Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Review

[@ToGardensTwo]

You are the best reviewer I have seen, very detailed and knowledgeable, thank you.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Thanks for the comment! I did find that the fans are on nearly all the time, but for me, unless I was in a totally silent room, I didn't notice it at all. The noise they make is far from abrasive, it's nothing like laptop fans from a couple gens ago where it would suddenly whirr loudly to life, it's super subtle on the Helix.

[@LoneWolfKTG]

Thanks a lot for the review!! You did a great job at showing off the laptop as well as explaining things clearly.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! It's very comfortable to use on your lap. As I demonstrated in the review it's not an easy endeavor to find a position in which it'll tip over by itself, it's excellently balanced to avoid that. While the keyboard is thin in dimensions it feels like a normal ThinkPad laptop keyboard, it's very study, it feels great to type on, and while you can get the keyboard area to flex if you reaally push on it during normal typing there's virtually no flex at all.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks for the comment, you're welcome! Accuracy is really good at fine levels, it does take a bit of a learning curve to get used to it though as there can be a slight displacement from the pen tip. The finest line is about equal to a standard dollar or two ballpoint pen.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Glad it was helpful! I just looked into it and it does indeed look like the SSD is user-replaceable. It's not listed as being soldered onto the mainboard or anything ridiculous like that. I've posted a link to the service manual in the description if you want to check it out.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Glad I could help! I'd say that it got close without too much trouble, however it's worth noting that I wasn't on full brightness the whole time but basically the battery life was good enough to let me not give it a second thought during the day as long as I started out with a full charge. I think screen brightness is the biggest battery drain during normal usage, so that'll be a big factor for everyone. I'll be able to give you a better answer when I do the real battery tests

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome, thanks for the comment! To be honest I'm not familiar with much of the engineering aspect of that, it could be a laminated/optically bonded display, it could also be that it doesn't, all I know for sure is that the results look good. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it is, but Lenovo probably does it in a much more repairable way than the Surface Pro. For instance a screen replacement on the iPad isn't too terribly difficult.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome, thanks for the comment! I'm glad it was helpful!

[@MilesReiter]

They're great, and yes, it can be disabled and used in trackpoint only, it's just under the ThinkPad tab in Mouse settings in the control panel, nothing too hidden away.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome, I'm glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment!

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Some pricing info I got from what PC Connection was selling (where I got mine), and the starting price info I got from all the reports and official statements Lenovo has given abut the Helix.

[@MilesReiter]

Hi, you're welcome! I also saw some posts about that in various forums, I haven't experienced any of those issues though. Closest I got was an intermittent bug where if it's in sleep for an extended period of time you have to force restart it, that's only happened a couple of times though. Sorry for the delay of that sub-review, I ran into a ton of work that had to get done before that so I had to put it on the back burner. If all goes well I'll have it uploaded on Sunday.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! Glad I could help! The USB 2.0 can indeed run external hard drives, I made sure to test that as the inability of the ThinkPad Tablet 2 to do so was a disappointment.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! That's first on my list of sub-reviews. I'm doing a camcorder unboxing tomorrow and will hopefully have time to shoot a stylus input sub-review right after that. I should be able to get it uploaded by Sunday.

[@jchen85]

Exactly what I wanted to hear! Thanks! The fact that you even got close (with low brightness and low cpu usage) is great news! I wasn't expecting as much!
Now I just need to wait until it's available!

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Glad I could be of help, hopefully my upcoming sub-reviews will be useful as well.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! The wi-fi range on the helix has been fantastic in my experience so far. I've been able to pick up some networks I couldn't even see before as well as connect more stably to the ones I use.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! If everything I have to do stays on schedule I should be uploading the stylus input sub-review on Sunday.

[@sveintore]

Thanks for the review, can't wait to see more of them for the Helix.

