At first we would like to thank Lenovo and Intel for offering us a Thinkpad Helix 2-in-1 Convertible for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Lenovo:

 

“Our Vision

 

At Lenovo, our vision is that Lenovo will create personal devices more people are inspired to own, a culture more people aspire to join and an enduring, trusted business that is well respected around the world. This vision guides us in pursuit of our mission to become one of the world's great personal technology companies.

 

We will accomplish this through:

 

Personal Computers: Lead in PCs and be respected for our product innovation and quality.

Convergence: Lead the industry with an ecosystem of devices, services, applications and content for people to seamlessly connect to people and web content.

Culture: Become recognized as one of the best, most trusted and most well-respected companies to work for and do business with.

 

Our Culture

 

Our culture defines us … it's our DNA. We call it the Lenovo Way and it's the values we share and the business practices we deploy. It's how we address our day-to-day commitments. The Lenovo Way is embodied in the statement: We do what we say and we own what we do.

 

That culture also drives how we work every day, utilizing what we call the 5 P's:

 

We PLAN before we pledge.

We PERFORM as we promise.

We PRIORITIZE the company first.

We PRACTICE improving every day.

We PIONEER new ideas.

 

Our culture is what has enabled us to consistently raise the bar on delivering break-through innovations, award-winning designs and strong financial performance.

 

Our People

 

At Lenovo, our people share a common aspiration to be the very best. Whether serving our customers, working together as a team or contributing to the community, we are working to build a unique company delivering unparalleled products created and supported by people who represent a wealth of cultures and experiences. Our strength lies in this diversity. And every day, on every project, we are creating a new language for inclusion and respect for others. We are dedicated to fostering an environment that encourages entrepreneurism and ownership. A workplace where people's talents can be challenged and their efforts recognized and rewarded.”

 

Product Features:

 

Ultraportable; Ultra-Powerful

 

The Helix is a fully-capable productivity device - with power comparable to most standard-sized laptops. Featuring the latest Intel® Core™ M processors, an ultra-sharp FHD display, and plenty of storage, you'll get unparalleled mobility without sacrificing ability.

 

Adaptable to Fit Your Needs

 

Take Helix with you anywhere so that you're never out of touch, and never limited. It's ultra-slim and light at just under 3 lbs. (with Ultrabook Keyboard), and well under a half-inch thick. Essentially, you're getting increased functionality, and the same power, as laptops that are nearly double the weight. What's more, its dual cameras, WiFi, and available WWLAN options ensure you're always connected.

 

Choose Your Keyboard

 

Two available keyboard offerings allow laptop-style productivity wherever you are. The Ultrabook Keyboard offers additional USB and HDMI connectivity, and TouchPad navigation. Or, consider the Ultrabook Pro keyboard and benefit from an additional USB 3.0, mini Display port, full TrackPoint and TouchPad navigation, backlit keys, speakers, and a second battery for up to 12 hours of productivity.

 

Pen Support for Enhanced Precision

 

The entire internet just wasn't built for an 11.6" display. That's where our digitizer pen comes in. You can navigate, swipe, drag, open, or click with enhanced precision when you utilize the optional ThinkPad Digitizer Pen. It's also great for jotting down notes, sending quick messages, or just doodling!

 

A Tablet When You Want It

 

The Helix experience starts out as a tablet but is capable of becoming so much more. Without the included keyboard dock, the Helix weighs in at a mere 1.75 lbs. - making it ultra-convenient to review emails, check in on the quarterly numbers, or kick back with a good e-book.

 

A Laptop When You Need It

 

We've blurred the lines between laptop and tablet. Helix can be attached to its precision keyboard dock, allowing you all the abilities of a standard productivity machine wherever you can find a spot to set up. But sometimes you just need a bigger screen, and maybe even a mouse? No worries, you can connect to any such external devices through the attached dock.

 

 

Product Specifications:

 

 

 

Thanks to the new Core M processors from Intel, manufacturers were able to build 2-in-1 devices as compact as a regular tablet, but with full laptop functionality, which makes these ideal for people on the go which do not want to carry a lot of bulk; if the offered interfaces are not enough, we can always make use of the included USB 3.0 along with extenders which will give us many more USB 2.0, USB 3.0, video and audio outputs but also LAN interfaces as we have recently seen with the products from HIS Digital. The ThinkPad Helix 2-in-1 Convertible comes with similar features as we have seen with the Dell offering we have reviewed a while back, but is equipped with a slower processor, sports less RAM and also a smaller SSD for storage, which makes it an interesting product for direct comparison. Since our product box was messed with at customs (and we would like to thank FedEx for that), we would like to start our presentation with the internal enclosure, which is a plain, medium-sized cardboard box:

 

 

 

After lifting the top cover, we will end up seeing with the main product, which sits onto a layer of foam for protection:

 

