Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Helix

Like it or not, tablets are the future. Lenovo's latest, the ThinkPad Helix, is not likely to be a part of it. Here's why.

Following on a string of successes with convertible PC designs – including the swell IdeaPad Yoga – Lenovo has now taken aim at the slate.

What the Helix offers in innovation it counters with a number of flaws so dazzlingly bad it's a miracle the device ever made it out of the factory.The centerpiece of this design is a relatively standard 11.6-inch Windows 8 tablet. It weighs a respectable 1.9 pounds, features an ultra-bright, squint-inducing 1920 x 1080-pixel screen, and measures an impressive 12mm thick, one of the slimmest Windows tablets on the market. Powered by a 1.8GHz Core i5 (3rd generation), 4GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD, the specs are on the minimalist side, but they aren't an outright disappointment. On the bottom of the tablet (if you're holding it in landscape orientation), you'll find all the device's ports: One USB 2.0 port and a DisplayPort connector, plus a gaggle of connectors designed to let the Helix attach to its dock.

The docking system is how the Helix distinguishes itself from Lenovo's other tablets, and it does give this device a few new tricks. The slate portion of the Helix snaps into a base that contains both a keyboard and a monstrous hinge that envelops the entire base of the slate. The keyboard is one of the nicest you'll find on an 11.6-inch device, complete with a vast touchpad and even a classic ThinkPad pointing stick. You lose the scant pair of ports on the Helix when you connect to the base, but these are replicated on the back of keyboard unit. In fact, you get two USB 2.0 ports in addition to the DisplayPort connector. There's also an extra battery in the base, so you get an additional 3 hours of running time (total: 7 hours) when it's connected.

Using the Helix in a casual environment is fairly pleasant, both as a slate and as a laptop. The touchscreen is responsive and ultra-detailed. As with other 1080p-class touchscreens, this can make tapping accuracy very difficult, but Lenovo does include a stubby stylus to help you get around. Text at its native resolution can be difficult to read, so you'll likely need to make good use of zoom features. Performance on general apps is fine, though an upgrade to a 4th generation Core CPU definitely seems to be in order.

The dock has one extra nifty trick to offer: The slate portion of the Helix can slide into it either forward or backward. When facing forward, you can use the Helix as a standard laptop or set it upright on a table, using the keyboard as the back leg of a stand. Flip the Helix around and you can fold the tablet down flat so it's a slate with a keyboard underneath. This is the same trick that swivel-hinge convertible tablets offer, but the ability to detach the base altogether if you want is a clever idea.

If only that was the end of the story. What the Helix offers in innovation it counters with a number of flaws so dazzlingly bad it's a miracle the device ever made it out of the factory.

Let's start with looks. ThinkPad as a brand is well regarded for its clean, simple appearance, and the Helix manages to toss that out the window in one go. The base of the slate is a huge mess, and it features the most baffling design element I've ever seen: two little slots called "label trays." The label trays look like SD card slots, but if you pull out the plastic inserts inside you will find, indeed, two trays with labels on them. These are bits of plastic imprinted with the legalese that normally appears on the underside of the laptop (you know: copyright warnings, the UL logo). In other words, in order to keep the back of the slate looking clean, Lenovo instead chose to build plastic, pull-out tabs into the slate upon which this text could be printed. I'm totally serious.

As for the base unit, while the keyboard itself is a knockout, the hinge portion of the base unit is a debacle. Plastic horns stick out from the hinge alongside exposed metal connectors, loose flaps, and even a pair of fans. It's heinously ugly when not connected to the slate portion of the machine, but that's matched only by how difficult it is to use. Aligning the Helix atop the many connectors and posts required to hold it in place isn't difficult, but it is a two-handed affair to remove that requires pressing a button to release it. God help you if you actually close the tablet, laptop style. Opening the thing requires both substantial strength and fingernails long enough to wedge in between the two pieces, and few people generally have both. Finally, when open, the viewing angle is restricted because the Helix is so top-heavy. It would tip over if Lenovo allowed you to push it back further. Ultimately, it's all so badly realized that I expect few buyers will ever detach their Helix to use as a slate once they (finally) get it connected.

So, maybe you'll just ditch the keyboard and use the Helix as a slate, then? Good luck. If you're just tapping out emails and reading HuffPo, no problem, but task the Helix with anything further (like playing a game), and things heat up. A lot. While the bottom of the Helix features all of its ports, the top of the device is where the exhaust vents are, so if you're holding the unit in portrait mode, they shoot scorching hot air out right onto your hand. It's one of the worst design failures I've seen in years.

The Helix has essentially zero graphics performance – I even saw more than a few stuttering MPEGs when watching at full-screen – but that's barely worth mentioning in the face of the Helix's laughable price tag. $1,679 will get you this base-level configuration, hundreds of dollars more than other tablets you can find that are around this size. It's less expensive ($1,477.52) if you apply Lenovo's instant rebate in its web store, but that's still very far from reasonable. Add wireless broadband as an option and the prices go back to sky-high.

Ultimately, Lenovo can do – and in other divisions, is doing – better than this. I wouldn't be surprised if the Helix disappears from the market quickly and quietly, and frankly I'll be disappointed in the company if it doesn't.

WIRED Performs well if graphics aren't on the menu. Keyboard is outstanding on a unit this size.

TIRED Wildly overpriced. Designed by lunatics. Docking system is a complicated and homely mess. Runs blazing hot, bring gauze.