Saturday, March 7, 2015

Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2, ca. 2012 +/-

Yes, I'm a certified antique.  Just ask my family.  In these days of product differentiation rather than product innovation, I find being a late adopter is really inexpensive compared to the early part of the product life cycle curve.

With me, everything is a process.  I own a really nice Galaxy Tab 3 10.1" 16Gb tablet.  I like the tablet a lot, but Samsung's bloat ware is killing an otherwise good product.  I found that my tablet was running out of memory all the time, and some of the reason was due to the Samsung apps I had no need for.  I love the size for reading scientific papers while sitting in comfort, but running out of memory all the time revealed that I needed a more capable tablet.  With that said, I had a variety of needs to fulfill.

  • I'm handicapped (I like to think mildly, but if you met me you would see the problem quickly).  Since I'm handicapped, the weight of a good laptop gets heavy.  Therefore, I needed something light.
  • I needed something on the small side, because I like to carry a small messenger bag.  

  • While Android is a great Operating System, based on my favorite Linux, I would like a tablet with more connectivity to my Brother multi-use printer.  An OS with a little more power would be nice.  Android never worked right even with the Brother App loaded and running.
  • I want to be able to hook the tablet up to projectors or conference room video systems for work and presentation.
  • Some kind of dock would be nice too, I like to be able to set up my tablet neatly on the desk and hook into video, network, etc.
  • I wanted to stick with a tablet because I don't always need a keyboard.
  • I have a Lenovo Thinkpad addiction
I went to Best Buy.  They had a variety of laptops, ultralights, and tablets.  I checked out the laptops, but they seemed expensive, particular compared with capable older laptops.  They had a really nice Yoga Tablet that came with a keyboard, but it was only 32Gb, and I was worried about running out of memory.  I decided that the Internet would give me a better insight into what I needed.  

I found an interactive tablet guide on the Internet, and the process of answering questions helped me focus my needs on a specific type of tablet.  I can't find the web site now, but any site that explains tablet specifications category by category will help.  The answer was startling.  Without knowing it, I wanted a Windows tablet because I have an Excel habit.  I also discovered I am better off with a full sized usb connector, and an hdmi connection.  The tool thought I would like a Lenovo tablet called the Tablet 2.  I found this odd, since the tablet wasn't manufactured anymore.  Checking into places to buy it, I found a new one cost $300.  
I wound up finding a refurbished one complete with keyboard on Ebay.  The price was reasonable, so I bought the tablet.  I'm impressed by the tablet. 


Windows 8.1 works flawlessly (this is a Windows Flawless, not a Linux Flawless aka perfection), and I can hook the tab up to my network printers.  I can also use the full sized USB slot for a full sized keyboard.  I found a dock for the device (easier said than done), and I like the way it charges quickly on the dock.  Windows 8.1 on a touch sensitive surface works really well.  And I like the concessions made for people who grew very used to Windows XP. I like being able to use familiar programs like Calibre.  

All in all, I think this is a great replacement for the Samsung tab.  I like getting something top of the line, even though it is an older model.  This one is working well for me, would anyone like to buy a lightly used Samsung galaxy Tab 2 10.1"?

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