Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27, An “Interpersonal” PC

[CES 2013] Lenovo has just announced the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27, a massive 27″ touch PC that can be used as a Table PC, and All-In-One or as (Trans)portable computer with a short battery life. Yes, you can actually unplug this computer and move it around if you want. By introducing this form-factor, Lenovo wants to push the envelope of what can be done with a touch PC. If you remember the original Microsoft Surface table PC, it did cost tens of thousands of dollars, and it wasn’t clear what could be done with such computers. Others like Pioneer, looked at it and ultimately flopped.

Lenovo brings a smaller form factor to the market (27″ versus 42″), but with a price tag of $1699, it is clearly more affordable than previous “Table PC”. In terms of usage models, Lenovo did present a few situations, like using it as a workstation, or getting three or four people to play a game together. Monopoly could be really cool on the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27.

In the end, it’s about the apps, and that’s why Lenovo has joined forces with Ubisoft to provide a better out of the box experience. The system will come pre-loaded with a number of family-oriented games and I had the opportunity to try a couple of them for myself, such as King of the Opera (a game where you get points for staying in the spotlight), DrawRace 2 and Raiding Company (a shooter). Playing on the same screen was definitely a great experience, one that’s closer to a board game than a networked video game, actually. What would you do with a 27″ table PC?