Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Review

IdeaCentre A720 Overview
Want to see what the IdeaCentre is all about?  Check out the video below.

The IdeaCentre A720 is an all-in-one system the display and system itself are one single unit, but let’s start with the display.  The A720 has a very large 27-inch Full HD 1920 x 1080 display.  While the 1920 x 1080 is great it would have been nice to see a larger resolution considering the size of the display.  Apple’s 27-inch iMac has a screen resolution of 2560 x 1440.  Not only do you have a large screen, the screen itself if a 10-point touchscreen.  The screen is a glossy screen as you can see from the photo below.  At the top center of the screen you will find a 720p webcam that can be used for things like Skype.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Lenovo IdeaCentre A720

On both bottom edges of the display you have activity LED’s and touch-sensitive buttons.  On the right side you have brightness up/down, volume up/down, viewing mode selection, input select and screen power.  On the left side are mostly indication LED’s which include power, hard drive activity, bluetooth and WiFi.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Lenovo IdeaCentre A720

If I did not mention it already this system is sleek and sophisticated, even Apple would be jealous.  Most of the A720 is made of heavy brushed aluminum and just looks awesome.  Taking a look at the back of the A720 there is a small Lenovo logo in the top left.  There is a large arm that holds the screen up.  Not only is the arm large, it is pretty heavy duty as well.  The arm does not allow you to swivel the display, but you can pivot it, quite a lot actually, which you will see a bit later in the review.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Lenovo IdeaCentre A720

Many all-in-one systems have their actual computer part of the device as part of the display and that is what normally makes them clunky.  Lenovo has decided to make the base of the unit the actual computer.  Again encased in all aluminum the actual “guts” of the system are no larger than a 13-inch laptop.  Since we are already on the back of the unit let’s start there.  From right to left you have a lock port, ethernet, power, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, headphone and microphone connections and the TV tuner connection.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Lenovo IdeaCentre A720

On the left side of the A720 you will find a large ventilated section, much like you would see on a laptop, another USB 3.0 port, HDMI in and HDMI out.  Having an HDMI in port means you can connect things like your Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or cable box up to the A720.  On the right side there is a very sleek slot-loaded Blu-ray drive and a card reader which supports MS, MS Pro, MMC, SD, SDHC and SDXC cards.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 Lenovo IdeaCentre A720

On the front of the A720 are two small speakers built right into the unit.  Looking at their size, I wouldn’t expect much out of them.  On the bottom of the unit are 4 rubber feet that are going to keep the metal chassis of the A720 from scratching up your desk.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A720

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