By Between the Nexus 7, the Transformer Series, and Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 10.1 it would seem we have all we need for the Android tablet space, but there are more options out there. Consider Lenovo’s new offering — the IdeaPad A2109.
It’s a 9 inch, Tegra 3 device will be coming to town with Ice Cream Sandwich. Other specs include 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 3 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera.
Best of all? It’s coming to you for a cool $300. That’s not a bad price to ask for a tablet with that spec line. You could do a heck of a lot worse indeed, and the margin I’m talking about between this and some of these other affordable tablets is staggering. If $300 is your sweet spot and you’re up to stray from the usual players, head to Best Buy and check it out.
Not a bad price. Is it dual core, if do out would be the best tablet under 400 bucks and with a screen larger then 7 inches.
Tegra 3 is Quad core with a 5th energy efficient core.
thanks. Did not know that. Will buy thanks to your information.
Tegra 3 = quad core
It basically has the same specs as the nexus 7 with a couple exceptions:
The screen is larger, but it’s the same resolution, so the PPI is lower.
It comes with a rear facing camera (does anyone really care about having a crappy rear facing camera on a tablet anymore? Personally, I’d much rather have an HD chat camera and forgo the rear facing altogether.)
You won’t get the latest version of android like you will with the Nexus7.
But it does have microSD and microHDMI which are two things that the Nexus7 sorely lacks.
So I’d say if more than 16gb of storage space and HDMI are important to you then it looks like a really good price-point.
People checking out this tab in person have said there’s no microSD. Best Buy specs say no microSD. Apparently that feature got scrapped at some point.
Well that’s disappointing.
checked one out at Best Buy tonight. if there’s a microSD slot, it’s very well hidden ;)
I bought mine yesterday, the guy at best buy said it didn’t have an SD card slot because he didn’t see it, but I popped open the top where the speakers are – you can see where that small piece of plastic pops off – So I popped that it off and there IS a slot for an SD Card slot. I have a 16GB card in mine right now. The Specs say that it supports an SD card, they just don’t tell you its hidden.
The only things that would hold me back from buying a tablet like this is the screen and OS. From what I have read, the screen is not up to par with others on the market for the price and I would rather buy a tablet with the newest OS JB.
I have seen this thing in person at office depot idk what you heard but the screen is beautiful and clear and for $300 is great officedepot had it for $299 for the last 2 weeks so I’m not sure why best buy is late to the saving party
Ditto. Just saw it at OD and was very impressed with the screen (despite the lower resolution). The viewing angle was SUPERB and the sound was very good, too. The device felt very solid, too.
Are you sure there was no microSD slot? I could swear there was a movable cover of some kind. I just assumed it was µSD.
Definitive that there is no microSD slot. There is a little notch cut in the plastic piece that the speakers are in that flexes and such — but no slot. I have one and the documentation does not claim microSD — limited to 16GB.
Much rather a nexus 7 with JB for $200
I’d rather have more screen real estate for browsing the internet.
But the nexus7 fits in a back pocket or jacket pocket, and this won’t.
If you’re just sitting around at home with it why not use a laptop with a much bigger screen that you don’t have to hold?
It even fits in some front pockets…!
I would never put a phone or tablet in my back pocket for the same reason I won’t put my sunglasses there. Sitting on them will ruin my week. I have a nook color (7″) with CM7 on it and it’s great, but the size is too small for web browsing. Reading articles and books is great, but I’d rather use my rooted nook touch for that because it’s easier to read on, lighter, and the battery life is 50 times better. The web is really designed for laptop screens unless you are ready to pan and zoom a lot.
I ran out at lunch and picked one up at BB. There is NO SD (but there is HDMI). The screen looks horrible compared to the Nexus 7 (and is worse than my wife’s iPad 2). I keep my DROID BIONIC because of its awesome full sunlight performance — but the Lenovo pixelation is waaaaay worse than the BIONIC’s (which many people did not like at all). Definitely a return item. The extra 60 grams vs. the Nexus (or Tab 2, 7) is also very noticeable — although it is the same weight as a Kindle Fire.
Look harder, the sd card slot is under the back cover where the speakers are, just pop it off. I have a 16Gb card in mine right now.
Questions:
-NFC?
-how does it charge?
-is that a tegra 3 t30 or a t33?
If you follow the link it says 1.2ghz, so T30L
The documentation in the box says T30L.
I just picked one of these up. As others have said, no sd slot, but I can live with that. While the screen isn’t IPS, it looks pretty good to me.
I’ve always thought 7″ tabs were too small and 10″ was too big, so I’ve been waiting for a 8-9″ tablet with decent specs for a reasonable price… saw this today and jumped on it.
the sd card slot is under the back cover where the speakers are, just pop it off. I have a 16Gb card in mine right now.
Be wary of getting any android devices from Lenovo. Check out the myriad problems that Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet owners have faced. Just google:
“ThinkPad Tablet” gps microUSB camera focus “power button”
They all break or don’t work. when ASUS had a GPS problem on their Transformer, they did their best to fix it. Lenovo has yet to admit there ever was a problem, and it is almost a year later now.
Turns out this does in fact have an sdcard slot… it’s hidden under a plate that covers the camera and speakers. You can pry it off, put in an sdcard, and the plate snaps back on easily.