The theme of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show seems to be that ‘thin is in’. This week, we’ve seen manufacturers claim to have created the world’s thinnest smartphone, the thinnest 10-inch tablet, and the thinnest Ultrabook. Now, with the announcement of its IdeaCentre A720, Lenovo says it’s created the world’s thinnest 27” all-in-one PC.
As is often the case with all-in-one systems, the A720 is strikingly designed, and while the benefits of having the ‘thinnest’ such PC at home are more aesthetically based than those of owning a thin-and-light notebook, that’s just fine with us – if only all Windows desktops looked this good, the world would surely be a much happier place. Okay, maybe not... but it would certainly make offices look a lot less drab.
With a range of Intel Core i5 and i7 processor options (probably Ivy Bridge, given the A720’s expected arrival in Q2 2012) packed into its sleek metallic base, along with NVIDIA GeForce graphics, don’t expect this system to be all show and no go. Storage options include a 1TB hard drive and 64GB SSD; the presence of an optical drive makes it inevitable that Blu-Ray will also be offered as an option.
The big draw of the A720 is of course its huge 27” ten-point multi-touch display. The hinge allows the user to angle the display from -5° to 90° from the vertical, making it easy to find just the right position to ensure comfortable use.
The edge-to-edge glass of the display will be familiar to anyone who’s spent time around an iMac, although the Full HD (1920x1080px) resolution of the A720 isn’t as good as that of the 27” iMac, which has an impressive 2560x1440px display. But the A720 will undercut the 27" iMac by $400, when it goes on sale in the US from $1299, and for some buyers that may well make all the difference. HP’s recently announced Omni 27 – another Windows 7 all-in-one PC – will be $100 cheaper than the Lenovo, but doesn’t have a touchscreen.
With its eye-catching design, multi-touch display, impressive manoeuvrability and keen pricing, the A720 certainly seems to make a good case for itself on paper. We"ll have to wait and see, of course, whether or not it"s as good as it promises to be when it arrives in the next few months.
Images via Lenovo News Center