Lenovo IdeaCentre A300 and Multimedia Keyboard review
By Vlad Savov 
posted June 20th 2010 5:01PM
posted June 20th 2010 5:01PM
Hardware and Construction
First impressions of this Lenovo all-in-one were overwhelmingly positive. Its slick and shiny exterior merited a second look even from jaded souls like us, while our unscientific polling of nearby laypersons ended with the conclusion that the A300 is "gorgeous." The asymmetric stand adds a smidgen of sophistication, and we can happily report that it handles the screen's weight with aplomb, keeping it upright in an extremely stable and reliable fashion. Considering how far off-center the chrome-covered base is, Lenovo's done a fine job to keep functionality in tact while diversifying form. Limited, but we would say sufficient, tilt and swivel are on offer as well.Going around the A300's body, you'll find a litany of ports around the back and left side, including HDMI inputs and outputs, a quartet of USB jacks, Firewire, a handy multicard reader, and a TV signal input with its own adapter coming in the box. We weren't too thrilled about the positioning of the power jack, as we came close to unplugging the juice on multiple occasions while trying to use nearby ports. This is also down to the fact that the power adapter here is of the sort used in laptops and is easier to disconnect than your typical desktop fare -- which is dandy for battery-powered portable computers, but could prove disastrous if you're working on something important and start fiddling around the back of the machine absent-mindedly. Isolating that connector from the others could've helped remedy this situation, but it's not exactly a deal breaker as it is.
Plugging in a set of headphones produced a nasty surprise for us: a loud background hum was present, punctuated by intermittent buzzing, some of which was caused by our actions with the computer. This was clearly the result of the internal wiring causing interference, and Lenovo's failure to properly insulate the audio-out channel from such incursions is a major letdown. Even if we optimistically suppose this was a one-off problem with our review unit, it doesn't speak too highly of the quality control checks carried out with A300.
We had another unexpected and unpleasant discovery with the A300's keyboard: incredible as this sounds, simple text input on the A300, erm, lagged. That's to say we occasionally found our textual musings appearing on screen a good three to four seconds after punching them in. Similar behavior was exhibited when we Ctrl and W'd a few tabs in Firefox -- they hung around after our instruction, leading us to think it wasn't registered and doing it again, with the end result being that we closed more tabs than we intended to. Annoying. Our inclination, given that these were all keyboard inputs, is to suspect that the Bluetooth connection was causing the delays. Still, the underlying reason is less important than the fact we had an issue to fix with the most basic of operation on the A300.
It's a shame, really, since this spoils what's an otherwise thoroughly pleasing and sturdy keyboard. We tried hard (harder than Lenovo would appreciate) to find flex or creaks in it, but this is one well built slab of plastic. Button travel is somewhat shallow for a desktop part, but felt pretty much spot on for us. We enjoyed our time typing this review out on the A300, and were able to consistently reach 90 words per minute on our favorite typing benchmark. That's about a dozen words fewer than our typical rate, but comfortably high enough to mark this out as a highly competent button slate. The bundled mouse similarly acquitted itself well, with good traction in its scroll wheel and fine ambidextrous ergonomics.
The display itself is actually an above average affair, in our opinion, with a lucid and well saturated picture. Stretching to a full 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, it offers plenty of real estate and we'd say its 21.5-inch size is just about the sweet spot for desktop use. We were fans of the contiguous glass front, and can definitely see the value on offer for students and the like who'd prefer to combine a TV set and computer into the smallest possible package. That does come with the caveat that vertical viewing angles are par for the LCD course (i.e. not very good), and the limited tilt available on the A300 could thwart your attempts at achieving converged technology nirvana. We must also mention that the screen here is of a highly reflective variety; it's no glossier than what you'd get on Apple's latest iMacs, but it'll cause you some grief if you have a light source directly opposite it during use.
Software and performance
We'll reiterate what we said in our A70z review: this is a Windows 7 (Home Premium 64-bit flavor) machine, and if you want the full dish on what the OS will and won't do for you, check out our comprehensive review. It merits mentioning that in spite of Lenovo slapping its Enhanced Experience label on the IdeaCentre A300 -- which is supposed to indicate the company optimized a few things under the hood to make it run faster -- bloatware and other ancillary programs slow the boot time down to a glacial 70 seconds. Hey, if Nic Cage can steal a car in less than a minute, then computers should be able to turn on in the same amount of time as well, we're not asking for too much here.The processor inside our test unit was a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600, which was long in the tooth this time last year, and positively ancient today. And yet, our experience with the A300 indicates that its inclusion here is more testament to the Intel chip's longevity than Lenovo skimping on component costs. The laptop CPU is powerful enough to run 1080p video flawlessly, and handles the mundanity of day to day computing with good humor and fitness. The 4GB memory allowance helps, while a half terabyte hard disk (formats down to 440GB) provides plenty of storage. If there's one thing we have to criticize on this spec sheet, it's the 5400RPM spindle speed on the storage unit: it showed its speed deficiency early and often. Oh, and speaking of spinning plates, there's no optical drive to be had -- an irrelevance for some, but a major downer for others who might have been contemplating turning this into their media playback station.
