{"id":12988,"date":"2012-08-20T13:16:35","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T18:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcitement.com\/?p=12988"},"modified":"2013-02-07T14:15:37","modified_gmt":"2013-02-07T20:15:37","slug":"review-lenovo-ideacentre-a720-rethinks-the-all-in-one-desktop-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/column\/review-column\/review-lenovo-ideacentre-a720-rethinks-the-all-in-one-desktop-pc\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Rethinks The All-In-One Desktop PC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somewhere between the standard desktop computer and notebook computers with large screens lies the all-in-one PC. While Apple is generally regarded as the king of this category with its iMac series of machines, HP had recent success building the TouchSmart line of all-in-ones designed for Windows Vista and subsequently Windows 7. The primary differentiating feature, as the brand name implies, is the integrated touchscreen. Bundled with several proprietary applications, users can easily slide a finger across the screen to view photos in their collections, peek at the weather forecast, and more. Since then, more PC manufacturers have followed suit with variations on the theme — some more successful than others.<\/p>\n

Lenovo ups the ante with its latest all-in-one computer, the IdeaCentre A720<\/a>. Let’s see how it stacks up to the competition.<\/p>\n

First Impressions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Unboxing the IdeaCentre consists of removing two brown cardboard boxes containing the accessories and cables, followed by removing the computer itself (with fitted foam packaging material around the top and bottom). The boxes of accessories were packed full of goods, including not only the wireless keyboard, mouse and batteries, but a remote control, a USB remote control receiver, an adapter cable allowing standard television coaxial cable hookups to the computer, a CD containing Windows 7 drivers for the A720, a safety and warranty guide, a user guide, several miscellaneous flyers (such as a packing list and instructions for installing batteries in the remote control, keyboard and mouse) and last but not least, a big AC power adapter and its accompanying wall cord.<\/p>\n

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By the power of, well, not Grayskull.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The computer itself is surprisingly heavy, with a case made of solid aluminum and a 27″ glass screen. (As I’ve noticed with other recent Lenovo products, the A720 makes an effort to copy some of Apple’s design choices, mimicking the iMac’s aluminum and glass construction.) A720’s wireless keyboard and mouse, however, only share an aluminum appearance, while they’re actually made of lightweight plastic.<\/p>\n

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The infrared remote control is one item making no attempt to follow Apple’s minimalist design. Instead, Lenovo sticks with the typical remote design seen with Windows Media Center PCs from HP and others. A Windows logo button launches the Media Center menu, and numerous buttons allow entering channel numbers, navigating menus, turning volume up or down, rewinding, fast-forwarding, playing, recording, and more.<\/p>\n

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The Software<\/h2>\n

The IdeaCentre ships with Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit edition. Additionally, a 30-day trial version of Microsoft Office 2010 (which allows use as a free, ad-supported starter edition of Word and Excel as well as purchasing a full version of the product) is included, as is a trial version of McAfee Anti-virus. ArcSoft PhotoStudio Paint provides graphics editing capabilities, and Lenovo Rescue System 3.0 allows restoring the system to the original factory configuration (or to backups made at specific points in time). To highlight the touchscreen capabilities of the A720, Lenovo also includes IdeaTouch 4.5 — essentially an application launcher with six categories: video, music, ebooks, games, photos, and widgets. The games category probably provides the most impressive use of the touchscreen, with such popular titles as Angry Birds<\/em> and Fruit Ninja<\/em> included as well as an air hockey game (particularly interesting because it works best with the screen folded down flat with opponents seated on each side of the computer), and a number of other diversions. A widgets group only contains two programs: a note-taking board allowing audio or video notes as well as anything doodled on the touchscreen and a utility that allows setting a picture-based password to access the operating system. Other categories simply allow easy, touch-based access to various types of content. Lastly, Lenovo Vantage Tools (LVT) provides a second application launcher with two groups of programs presented on stacks of virtual cards riveted together in a corner so they fan out, like those paint sample cards at the hardware store. LVT provides access to a CD\/DVD burning application, PowerDVD (to play DVD or Blu-ray movies), a collection of games integrating the webcam (allowing players to interact with hand motions), Lenovo YouCam to record one’s own videos and add special f\/x, and duplication with applications available from IdeaTouch.<\/p>\n

Performance<\/h2>\n

For those interested in the specs, the A720 comes with an Intel Core i7-3610QM processor running at 2.3 Ghz, 8 GB of system RAM, a 1 TB SATA hard drive, and nVidia’s GeForce GT 630M video chipset.<\/p>\n

Initial boot time from power on to a Windows desktop takes a relatively unimpressive 45 seconds. After booted to the desktop, the machine feels responsive. (If I drag a window around the screen or watch a video, the screen updates without any noticeable lag.) However, slow disk performance rears its ugly head when I suddenly see a semi-circle appear in the right-hand corner of the screen for the Lenovo Vantage Tools. It takes a good 30 to 40 seconds for the program to load itself and launch after the desktop is up and running. I encountered the same thing when launching the IdeaTouch application. At first, I thought the application failed to run properly, but it simply took a long time to load into memory and run.<\/p>\n

NovaBench reports an overall score of 1096, with system RAM scoring 200, the CPU scoring 696, graphics speed earning a 137, and hard disk read\/write speed scoring 63. The overall score puts the IdeaCentre in the same category as many desktop PCs using AMD’s Phenom II 6 core processor or Apple’s current version of its 15″ Macbook Pro notebook with the Intel Core i7 CPU.
\n<\/p>\n

