 hour and 40 minutes if left
idle, which is reduced to about an hour or so with heavy use.
With
the battery life in mind, and how the system weighs about 16 pounds,
you're probably not going to take it very far, but it's certainly worth a
trip from the office to the living room. Alternatively, there is a stand
that can be purchased separately for the Horizon 2 so that the computer
can be used in easel mode or flat for a genuine table look.
A Weak Aura
The
Aura 2.0 software suite offers a list of tabletop PC features, so
multiple users can crowd around it and use it at the same time. Friends
and family can come together to manipulate photos, watch videos, listen
to music, or play games. People with NFC devices can transfer media to
the computer by touching it against the screen. Unfortunately, although
the Aura 2.0 software and its included apps look fun at first, but end
up leaving much to be desired.
Although photos and videos
can be spun around, blown up, duplicated, and turned into collages,
there lack basic editing tools like cropping and rotation. Furthermore,
if you're dissatisfied with a photo or creation, there's no way to
delete them directly from the Aura software. You have to quit out and
delete them using the Windows desktop. Similarly,
even though you can watch videos from the table, there's no way to edit
and trim them. Furthermore, you can't do things that you might want to
do as a family or couple, like opening up web browser windows, or look
up menus online and circle the items you want to order. You can't share
and edit documents, or do anything that's remotely productive. There's a
great deal of potential in having a table PC, but the Aura 2.0 software
barely touches any of it.
I thought that the built-in
games would help make up for these shortcomings. Especially since the
system comes with a collection of accessories, including Strikers
(paddles that can be moved across the screen), joysticks (a touchscreen
paddle with a small suction cup on it to keep it in place and even an
e-die that has to be charged before it can be used to play the virtual
board game Lenovo Tycoon. The problem is, all the games built into the
system are basically demonstrations, and not very good ones.
I
had high hopes for Air Hockey, but the puck slowly cruises across the
screen, making physics defying bounces, and sometimes passes under the
Striker as though it weren't there. I had a similar experience playing a
sort or Breakout knockoff, where you had to knock a box full of
bouncing marbles into your opponent's goal. Even without using the
accessories, the touch response for these applications are awful. My
best tabletop PC experience occurred when I quit Aura 2.0 and played
other touch-based games, like Civilization V and Beyond Earth. While the
touch controls might take some getting used to, there's no better way
to feel like you have a god's eye view of the world than playing from a
flat table surface.
That being said, it's worth
mentioning that the Horizon 2 tends to get very hot when running high
end applications. You can hear its fan loudly going into overdrive when
the system is idling. I could feel the heat radiating from its surface
after one Air Hockey match.
A large all-in-one PC that converts into a tabletop PC is the sort of
thing a person might already have a purpose in mind for before buying
it. This is the kind of computer that can switch between work and
entertainment as easily as it can go from a desktop system to table PC. However,
you might not be very impressed with it if you stick solely with the
Aura 2.0 software. Putting the Horizon 2 into tabletop mode challenges
you to find uses for it. Fortunately, its Core i5 chip, current GeForce
GPU, and giant hard drive all help in accomplishing that task. Here's
what else Lenovo included in the review unit sent to TechRadar:
Spec sheet
CPU: 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-4210U (dual-core)
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 840A; Intel HD 4600 graphics
RAM: 8GB DDR3 (1600Mhz)
Screen: 27-inch 1,920 x 1,080, anti-glare, 10-point multi-touch
Storage: 1TB, 5400 rpm HDD
Ports: 3 USB 3.0 ports (side); HDMI-in; NFC; Bluetooth 4.0
Connectivity: 802.11a/c Wi-Fi
Camera: 2MP, 1080p webcam
Size: 26.3 x 0.8 x 16.1 inches (W x D x H)
As
shown, the Lenovo Horizon 2 has an impressive set of hardware features.
Its tabletop mode opens up a range of possibilities, including
touchscreen board games and puzzles. No one should be surprised that a
27-inch touchscreen quickly eats up the battery life, so you'll end up
having to plug the system in if you want to use it for more than an
hour.
Performance
There are few things that the Lenovo
Horizon 2 can't handle. It can even play recent video games, like Call
of Duty: Advanced Warfare set to medium graphics. Its main drawbacks,
besides the uncomfortably small volume and power buttons, is that it
gets scorching hot with extended use.
As
demonstrated by these benchmark scores, the Horizon 2 is a decently
powered system that's more than capable of handling most everyday tasks,
including some gaming. However, its portability comes into some
question when you take its battery life into consideration. Running
the PCMark 8 benchmark for about 1 hour and 14 minutes, consuming about
80% of the battery. So, if family and friends decide to gather around
the Lenovo for board game night, someone will end up with the power cord
side.
We liked
The Lenovo Horizon 2 sports a spacious
27-inch matte anti-glare screen with very good touch response. It's
backed by some decent hardware, including an Nvidia graphics chip, and
has the ability to lay flat to become a tabletop PC. All of which do
nothing but enhance the experience – there's little in the way of
superfluous features here.
We disliked
One of my main
issues with the Horizon 2's design is the small, cheap feeling, power
and volume buttons on the side. The system also runs pretty hot, and its
fan gets loud under a full load. One might take issue with the
relatively low battery life, but I wasn't surprised by it, given its
hardware and screen size.
What really bothers me are the
limitations of the Aura 2.0 software and its suite of cheap applications
(one wasn't even translated from Chinese). These fail to demonstrate
the Horizon 2's capabilities in an impressive way. It automatically
launches when the computer is tilted to table mode, and there doesn't
appear to be a way to turn that off.
Accessories like the
Strikers, joysticks, and e-die seem like fun accessories, but they don't
perform well when put to use. (This could also be a software issue.)
Similarly, the wireless mouse and keyboard that come with the system
might look good, but don't feel as nice when in use.
Final verdict
At
a cool $1,500, the Lenovo Horizon 2 may be competitively priced, but
it's still a considerable investment. A tabletop mode might not sound
like much of a feature, but I quickly learned to like it despite
annoying software issues. Hopefully these software bugs and whatnot are
resolved soon, because otherwise this is an excellent all-in-one system.
Even
if you end up never laying the computer flat, the Horizon 2 still has
the hardware and performance of a powerful all-in-one PC. Flat or
standing, the Horizon 2 is a worthwhile all-around computer for both
work and play – just keep an ear to ground for software updates.
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