Tablet Lenovo Tab S8-50LC: review, specifications, description and reviews of the owners

Unlike the Yoga Tablet 2, the Lenovo Tab S8 represents a tablet in a standard style, to which all are accustomed.

Design

The front is dominated by a large 8-inch screen with a resolution of 1200 x 1920 pixels and a pixel density of 283 per inch, which is more than enough for most users. The additional space, formed due to a somewhat strange attitude of the parties, is assigned to the operating keys of the OS "Android". In the tablets, it has become customary to have a return button, go to the home screen and manage multitasking. All of them when pressed give a strong tactile feedback. Also on both sides of the device there are forward-facing speakers that have become a pleasant surprise and put the tablet a step higher than the iPad Mini 3 or Air 2.

And, finally, on the front panel of the Lenovo Tab S8-50LC is a 1.6-megapixel front camera. It can shoot 720p video and lets you talk on Skype, but you can not expect high-quality selfies.

The rear surface is soft and slightly rubberized. Therefore, the tablet is nice to hold, and in the hands it lies a bit more reliable. The rear camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels and is capable of shooting HD video in 1080p format. Also there is a LED flash, which is a great rarity in the tablets, so it's nice that Lenovo has not stinted on it.

And, finally, the Intel logo inside. Yes, that's right, the heart of the tablet is the Intel processor.

Control keys and connectors

On the edge, at the top, is a 3.5 mm jack for the supplied standard headset. It suits headphones from the iPhone and Android, but Sony DNC does not work with it. This is offensive, but understandable, since they use a non-standard five-pole plug, in contrast to the usual three-pole.

On the right side of the Lenovo Tab S8 LTE is a button to turn on or activate the screen. Below is the volume key. One end of it differs from the other, which allows you to feel the difference if necessary.

Closer to the bottom is a microphone and a micro-USB port. This is the only way to recharge the battery, since the wireless power technology model, unfortunately, is not supported.

Finally, there is a MicroSD card slot on the left side. The 4G version also has a SIM slot.

Equipment

Below are some of the key features of the tablet:

• Display: 8.0 inches, IPS, 1200 x 1920 pixels, 283 dots per inch;
• Chip: quad-core Z3745 Intel Atom, 1.86 GHz;
• ROM, GB: 16;
• RAM, GB: 2;
• Memory card: MicroSD up to 32 GB;
• Dolby Digital Plus sound enhancement system;
• Bluetooth version v4.0;
• Accumulator: non-removable lithium-ionic capacity of 4290 mAh;
• Geo positioning: GPS with A-GPS;
• Camera: 3264 x 2448 pixels, 8 megapixel, LED flash, autofocus;
• Front camera: 720p, 1.6 Mp;
• Wi-Fi 802.11;
• Dimensions, mm: 123.8 x 209.8 x 7.9;
• Mass, g: 299.

Performance

Tablets with an Intel processor are not found so often. And he makes an impression. The device positions itself quite well among competitors.

This is not Tegra K1 or Snapdragon 801, but the performance of the Intel Atom is not inferior to the Snapdragon 400 processor in the Nexus 7, and even slightly better. Below are the results of some performance tests:

• Quadrant: 13012.
• Antutu: 31567.
• Sunspider: 761.5 ms.

Thus, the Lenovo Tab S8-50LC shows a performance comparable to such devices as Tesco Hudl 2, Xperia Z3, Nexus 9 and Xperia Z3. The closest competitor is the tablet also with a chipset from Intel - Tesco Hudl2. S8 even outstripped him in the Antutu test. Tab S8 is energetic in every way. Animation runs smoothly. The users who played on it in Real Racing 3 did not experience any delays. This is all good, as some have been concerned about some delays in losing video in 1080p format. True, after the reboot, this problem was solved and never repeated.

