Lenovo talks up new 27-inch “table PC” at CES

Lenovo is just one of the many PC makers bringing new designs to CES this week. Many of these will simply be refreshed or refined versions of the first round of Windows 8 computers—either convertible laptops or more traditional desktops and laptops with integrated touchscreens—but a few particularly interesting designs may yet rise above that fray.

One of these PCs is Lenovo's IdeaCentre Horizon 27, a 27-inch all-in-one desktop PC with an integrated battery and 1080p ten-point touchscreen. Lenovo is marketing the device as a "table PC." Sure, a kickstand can be unfolded to allow the computer to sit on a desk as would any all-in-one. But this PC can also be laid flat on a table for use by multiple people, or mounted on the pictured roller table for use while standing. (We've previously stated a touchscreen all-in-one makes the most sense ergonomically while positioned at about waist height on a standing person.)

In concept the Horizon is quite similar to Sony's Tap 20, a smaller all-in-one that also included an integrated battery and foldable kickstand allowing it to be laid flat on a table. The Horizon's larger size will mean more people can gather around it at once (and the roller table may make it more useful for people who prefer to stand at their desks), but the two machines are definitely cut from the same cloth. Like the Tap 20, multiplayer touch-enabled games figure heavily into Lenovo's promotional material for the device.

The Horizon will be available in "early summer" for a price of "approximately" $1699. We don't yet know what the specifications of the base model will be, but Lenovo's promotional materials give us some indication of what to expect: the computer will be configurable with "up to" an Ivy Bridge-based Core-i7 processor (likely a quad-core chip), "up to" a 1TB hard drive and 8GB of RAM, and "up to" an NVIDA GeForce GT 620M graphics processor. These specifications aren't terribly impressive for the price (especially if the $1699 base model scales back on some of those "up to"s), but it should give this device enough oomph for its intended use.