[@2WhiteAndNerdy]

FINALLY! A helix review. Thanks for posting this. I'm in for one. So stoked! :D

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks for the comment, There's really no pen lag whatsoever. As for gaming it's standard ultrabook performance, the highest end thing I tried to run was Just Cause 2, at 1080p and everything at low it's not what I would call playable, it can be done but I wouldn't personally. It was probably in the mid-high 20's fps range. I'd guess that performance on stuff like Battlefield 3 would be the same. It would be playable at lower resolutions though.

[@MilesReiter]

All the processing is inside the tablet. Judging by the heat, the processor is in the upper rightish corner. All the dock has in it is the battery.

[@MilesReiter]

The fans are super subtle, only time I noticed was when I was in a silent room. In tablet only I'd say 4-6 hours depending on power settings and brightness.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! As far as the keyboard flex goes I pressed waaay too hard on it for the video, during normal, even heavy typing I didn't notice any flex, but as with most things if you press down hard with your hand it will flex. It's a fantastic keyboard.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome, I'm glad to hear I could help! The Envy X2 has absolutely fantastic build quality, it's lighter than the Helix, but other than that, the Helix specs blow it out of the water. Of course the Envy is also about a thousand dollars cheaper so that's a plus. For me it came down to what I needed, something with a digitizer stylus input, and since the HP didn't have that I really couldn't justify it above the Helix.

[@MilesReiter]

Good point, I'll remember to try that out and make note of it in the stylus sub-review I do on Sunday.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! Whoops, yeah I did forget to include that, it's so standard I just blanked I guess. From the orientation of the regular laptop docked mode the headphone jack is in the upper right side of the tablet.

[@MilesReiter]

Haswell is coming out soon, but Ivy Bridge won't really be outdated, Haswell is just an incremental upgrade, there's nothing absolutely groundbreaking there that would be necessary to have in a device like this.

[@MilesReiter]

Yup, I'm going to do a video on that, it should be up sometime Sunday.

[@MilesReiter]

Yup, like you answered for yourself, plugs into both. It's not too bulky, it has a brick obviously but it's a lightweight and fairly small one.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! And like I say in the video I'll be uploading a few more sub-reviews covering stuff like stylus input in more detail than I had time for in this main review.

[@MilesReiter]

I'll definitely be reviewing that as soon as it comes out, so likely sometime this summer. I'm not going to review the slight processor bump model that they released earlier this year, for all intents and purposes it's exactly the same as the first gen from last summer which I do have a review for.

[@rewtoob]

Miles,
Thanks for the reply. Can't wait for the sub-review. I'm new to the windows tablet world, and I ordered a few of these for work, so I'm especially interested battery life.

[@MilesReiter]

Yeah, that was really my only complaint as well, still it's impressive that even with that heat they managed to cram it all into a tablet body.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome, I'm glad I could be helpful. Technically it does have a replaceable battery, it's nowhere near as bad to take apart as something like the Surface. However you'd need to find a compatible battery which may not be doable.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Glad I could help! As far as the comparison between those earlier models goes I can't tell you. While I have used ThinkPads in the past I never had the opportunity to try out one with digitizer tech apart from the original ThinkPad Tablet. My guess would be that as long as they use Wacom tech that accuracy would at least be the same if not better. I can tell you that the closeness of the screen makes it feel much more natural to me, more like you're really writing on paper.

[@filipvukovic4214]

It can be downloaded from Microsoft / Intel sites, all the necessary hardware is already there (ICore processor, Intel Centrino wireless adapter). Very useful feature, no need for cable connection with additional display / TV

[@MilesReiter]

Apart from the edge sensitivity it's great, and photoshop pressure sensitivity is coming soon, so, yes, I'd recommend it. The edge issue is easy to work around as long as you know it's there.

[@MilesReiter]

Oh cool, thanks for the followup comment, sorry I didn't see it earlier. Glad to hear it's doable!

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! I got mine from PC Connection, they've been shipping some models in very limited numbers for about a month now.

[@MilesReiter]

I'd definitely recommend it, palm rejection is near perfect since the wacom digitizers recognize the stylus within a few centimeters or an inch of the screen, so as long as it's that close it won't accept other input. Pretty great. You could also look into the ThinkPad Tablet 2.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks for reminding me! I'll get on that as soon as I can, I'm juggling quite a few projects right now.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! It connects through some kind of proprietary interface, not USB or Bluetooth, however you could use both of those standards of peripheral, just not connected via the docking port/plugs.

