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Lenovo may have just announced its Android-powered Yoga tablets, but the company is also about to launch a new addition to its Windows 8 tablet family, the Miix 8. On show at the Gadget Show Live in London, we went down to get a hands on impression.
The 8in tablet runs the full 32-bit version of Windows 8.1 and is powered by one of Intel’s brand new Bay Trail Atom processors, the quad-core 1.3GHz Atom Z3740. Paired with 2GB of RAM, it finished the SunSpider Javascript benchmarks in a super fast 406.6ms, which is more than twice as quick as the older Z2760 processors we’ve seen in previous Atom-based Windows tablets.
We’ve yet to put any of the new Bay Trail processors to work in our laptop benchmarks to see how they’d fare with more demanding tasks, but it’s certainly fast enough for everyday web-browsing and office tasks.
Windows 8.1 also felt incredibly snappy and responsive, although this was helped in part by the tablet’s gorgeous 8in five point touchscreen. Colours were bright and vibrant, and the display’s viewing angles were superb. We were able to see the screen clearly from almost any angle and it coped very well with reflections and glare from the bright overhead lights on the show floor.
We also thought the tablet’s 1,280x800 resolution was just right on the Miix 8. We were a little disappointed to see this resolution on Lenovo’s bigger 10in Yoga tablet, but here it gave Windows 8.1 plenty of clarity and definition. Any bigger and the resolution would have made it tricky to use the touchscreen, especially for more precise tasks like tapping files and folders in Windows Explorer.
We found it particularly difficult to use icons at the very edge of the screen, such as closing and minimising windows and bringing up the onscreen keyboard. Luckily the Miix 8 also comes with a stylus, which tucks neatly into the tablet’s magnetic slip case. The slip case can also fold back over the screen to protect it from getting scratched in your bag.
We didn’t have any fears about its build quality, though, as the metallic rear panel didn’t show any signs of flex at all. It’s very thin and light, too, weighing a mere 363g and measuring 8.1mm thick. This is even slimmer than a 2013 Nexus 7, so the Miix is one of the thinnest and most stylish tablets around. With such meagre dimensions, it's a joy to hold in your hand.
With 32GB of storage, there’s not a lot of room for files and videos, but there’s a micro SD card slot underneath a plastic clip to help expand storage further up to 64GB. There’s also a micro USB port and a headphone jack.
Lenovo also claim a battery life of up to 8 hours. It's not quite in the same league as the Microsoft Surface Pro 2's 11 hour battery life, but it's still good by Atom standards.
Lenovo has yet to reveal price and availability for the Miix 8, but from what we've seen, it's one of the most stylish and attractive Windows 8 tablets this year. If Lenovo can get the price right, the Miix 8 could be one of the most desirable Windows 8 tablets yet.
Andoid Games
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