Lenovo brand Sharp manufacturing - Lenovo Smart TV S9 "Terminator" is in good condition

Lenovo smart TV is here with the attitude of a "Terminator".

But it should be pointed out that Lenovo is definitely not a newcomer in this industry. When Xiaomi TV was launched in September 2013, Lenovo and Sharp had already launched the second-generation smart TV flagship K82.

In fact, as early as the first half of 2012, Lenovo launched its first smart TV 55K91.

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If in the era of K82, Lenovo had to put "POWERED BY SHARP" on the corners of the screen to justify itself, and K82 was even nicknamed the twin brother of Sharp LX750 by the industry, then the protagonist of this experience, Lenovo Smart TV "Terminator" S9, is a brand new product with more youthful, Internet-based, and Lenovo-based elements.

Like its predecessors, the S9 also complies with Sharp's audio and video technical standards, and is manufactured by Sharp's factory in Nanjing.

Lenovo S9 comes in two sizes, 50 inches and 40 inches, with model numbers 50S9 and 40S9 respectively. The one we experienced this time is the 40-inch 40S9.

Frankly speaking, by the standards of the second half of 2014, neither 50-inch nor 40-inch can be considered "large size", and the size is sufficient for practical use. Fortunately, both models use UHD standard 4K screens with a resolution of 3840*2160 pixels, which makes up for the loss of "ultra-high definition".

The S9 is a 4K TV

Although televisions are considered "black electronics" in the traditional electrical appliance field, with the increasing internetization and younger age of users, there have been many breakthroughs in appearance design.

Lenovo has equipped the S9 with six different colors, including traditional black, fashionable white, and youthful and vibrant colors such as red, green, yellow, and blue. The differences in color are reflected in the screen frame, back cover, and desktop stand. By the way, the power cord also reflects the color.

The base of the S9 uses a split two-color crystal texture four-legged bracket, which is installed on the left and right sides of the bottom of the body and fixed with three screws each. It has sufficient stability and sturdiness. It is said that the bracket can bear a load of up to 200kg, which is more than enough to support a TV weighing more than ten kilograms.

The color of the bracket is coordinated with the main body of the device, which is the finishing touch. As for the only shortcoming of this bracket design, it is believed that the direction of the screen cannot be adjusted.

Without using the bracket base, users can also mount the S9 on the wall, especially the 40-inch 40S9. I'm afraid that many users use it as a bedroom TV. Without installing the bracket base, you can use the cover included in the package to seal the bottom bracket mounting hole to prevent dust and maintain the integrity of the appearance.

Due to the narrow bezel + ultra-thin design, the S9's buttons are not set on the side bezel of the body, but are uniformly placed on the left side of the back of the body. Users facing the screen can conveniently use their right hand to perform various operations on the TV.

The unique placement of the control buttons is far less significant than the breakthrough in the control method design. Lenovo S9 abandons the traditional button design and simplifies it by integrating a large number of buttons into a five-dimensional joystick, similar to the control design of early feature phones (Feather Phones), such as Alcatel's OneTouch (OT) joystick or Sony Ericsson's five-way joystick.

The complex control of traditional TVs has long been a pain point for users, so "simplifying control" has become a problem that Lenovo S9 focuses on solving.

In addition to simple operations using the five-dimensional joystick on the body, all operations of Lenovo S9 are completed through the innovative one-button smart remote control.

Lenovo S9 standard remote control - air mouse

The one-button smart remote control equipped with S9 has an "air mouse" function and uses Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to the TV host. The external line is very different from the traditional remote control. The overall look is more like a somatosensory game controller, similar to the handle of the Nintendo WII game console.

The "air mouse" function simplifies the densely packed buttons on traditional remote controls into just one - the voice control button. In addition, users only need to use the power button on the top to turn the device on, off and return, and tap to confirm by tapping the entire upper cover of the remote control.

As for other operations, they are completed through natural control modes such as clicking, sliding and scanning based on Freespace somatosensory technology.

At the same time, Lenovo has added a touch-sensitive volume adjustment function to the remote control around the swipe touch panel. Users can adjust the volume by swiping clockwise (volume up) and counterclockwise (volume down).

Lenovo air mouse is very simple to control, with only two physical buttons.

Behind the user's simple and intuitive control are devices such as the touchpad, high-sensitivity microphone, gyroscope and acceleration sensor integrated in the "air mouse".

It is these technical terms that users don't know much about that support the touch, voice, and somatosensory control of the "air mouse". Combined with the smooth lines and ergonomic grip of the air mouse, I believe that most users will be able to achieve "blind operation" after just a simple trial.

Similar air mouse remote control devices have appeared before. Different manufacturers usually set more than a dozen buttons based on their own design concepts. It is rare to set only two buttons like Lenovo.

Through trial use, I believe that the operation of the air mouse has indeed greatly simplified the user's operating difficulty, and is also very much in line with the usage habits of the new generation of Internet users who grew up holding a mouse.

Perhaps in order to enhance the voice control function of S9, an independent voice control button is set on the "air mouse". The voice control function can be activated by tapping, and then long pressing this button to speak commands. The usage method is similar to other mainstream voice control functions such as Apple Siri.

The voice control function of Lenovo S9 can be used for weather query, program switching, search, playback, etc. You can also occasionally tease "Xiangmei" (smart voice assistant) and ask her to tell a joke.