[@MilesReiter]

Nice! That would be pretty cool.
1. I've been taking notes this way for a year or two now via my original ThinkPad Tablet before the Helix, I think it can absolutely replace notebooks. It's so much easier to keep track of notes this way too.
2. It handles all the CS excellently, it even renders 1080p video in Premiere waaay faster than I'd have given it credit for.
3. Nope, it'll be fine for that as long as you're cool with the screen size, it's a full 1080p screen and looks great

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! It's just Windows 8, I run Start 8 on all my Windows 8 computers which brings back the start menu and bypasses the touch interface completely. Classic Shell does the same thing.

[@ChrisStevenson]

You said it yourself. The sim slot doesn't open because the model he bought doesn't have WWAN. The Helix only comes with GPS functionality if you get the model with WWAN.

[@TheEverardo117]

Awesome review man, much needed. Just waiting on Lenovo now to put it up for sale.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! I haven't seen any rumors regarding that, my guess is that if it does happen it might be at CES 2014. I wouldn't expect to see something like that any sooner though.

[@yacirkhan]

Finally , a review is here! awesome
thanks for the video.

[@MilesReiter]

I have tried other ThinkPads including a few T series models, the Twist, and the keyboard dock for my original ThinkPad Tablet. The keyboard on the Helix is just as good as on those, they didn't compromise on that.

[@MilesReiter]

As I've said, it depends on what you're doing. If you're putting it under a heavy load then it will get uncomfortably hot in one corner as it does in docked mode, if you're doing light stuff it may get a bit warm sometimes in that corner but not uncomfortably so.

[@gophynna]

I answered my own question by watching the unboxing video. Glad to know it can be done either way.

[@MilesReiter]

I use Start 8, basically it brings back the traditional start menu and goes straight to desktop when you boot up.

[@dcuccia]

One limitation, which perhaps you mentioned - in "laptop mode" it won't fold open beyond a certain angle. So, if you often stand and glance at the screen on a low-ish surface, you may not get an ideal viewing angle. Ran into this yesterday when I was taking data in the lab.

[@MilesReiter]

It does indeed, and it works given the right software, I tested that with my phone the other night.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks, yeah I know, but I didn't actually have anything to say when the mic spazzed apart from what I wrote with the text, it was also almost midnight and I had an early morning so I decided to go the fast text route rather than recording in the interests of getting the review uploaded that night as I had promised in various comments.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Unfortunately I don't know when it'll be released there. It's been delayed quite a while in the US already let alone the rest of the world. I would assume that at the latest they'd release it globally sometime this summer.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! Undocked it's really pretty light and comfortable, more so than I was expecting. It's not something I'd want to hold above me and read on or anything but for more productivity oriented stuff it's great. It can get warm in one corner depending on brightness and load but generally it's pretty cool too.

[@MilesReiter]

Not bad at all, unless I'm in a silent room I generally don't hear it. Under a heavy load it can get noticeable but it's never been abrasive.

[@dcuccia]

I like how solid it feels - with the keyboard, you forget that it's a tablet - just as good as my x131e. Can't live without the red pointer - that's what sealed the deal for me. One downside is the glare, I'm used to a matte screen, so that'll take some adjusting. But it's nice and bright, so that helps.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! I haven't even heard anything about the full availability of the normal models. I would assume that they'll be released on the same timeline as the other models at this point.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome, glad I could help! How are you liking yours so far?

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! PC Connection has been selling some early, albeit in limited quantities and selection.

[@dcuccia]

Miles - Just did the upgrade with a Samsung PM841 512GB SSD. I wasn't pretty, but it worked out fine AFAICT. Scariest part was getting the LCD off and the ribbon cables/connectors detached. There's a ton of sticky stuff that lightly adheres cables to other parts of the chassis, so that's a little hairy. But now, I have the perfect machine! :) Thanks again!