The Strengths<\/h2>\n

By far, the standout feature of the A720 is its ability to fold its screen display (adjustable from a -5 to 90 degree angle). This unique capability makes a touchscreen truly useful. In a situation where a user plans on using the touchscreen extensively, you can simply fold it down flat or at a comfortable angle to work with it more like a tablet. As the included air hockey game demonstrates, the design opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for two users to interact with the machine simultaneously, from opposites ends of a table or desk, when the screen is lying flat.<\/p>\n

The touchscreen itself is responsive and accurate, making it easy to select menu options on the screen without accidentally selecting the wrong item. Lenovo claims it has 10-point multi-touch capabilities.<\/p>\n

When using the wireless keyboard and mouse, I find them comfortable as well. The keyboard features Lenovo’s now standard sculpted chiclet keys and includes a numeric keypad. Key layout is fairly standard, although the home, end, page up, and page down keys are put in a single row to the right of the backspace and enter keys. As rarely as most people use those keys, I don’t believe that placement will pose a big problem.<\/p>\n

Another plus, in my opinion, is the fact that Lenovo promises future Windows 8 support for this machine. With Windows 8’s new focus on support for touchscreen-capable devices, the IdeaCentre makes an ideal platform for it. At the very least, purchasing one today doesn’t put an owner at high risk of incompatibilities preventing an upgrade in the near future.<\/p>\n

I also like Lenovo’s decision to put the system board, speakers, and Blu-ray drive in the base of the unit versus the approach of putting everything in the display housing. This arrangement should help dissipate heat more efficiently and makes the system easier to work on. (By contrast, replacing a hard drive on a modern Apple iMac involves lifting out the LCD display panel with suction cups to access the hardware behind it.)<\/p>\n

I also like the way Lenovo places status indicators in the bottom left corner of the display. A power indicator, hard disk activity light, Bluetooth, and WiFi status lights remind me of what’s usually seen across a plastic strip above the keyboard on a typical notebook computer. With them moved to the corner of the screen, they’re subtle yet still easily visible. (If Lenovo placed them on the base of the system instead, the status indicators might be obscured by the display when it’s folded down flat.)<\/p>\n

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<\/h2>\n

The Weaknesses<\/h2>\n

As I mentioned earlier, the slow hard disk performance really hurts what would otherwise be an excellent user experience. Although Lenovo offers an option to purchase an A720 with a 64 GB SSD drive in addition to the 1 TB hard drive, I suspect that arrangement amounts to little more than a Band-Aid for the sluggish 1 TB drive. Personally, I’d like to see this computer offered in a configuration with a 512 GB SSD in place of the primary 1 TB drive.<\/p>\n

Although only a relatively minor complaint, I’m not pleased with the Lenovo Vantage Tools. The virtual card stacks of applications can be moved around the display with your finger, but they don’t adequately take advantage of multi-touch gestures. Pressing and holding a finger on card stack causes it to slowly rotate, but attempts to use two or three fingers to spin it the opposite direction did nothing. Furthermore, I’m not sure why the application is necessary to begin with. It seems as though all of the applications you can launch through the Vantage Tools can also be presented with the IdeaTouch application.<\/p>\n

The 27″ glossy screen display exhibits considerable glare, too. I understand it’s the nature of these screens, and it’s a tradeoff made in exchange for more vibrant presentation of colors. That said, I have to turn off an overhead light behind me so I could use the computer without washing out part of the display, and on dark backgrounds, I could see my own reflection. At the very least, it’s an issue to consider when deciding where to place one of these computers in a room.<\/p>\n

I would prefer it if the keyboard and mouse had a little bit higher quality materials. Perhaps Lenovo assumed the IdeaCentre had enough alternatives for input (with both the touchscreen and the remote control) that the keyboard and mouse aren’t such a high priority. But despite having the sculpted, easy to type on keycaps, the keyboard itself feels like \"\"<\/a>an inexpensive afterthought. Backlit keys would be a nice feature, for starters. Even something as simple as the battery door feels cheap, with a little plastic tab to push down with a fingernail to release it.<\/p>\n

The wireless mouse is no different. Being an optical laser mouse, it performs just fine, but its thin plastic shell feels no better than a generic $10 mouse from a discount store. Additionally, the mouse requires a small USB receiver be removed from under the battery lid and inserted in one of the available USB ports on the A720. This makes the whole affair less integrated than if the machine simply communicated with the keyboard and mouse via a built-in Bluetooth transmitter.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Overall, the IdeaCentre A720<\/a> is a solid machine. At its suggested retail price of $1,600, it offers good value. The IdeaCentre will likely really shine when Windows 8 is released and Lenovo updates its device drivers for it, too. I suggest uninstalling the trial version of McAfee Anti-virus and going with a free alternative (such as Microsoft Security Essentials, which Microsoft offers via Windows Updates as an optional update, whenever it detects you have no other anti-virus product installed). I’d also seriously consider investing in a fairly large capacity SSD and swapping out the 1 TB hard drive, to boost performance. (Any good computer technician should be able to handle this procedure if you’re not comfortable doing it yourself.)<\/p>\n

The A720 seems almost ideal for users looking for a computer to put on a desk in a bedroom or college dorm, because it doubles as a 27″ television with digital recording, DVD, and Blu-ray disc playing capabilities. Built-in speakers aren’t anything special, but they sound no worse than what I’ve heard from several brand name LCD TVs currently on the market. And just like a flat panel TV, nothing stops you from adding on external speakers for better sound, if desired.<\/p>\n

Power users or hardcore gamers are advised to consider a tower PC configuration instead of an all-in-one like the IdeaCentre. That’s because these machines are built around notebook computer internals, which means you won’t have expansion slots allowing video card upgrades, and there aren’t any extra RAM expansion slots allowing a memory upgrade beyond the included 8GB. Otherwise, this Lenovo makes a fine choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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