Meet The Miix 2: Lenovo Introduces 8-Inch Slate With Windows 8

Eight For Eight

Lenovo just unveiled the Miix 2, an 8-inch Windows 8 tablet built around Intel's latest Bay Trail-T Atom-based processor. Among the lowest-costing Windows tablets to date, Lenovo's new tablet will give the newly released Dell Venue line and other value-priced Windows 8 tablets a run for their money. Miix 2 joins Lenovo's Miix 10, a 10.1-inch device of slightly lesser power and resolution. Here's a look at Lenovo's latest, which is set for release later this month.

Quad-Core Atom

Details coming from Lenovo were sketchy, but we've learned that the Miix 2 will incorporate either the Intel Atom Z3740 or the Atom Atom Z3770. Both quad-core, quad-thread 64-bit parts sip just 2 watts of power and support as much as 4 GB of 1,066MHz LPDDR3 memory in two channels. In a comparison of the 3770 and 3740, the biggest differences are in their cost and clock rates. The Z3770 costs $37 and tops out at 2.39GHz; the Z3740 costs $32 and maxes at 1.86GHz.

HD Display

The Miix 2's 8-inch display puts out 1,280 x 800 pixels, which rounds up to 189 ppi and calculates to an aspect ratio of 16:10. The unit incorporates an IPS LCD panel, which retains color accuracy anywhere along its 178-degree viewing angle. The 10-point touch-sensitive display is driven by seventh-gen Intel HD Graphics built into Bay Trail-T running at a burst frequency of 667MHz.

Dimensions

This is quite a smallish tablet. It measures just 8.5 inches long and 5.2 inches wide, about the same width as the iPad Mini and just a tad longer. At 0.32 of an inch thick, it's 0.04 of an inch thicker than the iPad Mini -- not too shabby. And the Miix 2 tips the scale at 0.77 of a pound, a mere 1.44 ounces more than Apple's little iPad. If this isn't the smallest and lightest Windows 8 tablet yet, it's clearly in that class. There's a 2-megapixel front camera and 5-megapixel sensor in the rear.

Software And Extras

Lenovo loads the Miix 2 with plain old Windows 8.1, as opposed to the Pro Edition. That means that it can't join a domain, process Windows policies or play other enterprise reindeer games. On the other hand, the Start button is back. The Miix 2 also comes bundled with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013.

The Bottom Line

Lenovo packs about as much value into the Miix 2 as is available for a price tag that's hard to beat. For a list price that starts at $299, it delivers Intel's latest low-power 64-bit quad-core SoC with 2 GB of RAM, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and a microSD slot that can add 32 GB to the base storage. The 32-GB model will cost $299; 64-GB will cost $349. A 128-GB model will be available in some countries. Lenovo also offers a cover, stand and stylus for $20 more. Availability is set for late October.