The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon recently began shipping and while this “table” PC is running Windows 8, those making the purchase will find something Android related. The IdeaCentre Horizon comes pre-installed with a copy of BlueStacks. Basically, this means you can turn your 27-inch Windows 8 PC into an oversized Android tablet. The table PC ships with a wireless keyboard and mouse, however it also has a touchscreen display.
Anyway, given we focus on Android here, the IdeaCentre Horizon coverage will be limited to BlueStacks. By default BlueStacks will offer access to four sections; AppSearch, GetJar, Amazon Appstore and 1Mobile. Users can also sideload the Google Play Store. The one catch with apps coming from the Play Store, you will likely see some mixed results in terms of support for the large display.
Given the setup for the IdeaCentre Horizon, using this as an Android gaming device could be rather interesting. As you will see from the video below, some of the games look rather nice. Alternatively, despite some not looking the best in terms of quality — the seem to have been made for the larger size. As you will see in our hands-on video below, pinball is an example of an app that seems to be good for a larger display.
The search functionality is also worthy of a mention. With this you can use the search interface to get results from multiple app stores. We used Ironman as the example in the video and from the initial search results, once you pick the item that matches your search, you will be given the option to pick which app store the download actually comes from.
Otherwise, while we wouldn’t expect many people to be walking around with this 27-inch device, Lenovo did put some thought into mobility. Take the kickstand for example. With this, Lenovo has the obvious in that it will prop the computer up for table use. On the flip side though, when that kickstand is pushed in, you will be presented with a touch based interface.
The IdeaCentre Horizon is currently shipping and Lenovo has it priced from $1,699. While we left the focus on the Android side, our friends at SlashGear will be diving in a little deeper and offering a fell review to include both the hardware aspect and Windows 8. This Lenovo table PC aside, those who happen to be curious about BlueStacks, remember that is available as a free download for both Mac and Windows computers.