 

 

Let’s dig in further to see what we’ve got:

 

 

 

Of course, the keyboard dock which we have really missed when reviewing the Dell 7140 Convertible and transforms the product into a productivity machine without the addition of extra cables:

 

 

 

On the bottom layer, we will get to see the rest of the bundle:

 

 

 

Speaking of the bundle, we get one power adapter with its power lead, but also the documentation in a separate transparent plastic bag:

 

 

 

The documentation is composed from a “Windows 8.1 Getting Started” guide, but also a small manual which also includes safety and warranty info:

 

 

 

The manual explains the initial setup but also the product main interfaces (for all variants of this tablet):

 

 

 

The “Windows 8.1 Getting Started” guide will take us through the basics and would be handy for people which haven’t worked with this OS before:

 

 

The power adapter ends up with a connector which can be fit both ways:

 

 

 

This one is rated on the output as 12V, 3A:

 

 

 

 

The ThinkPad Helix 2-in-1 Convertible sports an 11.6-inch Full-HD display with multi-touch capabilities and is completed by a Gorilla Glass screen which works well with either fingers or included Wacom digitizer; for durability, the inner construction of the convertible is reinforced with aluminum. The product is not very light, since it weighs about 790 grams, but the thickness is quite remarkable at just 9.6mm:

 

 

 

On the top side of the screen we will be able to spot the 2MP camera for conferences which is also paired with an activity LED:

 

 

 

Underside the screen we will get to see the Windows capacitive button/logo:

 

 

 

On the bottom side of the Helix we will get to see the dock interfaces:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving on to the right side, we will get to see additional interfaces:

 

 

 

From left to right we have the micro-HDMI port; the next two interfaces are covered by flaps:

 

 

 

Here we could enumerate the USB 3.0 port and secondly the card reader:

 

 

 

 

Next to the volume rocker we have the headphone jack available:

 

 

 

Moving on to the top area:

 

 

 

Here we have the Power and Screen Rotation Lock buttons:

 

 

 

On the same side we have two microphone ports available:

 

 

 

 

Let’s take a close look at the left side too, which also comes with the third microphone port:

 

 

 

Here we will be able to spot the DC-IN port too:

 

 

 

The back cover of the convertible is made of matte gray plastic (PC/ABS):

 

 

 

In the top left corner we have the 5MP shooter:

 

 

 

Further down on the left side we will be able to look at the fingerprint reader:

 

 

 

In the lower left and right corners we will get to see the stereo speaker grills:

 

 

 

 

The ThinkPad logo is also provided with a red charging LED:

 

 

 

One of the most important accessories for the Thinkpad Helix 2-in-1 Convertible is the Ultrabook Keyboard dock:

 

 

 

On the top area we have the mounting mechanism which accommodates the tablet at a fixed angle, but also the hooks for mounting the convertible screen up or screen down when travelling:

 

 

 

 

The sides of the touch pad are filled with product logos:

 

 

 

 

Here is also a close look at the trackpad:

 

 

 

A view on the left side of the keyboard dock reveals one available USB 2.0 port:

 

 

 

 

 

On the opposite side we have a rubber cover protection where the WACOM digitizer pen will be installed:

 

 

 

The bottom side of the accessory has a similar color texture as the Helix convertible:

 

 

 

In the corners we will get to see rubber feet for added grip:

 

 

 

 

Here is a view of the Helix convertible mounted onto the accessory, which transforms it into a fully-fledged Ultrabook:

 

 

 

When travelling, the tablet can be easily attached to the dock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The digitizer pen was also included in the box, which seems pretty accurate and can be easily mounted to the dock when not in use:

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the first initialization, we will be able to browse through the pre-installed Windows 8.1 applications by accessing the Start button:

 

 

 

Lenovo have pre-installed a trial version of Office 365 which we can check out right away:

 

 

 

We have also got a trial version of Nitro Pro installed for opening and editing PDF files:

 

 

 

 

One of the most helpful utilities from Lenovo is System update, which identifies the current setup and applies updates accordingly, including BIOS updates:

 

 

 

 

 

The updates will be downloaded and installed one-by-one; the BIOS updates will be left last since they require system reboot:

 

 

 

The WACOM pen also has a dedicated application, for fine-tuning the settings:

 

 

 

Lenovo Messenger is intended to deliver important messages to help you get the most out of your system:

 

 

 

For controlling our device remotely, we can work with the included Lenovo QuickControl module:

 

 

 

We could also remind of the SHAREit application, which allows sending and receiving files;

 

 

 

Lenovo Solution Center will help us detect and fix current system issues:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lenovo User Guide can be also checked in electronic format:

 

 

 

The Password Manager module will pick up and save our website passwords and restore them when necessary:

 

 

 

A 30-day trial version of Norton Internet Security comes preinstalled with the Helix:

