Lenovo ThinkPad Helix: A Quirky But Quality Convertible Laptop Tablet

What's This?

By James Pikover2013-08-07 19:40:29 UTC

The future of computing is in question. Smartphones and tablets are taking over. They’re thinner, lighter, cheaper, have longer battery life, and most importantly they’re simple. Bill Gates may have been a decade early with the tablet computer, but now there are suitable tablet computers without compromise. Well, not too much.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Helix isn’t the first Windows 8 tablet computer, but it is one of the best. This convertible tablet-ultrabook starts at $1,343 and comes packed with a high-end Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive (model tested courtesy of Lenovo). Another $450 down will double the RAM, throw in a more powerful i7 chip, and up the SSD to 256GB.

See also: How to Install Windows 8 Without Ditching Windows 7

Even for the high price, the Helix is one of the neatest, most manageable Windows laptops you can get. The bonus: It isn’t just an ultraportable; it’s a laptop, tablet, and battery dock all in one, and it’s pretty goofy too. In a good way.

Power Home and Away

The latest laptops boast excellent battery life thanks to the newest Intel chipsets. The Helix can’t make that claim; most laptop makers are still catching up to use the new CPUs, which increase performance around 20% but have shown to nearly double battery life like in the latest MacBook Air.

Yet even without the newer silicon, the Helix has surprising performance without sacrificing the battery. That’s because the two-piece design offers two batteries, and, even when in tablet mode, the relatively small three-cell battery lasts up to five hours per charge. The secret sauce is intelligent life-preserving software to keep the tablet mode less power-hungry. After all, when used as a tablet, you don’t need to blast at full power. Half-speed will still outpace an iPad.

The included keyboard dock adds another two hours of battery life, but it also throws the laptop into a more traditional full-power mode. To hit the purported 10-hour battery mark (I was able to hit eight and a half in testing), you’ll have to go from excellent to mediocre performance, which just isn’t worth it. With standard laptop battery settings, the Helix lasts a solid four and a half hours with the keyboard dock — a respectable time. If you juggle between laptop and tablet use, the Helix does seem to last forever.

Built for Productivity, Still Personable

As strange as the Helix is — around the office it’s the “cool Windows thing James has” — the four-configuration design makes a lot of sense, even if two modes are completely useless. The two standard layouts, laptop and tablet, are exactly what they sound like. Lenovo built this machine so the tablet (where the entire computer is stored) fits onto the keyboard both forward and backward, meaning facing toward and away from the keyboard. The third mode uses the keyboard as a stand; I’ve used it as such, but the keyboard takes up too much space on a desk to make it a worthwhile dock.

The fourth configuration is dubbed “Tablet+” and is just the tablet connected to the keyboard in reverse for more battery life, which is silly because the 11.6-inch display is already too big for long tablet use. Tacking on the additional two pounds for a total of 3.8 lbs is just ridiculous.

Thankfully, the user inputs are all really well built. The keyboard is finely tuned with low-profile keys that are pleasant to type on, even if they are rubber. The trackpad is massive and feels great to scroll with. Maybe one of these days Microsoft will make better software for trackpads such as this. The right mouse click on the trackpad is a tad too hard to press though, and Lenovo’s “Trackpoint” mouse nub is completely unnecessary on the Helix (with the huge trackpad and the touchscreen). The mouse buttons for the Trackpoint are on the top of the trackpad, and they’re too difficult to press for anyone who would try.

With the brilliant 1080p IPS touchscreen display, there’s no need for the Trackpoint. It’s one of the nicest screens available, with high brightness levels, excellent color contrast and very accurate colors. Even as a glossy display, you can easily see what’s on the screen outside on a bright day with minimal complaints. The only problem some users will have is that for an 11.6-inch panel the 1920 x 1080 resolution may be too high, especially for corporate buyers who want a tablet-laptop in one but keep a set of bifocals at the computer desk. It’s a great screen for watching movies, reading and productivity.

Top-Heavy, Quirky and Thought-Out

Ironically, the Helix is most uncomfortable to use as a laptop. Because the entire computer is in the tablet portion, it’s a little more than top-heavy; using it on a lap requires more finesse than just hunkering down. It’s slight, but definitely noticeable. The hinge also has a limited 110-degree maximum incline, which outdoors can be a problem with the highly glossy screen, but in my testing hasn’t proved to be a major issue.

Then there’s just the weirdness in some of the design, like the protective flap on the keyboard that only opens when in laptop mode. It makes sense to protect the hinge, but it just looks odd.

Furthermore there are only a few connectors available on the Helix. The tablet portion has one USB 2.0 port, power, a SIM card housing, and a MiniDisplay port. The keyboard duplicates video out and power, plus two USB 3.0 ports, all on the back. The tablet portion also has the auxiliary audio port, a volume rocker, a screen rotation lock, and a stylus “digitizer pen.” The pen works well with some drawing apps, and I’ve used it with the included Evernote Touch app for Windows 8, but rarely found a use for it over the keyboard or my finger.

For everything the Helix is, it’s clearly well thought through. The function keys are user adjustable and default to Mac-like functions (one-click volume and brightness adjustment, Wi-Fi toggle, settings, etc.). An additional fan on the keyboard dispels extra heat when the two sides are connected because the processor automatically ramps up. Even the light-up title on the two ThinkPad logos are cute indicators that the machine is on or in sleep mode.

The only thing definitely missing is loud audio. The front-facing stereo speakers are frighteningly quiet; it’s impossible to hear someone over VoIP with the air conditioner on in the room. Front- and rear-facing cameras both take great stills and video, but for media playback and communication, you’ll need some headphones.

Worth the Price, But Wait for Haswell

Originally I planned on skipping the last-generation Intel CPUs in favor of the newest “Haswell” chips because of the huge bump in battery performance. The reason is obvious: laptops are already way more powerful than tablets and smartphones, but if you want to buy a new one, it had better last awhile. So it’s really hard to recommend any new machine when some of the latest ones offer up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge.

The Helix doesn’t throw a wrench in my thinking. It’s a powerful, well-balanced workhorse of a laptop with already good battery life. It’s pretty neat to detach the keyboard for tablet use. Sure, it has plenty of goofy traits, but I’ve had a blast testing and using the Helix because it is so capable. And it would be way better with the latest i5/i7 to squeeze a few more hours of the already good battery.

At a starting price of $1,343, the ThinkPad Helix is undoubtedly a luxury purchase. Microsoft has yet to prove that Windows 8 is a suitable tablet-friendly operating system, which is painfully obvious when attempting simple tasks like right-clicking with the touchscreen. Based solely on the hardware, the Helix is one of the best convertible laptop tablets you can get. Just as soon as it gets the latest from Intel, it’ll be worth upgrading, even for the high price. Then you’ll have a simple, long-lasting and very powerful computer that’s not exactly simple … but hey, baby steps.

The Lowdown

What’s Good

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  Great 1080p display for video and productivity alike

  
  


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  Form factor is quirky and fun; excellent for travel

  
  


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  Powerful machine that has decent battery life...

  
  

What’s Bad

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  ...But with a newer CPU the battery could be much better

  
  


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  Speakers are way too quiet

  
  


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  Pricey for such a thick, heavy PC

  
  

Images: Mashable

Topics: Gadgets, lenovo, reviews, tablets, Tech, ThinkPad, ThinkPad tablet