Due to the massive resources of the built-in BesTV, browsing and selecting through lists is not an efficient method. Therefore, the most commonly used functions during use are video search and playback. For example, if you say "I want to watch the New Three Kingdoms" to the air mouse, the system will automatically start playing after recognition, and the playback can be "continued from the breakpoint". Viewers who follow the drama do not have to worry about forgetting which episode to watch or selecting the same episode repeatedly.

Say to Kongshu "I want to watch the new Three Kingdoms"

The Lenovo one-button smart remote control is easy to operate, half due to its own control design concept, and the other half due to the redesigned Lenovo smart TV operating interface.

Since 2013, this UI interface developed based on Android 4.x has been called the "sandwich" interactive interface.

The so-called "sandwich" interface consists of three parts: "TV program interface", "online video on demand interface" and "application game interface".

For Lenovo S9, users can also choose to add "Smart Card" and "Friendly Appointment" interfaces as supplements in the settings.

Lenovo S9 "sandwich" interface video on demand interface

As an Android-based operating interface, the interaction logic of Lenovo S9 has been fully optimized, especially in terms of pages, functions and settings levels. The logic is clear while also taking into account the usage habits of traditional TVs.

According to the interface interaction logic, the second part of the "sandwich" interface, namely "online video on demand", is the "home page" of the entire interface, and video on demand is indeed the most commonly used function by users during the experience. Lenovo S9 has built-in rich genuine video resources, and the content resources are provided by BesTV BestTV.

BestTV is a leading new media audio-visual business operator and content platform in China, and has always been a partner of Lenovo Smart TV.

As early as before the launch of the first generation of Lenovo smart TV in 2012, Lenovo established a joint venture with BesTV to form "Siyun Network Technology". The early layout brought advantages in content resources. S9 provides various movies, TV series, children's programs, variety entertainment, music, sports, life documentaries and other content, and also provides three special channels of 3D, 4K and Siyun Cinema for users to choose from.

Lenovo S9 built-in Chinese movie channel

Each category contains free and paid content. Even for free users, the resources are rich enough. If you choose to pay, you can watch any paid film and television content within the validity period (quarterly, annual, or three-year package).

The annual package fee is 399 yuan, which includes all film and television content, including a large number of premieres, 1080p, 3D movies and theater blockbusters, which is relatively worthwhile.

By ordering a yearly viewing card, you can watch all movies and TV shows

Lenovo 40S9 was used to play 4K film sources for testing. Thanks to the professional image processing engine and 4K screen, 40S9 can provide high contrast and resolution. In terms of color reproduction, it has a very good natural transition and the overall effect is excellent.

4K screen shooting effect, colorful and clear image

Lenovo S9 active shutter 3D glasses, the legs of the glasses are very long

Removable nose pads and extra-long glasses legs make it easier for myopic users to wear 3D glasses comfortably

After the video, rich games and applications are the new hot spots used by smart TV manufacturers to attract users' attention. This can be seen from the demonstrations of salesmen in home appliance stores - exciting games can always attract more customers, and Lenovo S9 is no exception.

Game applications are concentrated in the third part of the "sandwich" interface. The advantages of Android are reflected here: S9 is equipped with Le Store, which provides a large number of games and applications adapted for TV.

The installation, uninstallation and management of games and applications are not much different from those of ordinary Android phones. To facilitate users to play as soon as the phone is turned on, the S9 has several built-in classic games, such as Plants vs. Zombies and Fishing Master 2. With the air mouse operation, it is suitable for the whole family to have fun.

Lenovo S9 built-in music store

Lenovo S9 built-in applications can be easily managed

Classic Plants vs. Zombies

It is very convenient to play Fishing Master with an air mouse, and the pleasure is close to that of a design game.

If you want to experience a more outstanding gaming experience, you can do so by purchasing an upgrade card separately.

In addition to the conventional HDMI1.4 (3 groups), USB2.0 (3 groups) and component, AV, cable TV, RJ45 network cable, and audio interfaces, Lenovo 40S9 also provides a hardware upgrade card slot, similar to the PCMCIA that was available on early laptops.

The current upgraded card uses NVIDIA's Tegra K1 processor, which has a 192-core GPU and is powerful enough to meet the needs of various current Android game masterpieces.

Lenovo will also launch more powerful upgrade cards in the future. Without replacing the TV, users can still upgrade the performance at a lower cost to ensure that the TV can keep up with the times.

Lenovo's nickname for S9, "Terminator", also reveals Lenovo's ambition for smart TVs. Smart TVs are going to revolutionize traditional TVs. Will the Internet and IT industries also become the "Terminators" of traditional TV manufacturers?

As a giant in the IT industry, Lenovo has the product design, channel advantages and quality control manufacturing experience of a traditional home appliance manufacturer. At the same time, it has the advantages of an Internet company such as the way of thinking and greater openness, thus forming a pattern of cooperation with upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Lenovo is therefore able to take advantage of the strengths of many companies and use them for its own benefit, and this advantage is well reflected in the S9. Sharp's audio and video technology and manufacturing process ensure the high quality of the whole machine. The platform based on the Android system has been optimized and is more suitable for TV operation with the new one-button smart remote control. The cooperation with BesTV has brought a large amount of genuine ultra-clear resources, which has improved the ecosystem of smart TVs from the "software" level, making Lenovo S9 highly competitive among similar products in the market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.