Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27 - 57315058 Pro Reviews

A novel mega tablet that’s both fun and fast, but it’s far too expensive

Part all-in-one, part tablet, the IdeaCentre Horizon folds flat into a unique family entertainment system. Build quality is high, but connectivity is poor and our sample also suffered from poor hard drive performance.

A touch-enabled all-in-one running Windows 8 that doubles as a tabletop gaming machine is innovative and has a ton of potential on paper, but unfortunately the Horizon Table PC fell way short in realizing that potential. A slow 5,400 RPM hard drive that drags the entire system down, only two USB ports, a low-resolution display and an outdated CPU (in that order) are all signs that you should skip the Horizon and look elsewhere.

If we ignore differences between screen resolution, Lenovo's slower IdeaCentre Horizon could still use a discount to match the value of Dell's XPS One. If you absolutely need the portability of a battery-equipped touchscreen all-in-one, you're going to have to tolerate the lackluster performance of a 17 W CPU and entry-level graphics processor. But let's say you don't really care about cutting-edge performance. Is there enough cool-factor in a big all-in-one that'll run for almost two hours away from the wall to justify that compromise? I sought out an impression from someone who spends most of her time on tablets. Spoiled by Dell's choice of a quicker quad-core processor and accustomed to the lighter software load of her portable devices, the same person who wrote the glowing blurb at the end of my XPS One review, yet wished it could lay completely flat and play the same type of touch-oriented games that the Horizon is designed for, threw her hands up after a few hours and decided that the IdeaCentre's dual-core chip just wasn't fast enough for a desktop PC (even a portable all-in-one). Doh. Fortunately, the $1500 model we reviewed isn't Lenovo's only offering. The company sells three other designs with Core i7s that are still dual-core, Hyper-Threading-equipped, 17 W chips, but run at higher frequencies. There's even a version with an SSD cache. Just bear in mind that two of the four configurations don't come with batteries. Portability has its price, after all.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon All-in-One machine is truly a unique beast. Coupling Ultrabook hardware with a 27-in 1080p 10-point touch screen display is common practice but enabling a tabletop mode with custom software to promote a multi-user environment is not. In my experience the Aura environment worked well and basic consumers will find it inviting and innovative. More experienced users will likely question the lack of integration with other key services like Facebook or Dropbox and the lack of access to a simple web browser in this mode is a sore spot. By far the most fun I had with the Horizon was playing Monopoly with friends - I just wish there were some other games that peak my interest half as much. Games like Air Hockey, DrawRace and Raiding Company will likely appeal to the younger crowd strongly but the biggest let down for me was the Texas Hold 'Em game that traded usability for glossy, flashy design and insane rule changes (changing opponents hold cards based on reputation??) making it basically unplayable for anyone over the age of nine. And while you might say that other software can be written for this form factor I just don't have faith it will happen - so depending on Lenovo here is all you can do. With a price tag of $1600, the IdeaCentre Horizon is also a bit more expensive than I would like to see. Other AIO computers can be found for under $800 with Ivy Bridge hardware in them though that is with a 20-in display, no internal battery and no lay-flat software to take advantage of the table PC form factor. If Lenovo could prove to me that the software ecosystem for this kind of design was going to remain strong I would feel more comfortable recommending the Horizon to readers looking for a family-friendly all-in-one, but for now I think it is a bit more risk than I would take on without knowing 100% that this is what you want.

In the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27 you’ve got what’ll almost certainly continue to be one of the most solid “odd” computers on the market. Microsoft’s push for uniqueness in Windows 8 hardware has definitely made it’s mark on the hardware landscape – many different configurations for touchscreen and a keyboard combos have been appearing, but with this offering, Lenovo has created something solid. While, again, it’s not going to be easy for Lenovo to sell this machine on a large scale, its very existence stands as proof that the company is not amongst those that would make hardware builds just to be first to the concept. This computer is unique as well as robust: ready for the living room, the class room, ready for any odd game-friendly room in-between.

In the end, the price will be a barrier for many would-be Horizon owners. At $1,849, the system requires you to pay a premium, though Lenovo does say a similarly configured Core i7 model will be available at retail in June for $1,599. In the same vein, the Core i5-based Horizon model available from Lenovo costs $1,699, but a retail model will sell for $1,499. At its current price, the Core i7-based Horizon is priced, for example, between Apple's two 27-inch iMac models. Sure, the Horizon offers the unique Aura interface and accessories, but the iMac adds value with its iLife suite. And while we like the look of the Horizon and its ability to move into tabletop mode, its design trails that of the iMac.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27 is not quite my dream all-in-one, nor my dream tabletop PC, but it does both jobs well, especially considering the tabletop/megatablet genre is very, very new. The Horizon 27 makes a much bolder statement than the smaller versions from Dell, Sony, and others, and really feels like one might simply leave it in tabletop mode full-time, where it has a great retro sci-fi feel, especially when manipulating photos and videos by hand. Gaming is a big selling point, and the Horizon needs an easier way to highlight good games such as the touch version of Monopoly, and also more-accessible versions of its casino games, which could really be a killer app for the system. I'm not ready to call tabletop PCs in general, and the Horizon in particular, totally ready for mainstream family use, but the Horizon 27 is still tremendously fun to use, if you put time into figuring out its quirks. For the promised lower prices coming to retail versions in June, $1,499 to $1,599 for a solid 27-inch all-in-one with all these extra features sounds like a deal that will appeal to early adopters.

Lenovo has tried to think of everything with the Horizon. Consumers can even buy a table built specifically for it (we didn’t receive the table, so can’t comment on its quality). Careful thought went into everything from the interface to the peripherals. There are limits to what a lone PC manufacturer can accomplish, however, and they’ve been met here. Aura is pleasing, its apps are useful, and some of its games are good fun, but what ships with the system is probably all you’ll ever use. Once you’ve become familiar with the bundled software, the wow factor will wear off and you’ll be left with an all-in-one that’s not so different from everything else on the market. That’s a problem, as the Horizon isn’t competitive against market leaders such as the Dell XPS One 27. The hardware isn’t quick enough to keep pace, and the display, though beautiful, could use extra pixels. Then there’s the price … $1,499 is a lot to ask for an all-in-one with weak performance. We think the Horizon is a step is an interesting direction, but Lenovo can’t embark on this journey alone. Tablet PCs need faster hardware and better operating system support to appeal to a mainstream audience. Intel’s new Haswell processors might provide the former, but Microsoft’s answer could take years to materialize.