Lenovo Tab 2 A8 Review

Lenovo might have a dominant presence within the laptop market, however it has yet to repeat this success within the tablet or smartphone spaces.

It runs on the Android OS, which is probably the most widely used mobile platform in the world.

A slate tablet, this tablet is primarily designed for use as a handheld tablet and never as a traditional laptop.

The Lenovo TAB 2 A8 is provided with an 8 inch 5-point multi-touch IPS LCD display screen and features 1280 x 800 native resolution for viewing detailed high definition photos. The front facing fixed focus 2 MP and rear facing auto focus 5 MP cameras enable you take pictures of yourself and the things round you.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Design

Visually the black Lenovo TAB 2 A8 demo unit was understated and featured a clean polycarbonate chassis. Measuring 210 x 125 x 8.9 mm and weighing 330 g, the Lenovo TAB 2 A8 can also be pretty average in terms of dimension and weight.

Were it not for the Lenovo branding on its front and back we may simply have confused the Lenovo TAB 2 A8 for any of the unassuming Android tablets we have seen from different manufacturers, similar to Asus, Dell and HP.

Whereas the design is not terribly exciting, we found throughout our hands on that it had a pleasantly useful really feel and is reasonably well constructed.

Following an accidental drop onto the hard plastic demo table at the Lenovo MWC stand, the demo Lenovo TAB 2 A8 survived blemish and scratch free.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Display

Although Lenovo describes this upcoming model as a “Mobile Multimedia Companion”, it would not have a very nice display. Still, it would not have a bad one, either. At 1280 x 800 pixels, its 8-inch display screen would be the same dimension and resolution as the one within the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0, and the identical 189 ppi pixel density.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Camera

The 2nd-gen Lenovo TAB 2 A8 may have dual cameras a 2 MP front-facing one and a 5 MP rear-facing. The camera on the back is a fairly token providing reflecting the truth that tablets are not often used for taking pictures, however the one on the front ought to be simply up to video chatting, a process that’s common for this type of device.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Hardware

This tablet is powered by a 32-bit quad-core 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT8161 chipset and has 1 GB RAM. This tablet can store up to 16 GB of data, and also has a microSD slot for added storage capacity; the microSD slot supports microSDHC cards up to 32 GB. For high-speed Web connectivity, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi is on-board. Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity is integrated for wi-fi pairing with devices such as headphones.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Software

Lenovo has pre-loaded a few of its apps on the slate, on this case its SHAREit app for transferring information between units, and its SYNCit HD app for syncing and restoring contacts and messages. They come in handy for some users, and are not in the way for the rest who are not going to use them.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Performance

The Lenovo Tab 2 A8 will have a 1.3GHz, quad-core, 64-bit MediaTek processor and just 1 GB of RAM, which ought to give it good, but not excellent, performance. Benchmarks will have to await a full review, however our very preliminary testing of the device confirmed that prototypes are able to handling day-to-day duties with out noticeable slow downs.

This tablet will include either 8 GB or 16 GB of inbuilt storage, and Lenovo says its microSD memory card slot will support 32 GB cards however not higher capacity ones.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Battery

Its average battery life of 8 Hours is typical for a tablet. Remember that this is an average figure, and actual battery life largely depends upon the strain a tablet is beneath at any given time. Reading an e-book consumes far less energy than watching a HD video, for example.

It boasts a battery with a capacity of 4,290 mAh, a under average battery capacity for a 8 inch tablet. Battery capability is the most correct indicator of actual battery life.

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Specification

Lenovo Tab 2 A8: Verdict

Lenovo’s new Android tablets are decent new entries into the price range tablet market, despite the lack of any particularly interesting or excellent features.

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