We take a closer look at Lenovo's Horizon 2 Windows 8 table PC

Do you fancy a slim, sweet looking table PC from Lenovo? The 27-inch Horizon 2 may well be the device for you. The product itself is just 19.5mm thick with weight shaved off to make it easier to carry around the home (or office). We managed to get some hands-on time with the Horizon 2 at CES 2014. Swipe past the break for more details and some awesome footage.

There are numerous new features included in the Horizon 2, including a new Aura interface to make accessing media from other PCs and smartphones on the home network more convenient. This interface can also recognize faces in added photos and publish said content to Facebook to share with family and friends.

You've got both table and stand modes available with 10-finger touch-screen support. Powering the PC is the 4th generation Intel i7 processor, joined by Dolby Home Theatre and a large traditional or hybrid internal storage setup. When not plugged into the mains, the Horizon 2 will provide around 4 hours worth of use on the battery.

Will you be picking one up? Stay tuned for more coverage from this year's CES.

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

58 Comments

Same form factor as the galaxy note 8.
Same form factor as the iPad, the Nexus 7, the GPad, the Lumia 2520, the Venue 8 Pro, the Iconia W4, the Surface, etcetera. It's a tablet, genius.
I believe cgold1 was making a joke about how large so-called, "phablets" will become by the time the Galaxy Note 8 rolls along (far of, considering we're only on the 3rd or 4th generation Galaxy Note, I believe?).
He could also meant note 8 as in 8" as in their tablet series..which would confuse the joke
Oh, haha, forgot about that. I think it shows that I don't follow Samsung with the same sharpness I follow Nokia.
Why you got to be rude❔ You don't know a joke when you see one, genius❔
you must be fun at parties
I understands you . Some people just don't know when to act nice .
All these wonderful W8 products makes RT and WP look stuck in the mud...
nothing shown can't be done on RT and WP8. in fact we've seen this from the old windows 7/ big suface days. people never cared.
Never said it couldn't BUT what RT have you heard announced let alone WP? Its clear where OEM are focusing their resources to.
Yeah, looking at Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 seems to be really stale of features... I "get" that Windows 8 is a full blown desktop OS, but it doesn't make the lack of options, settings and features any less disappointing...
That only applies if you consider RT to be full blown windows which it isnt! The restricted tablet OS similar to the Android and iOS still makes perfect sense to my mind, what I never understand is why it is OK to expect RT to do everything that full blown windows does yet not have the same expectation of Andriod say compared to Linux o r iOS capared to OSx.
You are taking what I said completely out of context. I own the 2520. I know what it its capable of. OEM are not investing in it. All the best thing seen at CES are W8. What are you even talking about? Get off your rant. Not one thing has been showcased for RT, let alone WP. It says alot of what the OEM are thinking their resources should go. One can only hope MWC showcases more WP and RT or it says alot of future progress in 2014 with OEMs
As soon as people see the desktop on the RT, they go bonkers. So removing the desktop from RT will change mind sets.
Because the current crop of RT devices are more expensive than many of the W8 alternatives, which do the same thing and more.
i want the original surface table with device and credit card recognition at less than $500
PixelSense? Ain't gonna be anywhere near $500.
I just don't see any demand for this product. Who would want it? It's so big that it would only get moved from the coffee table to the dining room table. Nobody is going to take that thing out of the house and to the office.
?? It's designed for home use
How many people are going to want that thing even in the house? A big thing like that wouldn't be moved around much. Desktop monitors or big screen TVs would serve the same purpose.
How about a business where they collaboration in design, etc? Doesn't have to be for home use, although I want it for board games a lot.
Maybe digital artists? Turn that thing into portrait view, got your canvas.
Right. I imagine it could be used to do layouts as well. I wonder if this wouldn't be more appealing in a business setting where it could be used by a lot more people or could be rolled around to workstations and conference rooms. It may only be 17lbs, and slim enough to tote around but I'd be worried about it breaking if you have kids and they're allowed to touch it and move it. It's a shame, really. It's probably very cool tech but maybe a case of people having more money and engineering talent than they know what to do with.
I can picture it getting dropped or getting something spilled on it quickly. Something that weighs about the same as a bowling ball isn't meant to be moved around in a house. Most home users want to use tablets in bed or while sitting on the sofa.
Don't make me go Saturday Live Point-Counter-Point on you even though your name is Laura ;O)
Maybe people won't take it to the office, but it would be awfully handy for moving around the house. Just because something is for a niche market doesn't mean it isn't worth making. This is the kind of thing that makes Windows great.
Speak for yourself. I planned to sit in the front row at my kids' school plays, hold it over my head, and take pics.
Lol
@cjallan417 LOL!!!
A good laugh to start the day. Thanks!
Thanks for the idea.
Remember, choices and variety are always good.
That interface really screams Courier. Also, it feels very original surface-ish.
These companies should really spend some time and money developing demonstrable use cases for this stuff. Show me why I need this or how it will save/make me money, and not just "Dude, it's a freaking 27" tablet- awesome!" At the other end there are still people saying "why would anyone want an 8" windows tablet"?
8" Windows tablet would be perfect for home use. Great size to use in bed or on sofa.
I really thought the original Horizon was cool.
Practicality-wise, though, I'm leaning toward the Dell XPS 18.
Awesome for a game of digital board games! Orrrr....you can just enjoy the quaint, old school, tactile boards games themselves. Guess it would save a bit of closet space over all those game boxes. That and you won't lose that odd ball playing piece.... A+ for effort though. Big and Flat is not a good form factor for home use - we already have those.
That's P.C nice
All was so great... Until she picked up that bloody Android phone! That killed it for me... Couldn't care less if they drove a truckload of these to my home. I will give my hard earned cash to companies that really care about the windows eco-system!
Well, I see some sort of NFC communication there, with windows phone, you'd have to hit a confirmation message every time you paired it, OS limitations, I see why they would opt for an android phone for a demo
Damn, that thing is Cool! Wish it worked with Windows Phone.
Nice replacement for my wall mounted hp touchsmart....
With the cheap w8.1 8"ers, I suspect RT will be dead amongst OEMs. Only MS will strive to revive it. At the end, sad to say, RT will be dead.
Is that a ouija board?
Is this the heir of Microsoft's original Surface? I actually always liked the idea. This is the future.
that would be Pixelsense.... which is what the old surface was renamed, but nothing has been done with it since the SUR40.
is there a wacom pen?
This is what I want to know, as well. And how pressure sensitive is the screen?
CNET mentioned it came with a digital pen. No one else did so am I right to think they probably just misspoke? Because if this thing had a decent pen; Well, hello 27" digital drawing canvas!
Minority Report ;)
played with this at CES unveiled. Fun stuff.
Really reminds me of PixelSense (the original Microsoft Surface). The concept behind PixelSense is amazing though and although this is a nice alternative, looking at both products on the surface (no pun intended) PixelSense is still much more feature rich.
who the hell care about android? I am disgusted by typing this word.
Perfect for Board games at home. Place it on a table, sit around it and play.
If it had NFC, and you could place you phone on the screen to connect, that would be awesome. can you imagine taking this on a plane?
Does it work as a table?
Does it work as a table?

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