Graphic arts

The quality of the screen Lenovo Tab S8-50LC 8 "a little disappointed. Since this is an IPS-display, it is clear that it is not the same everywhere. Viewing the image from the side does not cause problems, but when you tilt up or down, you can see a pretty clear white border that distorts the graphics. This is a big drawback, although otherwise the screen is very good and, in terms of layout and density of pixels, more convenient than a compact tablet Xperia Z3.

Users who have had experience working on the Intel Atom microprocessor with Windows 8.1 earlier, note that with the "Android" OS it interacts much better. This indicates that Intel has worked hard to make the transition to a new platform successful.

Speakers

Support for Dolby software for two front speakers suggests that Lenovo can produce a decent sound. And this is true, though with some reservations. The maximum volume is good, but the speakers quickly start to sound "overloaded". The bass is noticeable and audible, and the apparent weakness at medium frequencies can be balanced with the Dolby equalizer. Thus, very good sounding can still be achieved.

Power Consumption

The minimum power consumption of the Lenovo S8 is relatively large and equal to 1.9 watts. The Sony Xperia Z3 consumes only 0.6 W, for example. But in general, the tablet is more unpretentious than its competitors. The maximum power consumption does not exceed 7.2 W.

The battery has a much lower capacity than some of the more expensive devices: 16.3 watts-is quite scarce compared to a 25-watt-hour Nexus 9 battery. However, Lenovo provides a longer battery life than a Google tablet, because It has less screen and overall energy saving works better. The absolute winner in this comparison is the Xperia Z3, whose battery life is 28% longer than the model in question. Nevertheless, the S8 allows more than 10 hours of web surfing via Wi-Fi.

Software

Despite the presence of a good "hardware", everything can be destroyed by one simple thing, and this is software. The Lenovo Tab S8 tablet runs on Android 4.4.2 without a clearly specified update method. However, with the acquisition of Motorola, this is probably not a problem. In addition, over the operating system, Lenovo decided to add a heavy user interface, which significantly changes the look of the tablet. Owners, who previously had a sad experience with similar GUI, did not feel the excitement. But nevertheless he has a number of features.

Lenovo's user interface offers some advantages. For example, the video player has interesting controls that allow you to adjust the brightness and volume by moving your finger across the screen to the left or right. It's nice. But there are many duplicate applications. A vivid example - browsers. There are three of them: ASOP, Chrome and UC Browser. Necessity in this is not, because they do not add anything new, but only hinder. There is also an "app" Games app, which is in fact only a link to the Play Store. The Lenovo Tab S8-50LC 16GB calendar has also undergone a duplication - a custom version, compared to the Google program, nothing new. Really useful were just a few programs. One of them is the file manager, which allows you to optimize the data storage on the microSD memory card. However, if you do not want to use the Lenovo Tab S8 interface, you can always install another one.

Cameras

In the tablet Lenovo Tab S8 16GB two cameras. The front resolution of 2 MP allows you to record HD-video format 720p. Rear - with 8 megapixel and the ability to shoot video in 1080p format. It does everything that can be expected from modern optics on the tablet. The camera interface is pure software from Google, so it's very easy to use, but if there really is a need to take something off, it's better to do yourself a favor and use the phone.

According to the owners of the tablet, the results of the survey are rather mediocre and can not shake anything. They are suitable for Facebook and other social networks, but for printing are not very high-quality.

Verdict

In general, users are positive about the Lenovo Tab S8 tablet. It is really packed a lot at a relatively low price. The device looks great and feels in the hand, it has a clear screen, excellent speed, decent battery life, front-oriented speakers and low cost. At the same time, the tablet has no oleophobic coating, the screen has a yellowish tinge, and the data transfer speed through the USB port leaves much to be desired.

Of course, Tesco Hudl 2 costs less. But Lenovo offers slightly better characteristics in terms of cameras and sizes. If the screen was better, then the gadget could make a real competition for some devices of a higher class, such as Samsung S Tab 8.4 or Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact.

If you need an inexpensive and lightweight tablet, then owners recommend to buy Lenovo Tab S8, despite the availability of other, cheaper options. Just need to be ready to change the user interface.