• Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Digital technology
  • Cloud
  • Data analytics
  • Digital leaders
  • IoT
  • Opinion
  • Events
  • Resources
  • SMB Spotlight
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  • Events
    • Follow V3 Events

      Sign up to receive email alerts about our events

      Sign up
  • Resources
    • V3resources 120x194
      Network Security Forensics For GDPR Compliance

      An effective network security forensics strategy can assist an organization in providing key compliance-related details as part of any post-incident GDPR investigation.

      Download
      V3resources 120x194
      10 ways to increase productivity with managed Office 365

      For businesses large and small, relying on a cloud-based collaboration and productivity suite such as Microsoft Office 365 is becoming the norm. Enhancing productivity in your organisation is vital to get ahead in 2017 - and using Office 365 can help, if it's used right...

      Download
      Find resources
      Search by title or subject area
      View all resources
  • SMB Spotlight
  • Sign in
  •  
    •  

      You are currently accessing V3 .co.uk via your Enterprise account.

      Personalise your on site experience

      Download and use the apps

      Access your subscription from outside of the office

      Get relevant news and insight straight to your inbox

      • Sign in
     
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
  • Follow us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Newsletters
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Register
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Digital technology
  • Cloud
  • Data analytics
  • Digital leaders
  • IoT
  • Opinion
 
  •  

    You are currently accessing V3 .co.uk via your Enterprise account.

    Personalise your on site experience

    Download and use the apps

    Access your subscription from outside of the office

    Get relevant news and insight straight to your inbox

    • Sign in
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
V3.co.uk
  • Laptops

CES: Lenovo ThinkPad Helix hands-on review

An interesting Windows 8 tablet-ultrabook hybrid

  • Alastair Stevenson
  • Alastair Stevenson
  • @MonkeyGuru
  • 09 January 2013
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  •  
  •  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

LAS VEGAS: The Helix is one of many new ThinkPads to be unveiled by Lenovo at the 2013, Consumer Electronics (CES) show. However, being the company's first tablet-come-laptop hybrid it is debatably the most interesting.

Taking on the likes of the Microsoft Surface and Samsung Ativ-series of hybrids, the Helix seeks to offer businesses an all-in-one tablet that also acts as an ultrabook.

Having beaten the rush to get our hands on the tablet, if our opening impressions are anything to go by, Lenovo may have actually managed to achieve its goal.

Design and build
At first glance the Helix has a lot more in common with its ThinkPad predecessors than other convertible laptops.

The Helix design is unashamedly barebones, featuring the same minimalist black, hard edged plastic design synonymous with all ThinkPad devices.

It's only when you open it up and look up close that you realise the Helix is actually a convertible, spotting the rather unsubtle left hand switch that when popped separates the 21mm tablet section from its dock.Lenovo Thinkpad Helix

Playing with the Helix we were fairly impressed by the hinge mechanism's builds quality. Despite being made of plastic the connecting section felt sturdy.

Popping the tablet in and out of the dock a few times we felt suitably reassured the section wouldn't break after prolonged use. The same was true of the Helix main tablet section, with it feeling fairly robust.

Our only qualm with the device is that it feels slightly heavier than many other convertible devices weighing a hefty 835g.

Screen
The Helix comes loaded with an 11.6in Full HD 1920x1080 pixels, 10-point multi-touch screen. During our opening tests we found that looks very nice, boasting great viewing angles, colour and brightness levels.

Testing the screen we found the Helix was pleasantly responsive, with it easily picking up and responding to every swipe and poke we threw at it.

Lenovo Thinkpad Helix detached

Another added boon for artistic users, is the inclusion of a Wacom stylus, that sits neatly in the Helix's top edge.

While we didn't have time to do anything but use the stylus to make a few quick doodles, we were impressed with how well it worked.

Using Photoshop Elements, we found the Helix was able to pick up on even minor variations in pressure and angle and are fairly certain it could be used for digital painting and design purposes.

Performance and price
The Helix is designed to offer users ultrabook-level performance with the top-end version coming loaded with an Intel Core i7 processor 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. However, for this, users will have to shell out a massive $1,500.

For those shopping on a budget Lenovo's also confirmed the Helix will be available in Intel i3 and i5 versions, though there is still no official word on how much these lower specced versions will cost.

Chances
Overall our opening impressions of the Helix are positive. However, costing over $700 more than other cheaper convertible laptop-tablet hybrids, we're unsure whether the Helix will be able to attract anyone but the wealthiest of users.

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  •  
  •  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Laptops
  • CES
  • Lenovo
  • ultrabook
  • Windows 8
  • Thinkpad

More From v3 Labs

Huawei P9 with dual Leica cameras hands-on
Huawei P9 hands-on review

  • Mobile Phones
  • 06 Apr 2016
iPhone 6S and SE specs comparison
iPhone SE vs iPhone 6S spec by spec

  • Mobile Phones
  • 26 Mar 2016
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 mk2
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 mk2 hands-on review

  • Tablets
  • 09 Mar 2016
Huawei MateBook hybrid and MatePen
MWC 2016: Huawei MateBook hands-on review

  • Laptops
  • 24 Feb 2016
Galaxy S7 design
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S6 spec by spec

  • Mobile Phones
  • 24 Feb 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 official
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs iPhone 6S spec by spec

  • Mobile Phones
  • 22 Feb 2016

V3 Latest

'Money Saving Expert' Martin Lewis sues Facebook for defamation over 'fake ads'
'Money Saving Expert' Martin Lewis sues Facebook for defamation over 'fake ads'

TV presenter and consumer rights campaigner Martin Lewis takes on Facebook over defamatory ads

  • Internet
  • 23 April 2018
AMD Ryzen CPU release dates, specs and price: AMD hints at Ryzen 7 2800X plan to counter 8-core Intel Coffee Lake CPUs
AMD Ryzen CPU release dates, specs and price: AMD hints at Ryzen 7 2800X plan to counter 8-core Intel Coffee Lake CPUs

AMD believed to be holding Ryzen 7 2800X in reserve

  • Processors
  • 23 April 2018
BT plan to close down conventional fixed-line phone network by 2025 and go all-IP
BT plan to close down conventional fixed-line phone network by 2025 and go all-IP

BT wants to make the public switched telephone network history within eight years

  • Communications
  • 20 April 2018
Facebook Login hijacked by hidden web trackers, claim security researchers
Facebook Login hijacked by hidden web trackers, claim security researchers

Personal data being purloined by third parties via Facebook Login API

  • Security
  • 20 April 2018
Back to Top

Most read

Oracle: Java SE 8 business users must buy a licence from January next year
Oracle: Java SE 8 business users must buy a licence from January next year
Scientists uncover new battery chemical with 50 percent more storage capacity
Scientists uncover new battery chemical with 50 percent more storage capacity
Former spies are scraping Facebook data to build a massive facial recognition database
Former spies are scraping Facebook data to build a massive facial recognition database
BT plan to close down conventional fixed-line phone network by 2025 and go all-IP
BT plan to close down conventional fixed-line phone network by 2025 and go all-IP
Microsoft announces Azure Sphere to fight security threats hitting IoT devices
Microsoft announces Azure Sphere to fight security threats hitting IoT devices
  • Contact
  • Marketing solutions
  • Enterprise IT Events
  • About
  • Terms & conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Newsletters
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017