Lenovo has just announced its new 8-inch Windows tablet called the Lenovo Miix2. It’s an 8” tablet that is equipped with a 1280×800 LCD IPS display (178 degrees viewing angle). From the outside, it looks like a regular 8.35 mm thick tablet, and most people wouldn’t think that it runs a full version of Windows 8.1 with a full version of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013. This will ensure a perfect compatibility and edition capabilities of any Office documents you may have. Despite years of development on Android and iOS, editing or viewing Office documents is still not a problem that has been solved at 100% (it’s actually a very hard problem).
Design-wise, it’s a clean device, but it’s a bit inconspicuous and designed more for functionality than to win design contests. On the right side, you will find the power and volume controls along with the microSD slot and the USB 2.0 charge/sync port. The 3.5mm audio jack is located at the top while the left side is left completely clean, which is nice to avoid accidental button action if the tablet is held with the left hand. At the bottom, there is a section that I’m assuming is housing the antenna, since it is made of a different material than the back.
Inside, the tablet is powered by an Intel Baytrail quad-core processor, which comes with its own integrated graphics processor. Lenovo says that it is possible to have up to 128GB of internal storage, and add another 32GB via a microSD card. Optionally, there’s an electronic pen, which we haven’t been able to test quite yet.
One of the most surprising aspects of this is the price of these 8” Windows tablets: at $299, it is very competitive, even with low-cost/high quality tablets like the Nexus 7. Obviously, the main advantage of the Mixx2 is the ability to run nearly every Windows application that you are familiar with. Also, all the network sharing (Groups) and IT capability built-in Windows (Home) are there.
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