 

 

 

As we have mentioned before, the Helix is equipped with a slower Intel Core M version, the 5Y10 which is equipped with two cores (featuring HyperThreading technology) at 800MHz with a maximum Turbo Frequency of 2GHz and a TDP of 4.5W:

 

 

 

 

Thanks to CPU-Z we will also find some additional information on the motherboard:

 

 

 

The Helix version we have reviewed was equipped with 4GB of DDR3 RAM, clocked at 1600MHz:

 

 

 

We get the confirmation that the HD Graphics 5300 IGP is present here too as with the Dell convertible:

 

 

 

Moving on to the AIDA64 software, we were able to dig in even more details on the configuration; first we will take a look at the temperature sensors, voltage values and power values:

 

 

 

We can learn more about the included CPU and its characteristics from the respective tab:

 

 

 

The motherboard area contains the name, BUS clock but also memory details:

 

 

 

The Chipset area will inform us of both IMC details and PCH; from here we will also learn that the Intel® Tri-Band Wireless-AC 17265 is in charge of the wireless interface:

 

 

 

 

 

Here we have some internal info about the display and some IDs:

 

 

 

The IGP is identified by AIDA as Intel Broadwell-Y GT2, but the operating frequency is smaller than the one we have found with the Intel 5Y71:

 

 

 

The installed SSD is a SAMSUNG MZNTE128HMGR 128GB component, which sports the M.2 2280 standard:

 

 

 

 

 

Let's see what the ThinkPad Helix 2nd Gen Convertible is capable of, in comparison with the previously tested Dell Venue 11 Prot:

 

 

 

Summary Chart

 

 

PCMark v8 is offering quite a bit of testing scenarios: Home conventional, Creative conventional but also Work conventional; here are the detailed results:

 

 

 

 

 

Next we will proceed with the CineBench R11.5 and R15 suites; we would like to think that the performance is quite relative with these ones since they consume quite of CPU power and throttling might kick in:

 

Cinebench R11.5

Cinebench R15

 

Here we also have multiple SuperPi runs at 512K, 1M, 2M and 4M:

 

 

After we have ran the full 3DMark Suite, here we have the detailed results:

 

Fire Strike

 

 

Sky Diver

 

 

Cloud Gate

 

 

Ice Storm

 

 

Summary Chart

 

 

The BAPCo TabletMark v3 software is recommended to be used since we can compare with the previously tested products:

 

 

 

With the same software, we have also taken the Battery Life test, which ran for less iterations than the Dell, in default mode:

 

 

 

In order to get a closer look at the performance differences versus the iPad Air 2 16GB and Dell Venue 11 Pro, we have built some extra charts:

 

 

 

 

Here is also the comparison of the scores in all 13 iterations, which ran during the Battery Life test:

 

 

 

The Full-HD IPS screen of the ThinkPad Helix 2nd Gen comes with very good viewing angles which says a lot about its overall quality.

 

 

As the Dell Venue 11 Pro Convertible, the ThinkPad Helix 2-in-1 works on the same principle which means passive cooling, producing absolutely zero noise when operating, which is quite an achievement. We have studied the throttling phenomenon and it seems to work quite different now, meaning that the temperature which limits the frequency of the CPU is no longer 90 degrees but around 67 degrees Celsius.

 

IDLE

 

 

 

Maximum Power Consumption before Throttling

 

 

 

Throttling Temperature + TDP drop

 

 

 

Throttling CPU Speed

 

 

 

In consequence, the tablet will heat up considerably less than the Dell when operating, but we may reach throttling much faster, which will lower the maximum Turbo multiplier.

 

As with the Dell, we can find the Helix 2nd Gen in multiple configuration types, meaning more RAM and bigger SSDs; while the standard version is shipped with the Ultrabook keyboard dock, we have the option to purchase the Ultrabook Pro keyboard instead, which offers an additional USB 3.0, mini Display port, full TrackPoint and TouchPad navigation, backlit keys, speakers and a second battery for up to 12 hours of productivity. The standard dock is easy to work with but the angle of the tablet cannot be adjusted unfortunately.

 

While we have checked out most of the included Lenovo preloaded applications, the one we are really appreciating is the System Update module, which downloads all new software, drivers, BIOS and updates them without the need of user input.

 

In our battery tests, we have seen that the ThinkPad Helix 2-in-1 lasted less than the Dell, but in the same time we would like to say that the default brightness was also higher, which could have influenced the overall results.

 

The tested Helix model is available online for about $999.99, with the option to purchase the Ultrabook Pro keyboard along with it, or we can also go with the better equipped model, which is Mobile Broadband enabled and also gets shipped along with the Ultrabook Pro keyboard for about $1429.99.

 

 Lenovo ThinkPad Helix 2nd Gen Convertible is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Lenovo and Intel for making this review possible!