We got a new machine!!! Have I mentioned lately that I like this blogging gig;)? As an Lenovo Insider I received a Lenovo IdeaCentre Flex 20 to use and review. This machine really has 2 sides. One side is as a standard computer and one is as an entertainment/game center.
As a machine it is gorgeous. It has a great 19.5 inch screen that has a sparkling display (for work or media). It comes with Windows 8 preloaded and I just had to update it to Windows 8.1 to really get going (I like having my standard setup;). I just popped out the extremely durable stand and I was ready to go. The multi touch monitor meant that I could really take advantage of all the Windows 8.1 goodness! This is my first time in using a touch screen desktop and I don’t think I will be able to go back. And how it differs from using my touch screen Yoga is that there is so much more screen real estate that it is fabulous!!!
The hardware on this machine is more than I expected on a dual mode machine. It has 8 gb of ram and handled all the standard use I could throw at it. And I mean my multiple windows/tabs online along with some video editing and a couple of game apps all at the same time. I wasn’t doing heavy rendering nor compiling but I was doing my chaotic blogging work! It didn’t hiccup once.
While it is portable it isn’t a laptop so don’t be surprised that is fairly heavy with limited battery in comparison to a laptop. It has about a 2 hour battery ( little more). It is portable but really portable to a table because I don’t think it is both holdable and usable with 2 hands only;). While it converts to a tablet I view it more as a game board. Which leads to the funner side of this machine!
You can lay it down and play games on it! I find that you can totally play Windows 8 apps on it. All those word scrabble and racing games, the whole bit can be fun on the IdeaCentre Flex. But wait, there’s more! The IdeaCentre Flex comes with the Aura Interface and some great apps that are from Lenovo. This is some fun stuff! There are strikers and joysticks and dice that all will work with the system. Jeremy and I have had some serious rounds of Texas Hold Em and Air Hockey. There are also kids coloring apps in the interface that my daughters are enjoying quite a bit.
We are loving this system over here in the NerdFamily house! There will be more posts coming soon about all the fun we are having! This is another fabulous Windows 8 machine and I recommend it highly for families looking for a nice computer and some fun!!!
(I am both a Windows Champion and a Lenovo Insider. That doesn’t influence my opinions and all thoughts are mine alone! Thanks again for the machine Lenovo!)