[@MilesReiter]

I think so, it's pricey but it's the best tablet/laptop hybrid I've used, it does it right, to me that and the fact that it has a digitizer stylus input makes it worth it.

[@MilesReiter]

The only thing I've experienced in terms of cons I might not have noticed in time for the review is that I started having some problems with coming out of sleep or starting up after being off for a while, especially when one or both of the batteries was under 50%. It would either require holding the power button to reset or using a paper clip on the bottom edge. It seems to have corrected itself since I flashed an updated BIOS though. I'm still very happy with my purchase.

[@MilesReiter]

Depending on what your usage is of course this could definitely be a desktop replacement. I didn't officially review it but I have used the Surface Pro, I prefer the Helix all the way, vastly better battery life, usable on your lap (i.e doesn't need a kickstand to stand up), better keyboard, and lighter. I'll look into whether I could get a review model of the q702 though. Thanks for the comment!

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! It does not have an eraser on top, I thought I'd miss that more but I've found the software controls in various apps and programs to be more than sufficient for that.

[@MilesReiter]

Really depends on what you want. Personally I think the Helix takes it because of the digitizer, battery life, and build quality. It is significantly more expensive than the other two though.

[@Cephasara509]

This phenomenon where the digitizer pen input fails to follow the pen properly near the edges isn't a Lenovo-specific design error. Unfortunately this issue plagues most Wacom-based systems I've owned--from Tablet PCs to Galaxy Note devices.

[@MilesReiter]

Hi, Omar's correct about your previous questions, as for gaming it depends on what performance you're happy with and what games you're playing. It's powered by Intel Graphics 4000 so it's shared with the 8GB of RAM.For stuff like Team Fortress 2 and similar games you can get fairly good performance.

[@hawaron]

Great review, keep up the good work and looking forward to your future content.

[@MilesReiter]

1. It replaced my old laptop but I'll be using it in combination with a 2013 retina 15'' MacBook Pro when that comes out as I also need a mobile solution with dedicated video. So it depends on usage.
2. It is definitely fast for everything the hardware lets it do, gaming can be iffy depending on what you want.
3. Text can be a bit small in browser but nothing you can't fix by zooming in a bit
4. It does open, just tried it
5. Nope, feels just as premium and expensive as the price warrants.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome, it does get hot under a heavy load, e.g. rendering HD video or gaming, something like that. Otherwise it'll stay pretty cool, although if you have the brightness up it will get warm in the upper right corner area (that's where it can get really hot too) but not unpleasantly so.

[@MilesReiter]

Also when I say full load here I'm talking about gaming, or full HD video rendering for an extended period. Stuff that really pushes the hardware to the limits.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! The Helix does not have Haswell, but considering the excellent battery life and already good performance it wasn't a deal breaker for me.

[@MilesReiter]

Thanks! I have indeed, what I actually did was buy a mini-displayport to HDMI for it (the ones saying they're for Apple stuff work fine), I've hooked it up to my TV (32'') and my monitors as a test (24''). Display port and Mini-display port work great, only downside is that most stuff doesn't have a dedicated port for it so you need some kind of adapter. I've found myself actually liking it better though since the adapter provides more flexibility in where I can place the helix.

[@TheKyrios69]

Thanks for the in-depth review, you've convinced me to purchase the helix as my main device for college. For one of the sub reviews, can you talk about how you've incorporated the helix in your work day and how it's helped you?

[@Tancrad]

great review. i think this is my next choice. i, on impulse purchased the venue 11 pro and keyboard. both are littered with faults and its only been 2 weeks. im leaning towards this when i get my refund.

[@Zee.H]

Thank you! Can't wait till it's available on their website, I really need to upgrade :D

[@dcuccia]

Got mine today, thanks again Miles - very helpful in deciding to commit!

[@nickcamm264]

Great news. Thanks again for the excellent review and for the quick reply. Seems like a fantastic device.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! Glad I could help!

