Cinema experience without the frills

SINGAPORE — Amid the competition among phablets and tablets, Lenovo’s YOGA Tablet range has turned out to be quite a heavyweight, designed with a unique versatility that allows consumers to use it in a variety of ways.

The YOGA Tablet 2 Pro (picture), which was launched here late last month, includes a pico projector that beams a clear image onto any surface for an instant cinema experience.

The novel projector — a first for the tablet industry, said Lenovo — is the tablet’s defining feature, perfect for an impromptu movie session with friends.

The prospect of recreating the cinema experience without having to invest in a screen and projector was exciting. Overall, the output was good, especially since it was capable of decently displaying images up to 50 inches wide at a resolution of 854 x 580 pixels.

Make sure, though, that the room is completely dark or else light will wash out the picture.

How to rest the tablet while watching a movie was an issue. I used the kickstand in Stand mode — one of four display modes possible on the tablet with adjustment of the kickstand — to keep the device upright, then used a book to tilt it slightly so the image would be displayed perfectly on the wall.

Although there are other ways to create a more reliable projector-screen viewing, the novelty of having an image beamed straight from a tablet is rather irresistible for those looking for a no-frills solution.

The other display modes include Grip for handling the tablet with one hand, Tilt for typing and Hang, which gives the kickstand a full 180° rotation so you can hook the tablet to a wall if there are several people viewing its screen.

The last mode is a new option with this tablet, while the other three were available with the first Lenovo YOGA tablet. The kickstand is stiff and sturdy, so there is no fear of it slipping.

A good thing too, since the YOGA Tablet 2 Pro weighs 948g — heavier than the Surface Pro 3 (800g) and iPad Air 2 (444g).

The YOGA Tablet 2 Pro measures 333mm x 224mm x 12.6mm and has a 13.3-inch screen featuring a 2560 x 1440 Quad HD IPS display, which provided immaculately crisp viewing. Be it under bright light or in a dark room, reading articles and watching YouTube videos were simply a joy.

The device also has an Intel Atom processor with 2GB of RAM running on the Android 4.4 or KitKat operating system. Its internal storage capacity is 16GB — I find this extremely restrictive — or 32GB, with an expandable option of up to 64GB using a microSD card. Switching between screens and menus was effortless and without lag.

When it comes to audio, we expected more from the YOGA Tablet 2 Pro. Although its dual front speakers armed with a JBL subwoofer, the bass lacked depth when the volume was set at the highest, while at low levels, it was just decent. Use the JBL headphones provided with the set for better sound quality.

The YOGA Tablet 2 Pro comes with two cameras — a 1.6-megapixel webcam at the front and the 8-megapixel camera at the rear. It does well in low light conditions because of its f2.2 lens and takes decent photos.

The device is available at all authorised Lenovo retailers at S$1,199.