Lenovo Tab M9: Unusual, but convincing
The Lenovo Tab M9 is unusual: it offers GPS, although we were only able to review the WiFi version, and it comes with a 9-inch screen - hardly any other tablet uses this screen size. At a manufacturer's price of just under US$150, the tablet is also quite affordable.
The elegant metal chassis and the relatively low weight of 344 grams immediately make for a positive impression, and the tablet comes with a case that has an integrated stand. The fact that the tablet only has 32 GB of mass storage and only 3 GB of RAM is unfortunately standard in the low price range, but at least there is a decent microSD reader with which you can expand the storage space.
The tracking module does its job quite well, but cannot cater to the most demanding users. Things looks worse with the camera, as only the cheaper tablet standard is offered here, which means blurry pictures in some cases.
The tablet does well enough in terms of performance, which is due to the strong SoC, but you shouldn't expect high-end power. Nevertheless, it suffices for reasonably smooth system operation. Annoying for gamers is that our test with Diablo: Immortal resulted in severe graphic errors that made playing difficult or impossible.
The availability of the tablet in Europe is currently limited to the WiFi version, while the Tab M9 with LTE and greater storage is hard to come by. Even popular sellers such as Amazon currently only have the WLAN version in certain countries.
If you find a 10-inch tablet too bulky and heavy, you should take a look at the Tab M9. Read our detailed review to find out more, including benchmark results and test charts.