[@metsesell]

Thank you for the review. If you manage to get it's sRGB color gamut/space measured, I and many other designers will be eternally thankful to you ... also on video the keyboard seems to have quite some flex and I wonder how bad is it in real life (as a programmer I type a lot). Thank you again!

[@MilesReiter]

Due to the way Intel handles integrated graphics, the GPU is actually on the processor, but both are non replaceable. Heat isn't too bad, on full brightness and a heavyish load it can get uncomfortably hot in one corner, but usually not in tablet mode unless you're trying to render a video or something like that.

[@MilesReiter]

I've heard that the driver is coming soon, although I haven't seen any specific date. It's the Wintab driver if you want to look it up. I've used sketchbook to pretty good results. I think it's worth the extra over a normal ultrabook. With the standard you basically have a lower powered but light laptop, with the helix you get better battery life than most of them and great touchscreen and stylus functionality making it useful for much more.

[@gophynna]

I really cannot wait for your sub review. I know this is a busy time especially for students. Hope to see it soon. Have you found any other noticeable quirks about the Helix so far besides the sleep issue you have mentioned here?

[@MilesReiter]

I believe there's just the one SSD slot. Judging from the service guide I wouldn't say it's easy to replace, but it's certainly possible, and not particularly challenging. The process of opening up this kind of device is just a bit more involved than on more traditional form factors. Rest assured though, it is officially user serviceable, not just technically so.

[@MilesReiter]

I've reached out to Toshiba to try and get a review unit. Great suggestion! That's a product that I'll make sure to review as soon as I can get my hands on one. It's unlikely I'll be able to do anything before it's released like I did with the Helix though.

[@MilesReiter]

No backlighting or LED's the battery was excellent. Depends on your usage of course but it is possible to get the full rated 10 hours out of it.

[@MilesReiter]

I haven't experienced that bug at all. In fact my experience has been totally bug free apart from the resume from sleep issue I mentioned in comments a while back, but that seems to have been resolved via a software update.

[@MilesReiter]

The speakers aren't really on the bottom, they're on the bottom of the bezel, the grilles are just so thin it's not immediately evident, so audio is just as good docked as undocked.
It is possible to do this, it's just in the standard Windows mouse/touchpad settings somewhere in the control panel, I remember checking for another comment a while back.

[@MilesReiter]

You're welcome! I'm not totally sure on this, but I would hazard a guess as to yes. Display port tends to be able to daisy-chain monitors so definitely if you have two displayport compatible monitors, maybe if you get something like a mini-displayport to dual HDMI. I have no way of testing this at the moment though so I can't know for sure.

[@yacirkhan]

yes, I had the same impression as WWAN has the GPS builtin. but if you see the Lenovo`s service videos you will find that the Helix also have a GPS antenna. that made me think that GPS might also work in models without WWAN. and this is what I wanted him to confirm

[@MilesReiter]

I have indeed, it did improve accuracy although the edges still leave something to be desired. It's great to have pressure sensitivity in Photoshop and Illustrator though.

[@MilesReiter]

Under a full load, whether it's docked or in tablet mode, it's going to get really hot. To the point where you wouldn't want to hold that corner for a while until it cools down. It's all within the specification limits for the hardware though, it's not actually overheating. It's just like with a MacBook Pro, those can get pretty hot too but not damagingly so.

[@MilesReiter]

Yeah, I was impressed myself! Hopefully they'll release it officially sometime next week, it would be really annoying for most people if they waited until the last minute in April on the 30th or something like that. Regardless though, it's worth the wait.

[@MilesReiter]

It has excellent palm rejection. Using the stylus that comes with it you won't need a screen protector, it's not going to get scratched by that kind of plastic. It's definitely great as a sketchbook, Adobe stuff doesn't have pressure sensitivity yet for this although it's coming soon, there are many other apps and programs that do though. I'll cover all this in my stylus input review which should be up sometime Sunday.

[@MilesReiter]

Everything has palm rejection actually, this is the digitizer technology that'll actually detect the stylus hovering above the screen, so as long as it's about an inch or under away from the screen it's not going to pick up your palm instead of the stylus.