One of the more interesting PCs launched
at this week's CES 2013 show is the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC,
a 27-inch all-in-one desktop with around-the-house portability. Like
the Sony VAIO Tap 20$999.99 at Sony, the Horizon is an all-in-one PC
with the components built behind the screen, but where the Tap 20 is
large, the IdeaCentre Horizon is an XXL. It's designed for sharing the
computer with the family, and as such Lenovo has worked with software
developers to make sure it's not just another big-screen desktop that
happens to tilt flat.
The IdeaCentre Horizon's
sports a 27-inch 1,920 by 1,080 (true 1080p HD) resolution screen.
While we've seen that size before (notably on the Lenovo IdeaCentre
A720$1,699.00 at Microsoft Store), this is the first time we've seen
that size of a screen on something that can work completely untethered.
Claimed battery life is about two hours. At 18 pounds, we can't call the
IdeaCentre Horizon a portable, but you can temporarily unplug it and
carry it from room to room in and out of your home.
Carrying the system is definitely a
two-handed affair: even if you can curl 25 pound weights with each arm,
you couldn't support the IdeaCentre Horizon in the crook of your arm as
you would with a tablet unless you had the arms of a WWE wrestler. The
lip of the bezel is ringed in a soft rubbery plastic compound, to help
with grip and to protect the screen in the unlikely case that the system
is left resting on its front side.
The IdeaCentre Horizon has a U-shaped
tilting stand in the back, similar to the one on the Sony Tap 20, and
like the Tap 20 you can tilt the IdeaCentre Horizon from a vertical
position through to a flat horizontal position. Once in that position,
you can share the 10-point touch screen with as many people that you can
fit around the system.
One neat feature of the IdeaCentre
Horizon is the Aura interface that automatically comes up when you drop
the screen to a horizontal position. It brings up a touch-optimized
interface, with a round, puck-like central controller that can be
rotated by touch to be "right side up" no matter which side of the
system you are on. The puck has buttons on it that open categorized
menus, like music, video, games, and the like. Opened photos, videos,
and other items can be tilted, zoomed in or out, or repositioned on the
screen. Each item has inertia, so the tiles act as if they are sliding
on an air hockey table. It's similar to the visuals in the
money-tracking scene in the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, except
that you can turn everything so it's facing the "right way up" for you.
It's interesting that Lenovo has
commissioned a new touch interface overlay, recalling what all
manufacturers had to do pre-Windows 8. Lenovo did this because the
current Windows 8 Start screen doesn't support users sitting on opposite
sides of a screen, where there's not true "up" direction. Aura and the
other apps that Lenovo has co developed with companies like Electronic
Arts work well on the horizontal screen. When you're done playing
Monopoly or roulette and tilt the screen back to vertical, the system
automatically asks you if you want to return to the Windows 8 interface.
On the system we looked at—equipped with an Core i7 CPU, SSD, and
Nvidia GeForce GT620M graphics—the transition was close to
instantaneous.
The IdeaCentre Horizon has a set of
notable accessories, including a rechargeable six-sided die can that be
used for board games. Up to three dice can be read but the system
simultaneously. The system also has joystick and "striker" (think air
hockey paddle) controllers that can interact with the screen. Last, but
not least, the version of the system we looked at can be bolted to the
Horizon Multimode Table, a moving, tilting stand that lets you wheel the
system around the house easier. It's similar to moving a tilting table
on casters, except this table is a full-blown Windows 8 PC.