Lenovo IdeaTab A2109

“Once again, Lenovo came really close to making a great tablet, but one major flaw keeps the IdeaPad A2109 from a wholehearted recommendation. The display’s narrow viewing angles will affect media lovers and gamers more than people who mainly use their tablets to read or surf the web. But tablets at this size are made for the kind of people who like to do all of those things equally. Yes, the budget $300 price means that every aspect won’t be top of the line. But given what many buyers will want to use this tablet for, this drawback can put buyers off. It’s too bad, because the IdeaTab A2109 has a great design, speedy performance, and a “just right” form factor.”

“The $299 Lenovo IdeaTab A2109A has a few things going for it for tablet shoppers on a budget. We like the sound quality and the multitude of useful apps Lenovo bundled. You also get decent battery life. However, if you can live with a smaller size Google's Nexus 7 is cheaper ($199 for 8GB model) and offers better performance. For $30 more, the iPad mini is sleeker and has a larger app store. Ultimately, the A2109A is a good tablet for the price, but not a great one.”

“The Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 is the sort of tablet that would pique my interest if I ever found it on sale. Despite its flaws, it definitely has some redeeming features like its great performance and solid battery life, so if one were to come across it at a discounted price -- say, $250 or so -- then it would probably be a tempting purchase. But at a starting price of $300, the A2109 isn't quite worth it. Unless you plan on using it as a weapon, you probably won't be a fan of its heavy-as-brick build, which also counteracts the benefits brought to the table by its slightly more compact, 9-inch design. And of course, there's also the horrendous screen and Lenovo's awful UI, both of which are major detractors when you can get a better PPI and a pure version of Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) on the $200 Nexus 7 from Google. So for now, the A2109 ranks as a don't buy, but it can absolutely get more appealing sometime down the road if it benefits from a price drop.”

“This device is a good effort from Lenovo, but put up in a competition against the rest of the Tegra 3 tablets we’ve seen, it’s just a bit lacking. If you’re looking for a 9-inch tablet with NVIDIA processing power inside it, this is your best bet, that’s for certain – especially if you just want it to be your radio all on its own: the speakers are really worth a listen. The A2109 really does have the power to run next-generation apps too, and you’ll have full access to the NVIDIA TegraZone app collection as well. This device will run you $299, and for that price you’ll not be finding another tablet like the A2109. You can of course pick up a Nexus 7 for $199 – but that’s smaller than this. You could get an iPad mini (if it does indeed exist in a few weeks), but that won’t have Android, of course, and it certainly wont have a 9-inch display. Basically the final verdict is this: with a unique build, you won’t find Lenovo’s offering here lacking if you want it for a media-delivery system – unless the display will trip you up: check it out in the store, you simply must.”