I received the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 tablet to use over the next few years. It runs Android 3.1 Honeycomb, and if you’re familiar with Android, you know that you need a Google account to access almost everything on it.

I started playing with it at the office earlier and so far, I’m impressed with the screen: the responsiveness, and the fluidity of swiping. I spent some time swiping between the 5 homescreens to make sure there is no lag, and it rendered very well.

It’s not difficult to familiarize yourself with how the tablet works. Like viewing all apps running in the background, adding widgets to any of your screens, killing a process, and taking a screenshot. There is a video loaded on the device that walks you through this process, if you have difficulty figuring it out.

It comes preloaded with loads of apps, and you can use it for quite some time before finding the need to download more. Preloaded apps (apart from Google-related) include: Amazon Kindle, Angry Birds HD, Drawing Pad (loads of fun), Facebook, Need for Speed Shift, Norton Security, Sound Recorder, to name a few. 

The tablet is 10.1-inch with an HD LED screen and weighs 1.46kgs. What I like about the back of the tablet is the rubberized honeycomb finish, which sits securely in your hand. And you know with that extra grip, it won’t slide off easily when holding it. 

The specifications of IdeaPad K1: Tegra T20 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 64GB SSD storage, Bluetooth, WiFi, MicroSD card reader, mini HDMI connector, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 5-megapixel back camera.

At the time of publishing, it is available on pre-order on Kalahari.net for R4,999.

The Lenovo ThinkPad SL300 is somewhat chunky for a small, entry-level small business notebook. It’s an effort to lug around, weighing in at 2.1kg. The screen is 13.3-inches, which is a decent enough size to watch movies or for some casual gaming. It handles high-definition movies beautifully in full screen mode. Unfortunately, this particular model does not come with an anti-glare screen.

The one thing we couldn’t get around to was adjusting to the keyboard layout. It took us a while to figure out the ‘@’ sign was actually above the key as the number 2, although indicated with a “. The keys are fairly large and the user might end up hitting the wrong key every now and then.

Battery life on the SL300 is average. Using it for basic browsing (while connected to the internet wirelessly), occasionally watching the odd Youtube videos and listening to music yields about three hours. If used solely for email and internet, it should last longer. The notebook comes standard with three USB ports, an Ethernet jack and a FireWire port. There’s also an SD/MMC memory card reader, webcam, a VGA output and an HDMI port, making it ideal for connecting an external monitor or projector for business presentations. The built-in stereo speakers offer good sound, again ideal for presentations.

As far as connectivity goes, it has WLAN, Ethernet, Bluetooth and optional 3G/HSDPA. Connecting to the internet on our home network proved to be a little challenging. The notebook picks up wireless networks within range but drops a short while later and displays the message that no connections are available. That’s a major setback if working at public hotspots or connect wirelessly within the office environment. Security shouldn’t be an issue as the notebook comes integrated with a finger print reader, located at the bottom right.

In Summary
Digital Life says: not impressed, better business notebooks available.
Plus: watching high-def movies.
Minus: awkward keyboard, irregular connectivity, too heavy.
Contact: Lenovo – 011 911 2000
Price: RRP R11 999

Specifications
Processor: 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Screen: 13.3″ WXGA (16:9 ratio)
Dimension: 12.5″ width x 9.4″ depth x 1.5″ height
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 160GB
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
Connectivity: WLAN, Ethernet, Bluetooth

Written for Digital Life magazine, Aug-Sep 2009