Operation of the A300 is on the whole extremely quiet, though the base -- which contains the majority of components -- does get warm to the touch. The only thing you might hear is the hard drive seeking, but if you want to kill two birds with one stone, slap an SDD in this machine and you'll nullify both the speed and noise disadvantages thrown up by Lenovo's default disk. On the whole, we might not recommend this as your Photoshop or 3D design rig, but regular things like web browsing, media playback, and basic productivity are handled smoothly and competently.
Multimedia Keyboard
Wrap-up
In conclusion then, what we've been looking at has been a set of laptop parts exploded into a jumbo iPhone-aping screen with an asymmetric base and attention-grabbing looks. The result is pretty close to what you might expect: happy, shiny, and pretty on the outside, but flawed and mildly deficient on the inside. At $949 for the model we reviewed, we can't say the A300 represents good value. Sure, you get that TV tuner, bi-directional HDMI connectivity, and a 1080p panel, but we'd argue you would be better off purchasing each of those things individually rather than trying to compound them all in this one imperfect device. Additionally, the media repository ambition indicated by all the storage and inputs is somewhat defeated by the omission of an optical drive, which becomes much more important in a media station or HTPC candidate of this kind.As to the Multimedia Keyboard, you should be mindful that usage scenarios are limited, because it's not good enough at what it does to replace having a dedicated keyboard or multimedia remote. That proviso aside, it's just plain fun to use and would make for a great gift -- you know, because then you won't have to think through the whole question of whether it's good value for money or not.
looks imho like a plastic toy
@shizzledmg
Crapgadget is the word you're looking for.
@shizzledmg
Yeah, I bought it and it's a piece of junk. It's 2010, and engadget thinks we should be using a trackball?
diNovo Mini FTW!
@The Advanced Kind
+1 on the mini. I love mine. Yes, plastic lid and all.
@shizzledmg Because that's all this is - a pile of consumer-grade crap delivered to the masses, rather than a business-class machine.
Ниче так!;)
@Lucky Businessman
yeah same here
another example of a PC with a unappealing name. C'mon guys...
@boom roasted
The thing I hate most about the product is a clear rip on the apple background (leopard) trying to make the two things similar. If I want to buy apple I will buy apple, but I don't need to be appealed by the characteristics of apple to have a windows computer (if you don't know what I'm referring to, look at the pictures at the top with the purple background.)
So may say that's not on purpose but I think it has to be a motive here.
And by the way, this is coming from a person that loves both companies.
@seanGadget So you think everything has been invtnted by Apple? LOL
Poor guy.
THose type of backgrounds have been out for so long before Mac made them their own. I feel sorry really of how blind Apple consumers really are.
@seanGadget
You obviously don't like windows so stfu you troll.
@Protato
so if he doesnt like windows he needs to shut the fuck up? you seem to have the intelligence of a bodyguard.
@Protato
Did I say anything about windows?
If you actually read my comment you would know I was refering to Lenovo, and NOT microsoft.
Keyboard and mouse definitely look like sh1t
@Lucky Businessman They do... :\
Not. Enough. Glare.
I can still see *something* of whats going on on the screen. The glare must be so bright people have to wear special googles to only go in the same room as that monitor, let alone use it...
GLAAAAAAAAAAARE !
@Stormstrike
I want to destroy the idiots who thought glossy was a good idea for computer displays.
@Dafrety
You have to get in line behind me then...and there is a good chance there is not much left when I'm trough with them...
^_^
@Stormstrike: "special googles"
Indeed.
@Dafrety Gadget consolidation is the way of the future.
I really enjoy the fact that my display doubles as a vanity mirror. Très chic!
I say, that netbook appears to have a gigantic tumor...
@Christian Martin
It's not a Tuma!!!
As long as the table cloth doesn't come with it!
What were you thinking?
They couldn’t be more evident in their rip off vision.
Lenovo often puts the multimedia keyboard on sale for $36, making it a little easier to justify picking it up as an HTPC accessory. The keyboard's not backlit, though, which can really suck if you've got a dark home theater setup.
That's the one reason I got the (more expensive) dinovo mini.
I love the little bugger. Still, I would have rathered a trackball to a trackpad.
@vfiz: I wish I could get it for the Sterling equivalent over here in Blighty - I'd happily splash £25 on one of them, especially if it's Mac compatible. Would seem like the ideal foil for use with an HTPC.
I think a macbook and the imac are better.
@tomvb way better
They are also more powerful and not meant to compete with this aio.
@iamcriss
macbook ? imac ?
Isn't that the stuff where you have to be shorter than this *makes gesture with 2 fingers an inch apart* to use them ?
^_^
@tomvb: Comparing it to a MacBook is pretty dumb. Would you care to elaborate on how you reached such a well-reasoned conclusion?
@meeku i just wanted to test if i could start a fanboy war :) congrats to you all, you PASSED :)
As much as I like the ThinkPad lines, or because of my love for the uncompromising stark design, the shiny, round design of Idea series looks like a desperate attempt to be different (IMHO). In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it had an HP or Acer badge on it.
What a waste of a brand. :(
@lecti I agree. Nothing looks better than a ThinkPad. I refuse to buy an Apple laptop, until Apple makes something as good as ergonomic as a ThinkPad. The edge of the palmrests and glossy screen of MacBooks are screaming "Apple doesn't care about ergonomy". Not to mention lack of reasonable docking stations and poor Xwindow performance of OSX (hurts as hell in Matlab!!)
That keyboard is useless.. Like really takes almost the space of real keyboard while being useless...
I'm no HP fanboi, but the multitouch HP Touchsmart is still the best all-in-one computer on the market.
The only thing is I just don't see the practical value and limitations of an all-in-one worth it in the home except in specific environments like a kitchen computer and the like.
PS: IMO 24" is the price/performance sweet spot for a single 1080P display.
@Ducman69 Spot on, the comment about 24" being the "sweet spot."
Nowadays with video cards coming with HDMI ports, so too are the monitors and HDTVs. More and more people are doing what the anything-video-related companies want them to do, play movies and/or watch TV on their computer monitors.
That being the situation, monitors now need to have HDMI and DVI ports, be at least 24" diagonal (mine are 28" which is also fine), low MS response times, and super high resolution (my two HD monitors that I have connected to my computer are 1900 x 1200).
@Ducman69
I concur that the HP AIO are good--but I think the Sony 24"ers are pretty good and competitively priced as well. I have the older LV and its been a pretty decent machine.
Does anyone have this wallpaper... I kinda like that (after I shopped the IdeaCentre out of it)...
I'd appreciate a link or something...
I'm with CoCo
for 200$ you can have basic iMac with much better display and actual desktop specs ... what a fail (and ugly at that)
It looks great but i would buy everything separately. I don't like it when companies make decisions for me.
Excellent review, very detailed and you hit on the critical points one needs to consider when making a buying decision.
This is a slick setup and people should recall what an $1800 computer configuration was, back just 10 years ago. So for $900? That's a great price for what this is. And street price should soon be about $750.
What this is to me is for the non-tech consumer crowd or office executives who want a cool looking desktop with which to impress clients. IMHO it fills the needs of those two groups.
Nope, it's not a gaming machine or something for anyone who needs a high powered machine, such as people who work with graphics or video production. (Those people would be buying a $4,000 machine anyway. And that would be a budget model.)
I'd consider this but I have my desktop connected to two 28" HD monitors via HDMI cables to a Radeon 5870 video card. I'm running 1920 x 1200 resolution, 5 MS response times.
As slick as this Lenovo looks, my two 28" HD monitors have way more wow factor, especially when I run an HD screen saver in dual monitor mode. LOL.
Moreover, my PC has dual layer DVD, BluRay, two 1 TB hard drives and 12 USB ports. My point is that I agree with the reviewer, you have to consider the limitations of this kind of machine. They look neat and cool with everything contained in a small footprint case, but you can forget about upgrading it or changing something around that you don't like. The machine is truly WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).
Then again, this might be slick for my bedroom, for those late night visits to all my favorite video port sites. ;)
Oh, and I totally agree with the author, the lack of an optical drive is disappointing.
True, you can use a USB external drive should the need arise. But the target market for this machine still uses DVDs. So if one intends to use this to play movies, he or she should not have to shop for an optical drive to do so.
While it may have driven up the cost slightly, Lenovo should have included a BluRay/DVD player (at least). A benefit of doing that would have been the ability to advertise "Plays BluRay Movies!" That would have given this a high tech function/feature to match its high tech look.
We've had that "Multimedia Keyboard" at CompUSA for about 2 months now. We sold one, and the customer returned it and got a Logitech instead. I got to play with it and it was not that great. The Logitech in the other hand....
FIREFOX < GOOGLE CHROME
Lenovo's "Transformer" all-in-one is much better:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/lenovo-ideacentre-b500-hands-on-impressions/
and you can buy it with a quad core processor
@ror
Thanks for the link =)
It definitely looks better, none of that glossy, plastic crap
"Ping pong bat"?