Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 Specs

Hi guys welcome back to this site!

In the past few months, i’ve been showing you a lot of Tegra tablets through this website – from the first-gen of Google Nexus 7, a couple of Tegra-powered Asus Transformer series, a couple of Acer Iconia Tab tablets, a couple of HP Slate tablets and 2 Sony Xperia first-gen tablets.

(Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 Specs)

After that, followed by a various different tablet brands from Samsung, LG (T-Mobile LG G Slate, remember?), Motorola, Xiaomi and a less-popular Kobo series (both Kobo Arc 10 HD and Kobo Arc 7HD).


Not to mention, just yesterday i’ve also already showed you 2 of Lenovo-branded tablets that are powered by this powerful chipset - Lenovo IdeaPad K1 and Lenovo ThinkPad -, which both are screaming Tegra 2 power in their engine.

Besides the fact that most of tablets are using Tegra processors, the main reason why i’ve always been so interested to talk about these Tegra-powered tablets is because, from what i’ve seen a lot on many video reviews on YouTube, many of these Tegra tablets are mostly great for gaming – of course with the newer Tegra processors (Tegra 3, Tegra 4 and Tegra K1) being the more powerful chipsets than the old-gen Tegra 2 dual-core, especially for gaming.

And this actually makes it easier for me to recommend these tablets especially if you’re currently looking for a good gaming tablet.

Anyway, today – actually in the next few reviews -, i still have a lot going on in this Tegra tablet discussion because my next reviews will still be about Tegra-powered tablets, but from another tablet brand which i actually never brought up to this website – like ever.

And that is Toshiba.

But that’s gonna happen tomorrow, as for today, i’m about to show you 3 other Tegra tablets from Lenovo under the same flag – Lenovo IdeaTab series.

This one is called Lenovo IdeaTab A2109, which is a Tegra 3 tablet sporting the 720p resolution on its 9-inch display.

Well, if you’re interested to get to know with this Tegra 3 device, including its gaming performance and also which games that would work perfectly in full graphics on this tablet, then here you go, my personal review of Lenovo IdeaTab A2109.


The first time i reviewed tablet from Lenovo happened a couple of months ago.

And the first Lenovo-branded tablet that i've reviewed on this website was Lenovo Yoga Tablet 11, an 11-inch Android tablet with unique and premium design (with a kickstand, remember?) and a huge 9000mAh power battery inside.

However, that tablet is powered by Mediatek quad-core processor, not Tegra chipset. And that’s the reason why there is some laggy performance on that device especially when deploying some heavy tasks at the same time or using live wallpaper.



I mean, if that 720p tablet is powered by Tegra 3 processor, i bet its performance will be smooth and fast even when multitasking many apps at the same time or using live wallpaper.

Thankfully, the older-gen tablet from Lenovo, which is the one i’m about to show you today - Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 – is Tegra 3 tablet.

So laggy and slow performance will not be the main issues of this device.

And this is really important because most of Android users are always complaining about the laggy experience when using their Android tablets, especially the ones with heavy custom UI – like older-gen Samsung GALAXY Tab tablets for example.

Anyway, as i mentioned above, Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 is a 9-inch tablet sporting the 720p or 1280x800 pixel resolution, which is pretty unique given that it’s rare to find tablets with this screen size – although the recently-reviewed T-Mobile LG G Slate comes close to this Lenovo tablet with its 8.9-inch screen.

However, that’s nothing wrong with that because tablet with 9-inch display is still pretty ideal for a media-consumption device, it’s not too big and it’s not that small like the 7-inch tablets.

From the hardware standpoint, this Lenovo tablet is actually pretty well-prepared in that department.

First of all, it’s powered by Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which is still considered as a fast and powerful processor until today, and then coupled with 1GB of RAM and NVIDIA Tegra 3 GPU.

And all of these are just a perfect match to the 720p resolution of this tablet, making sure that the display still looks pretty sharp, the performance will be really fast and it’s not going to consume a lot of power from the battery of this tablet.

As a gaming tablet, no single doubt that Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 will be a good gaming tablet, if not the best.

It’s still capable to handle most of today’s graphically demanding games quite nicely – like Modern Combat 4, N.O.V.A 3, Asphalt 7, GTA Vice City and many more -, although latest games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, GTA San Andreas or Modern Combat 5 are positively not going to run smoothly in full high graphics on this device.

But we’ll get more on that later in the ‘gaming performance’ section below.

But the questions remain, with all of these goodies (anyway, when i say ‘goodies’, I’m referring to specs), along with its good gaming performance,

does Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 have what it takes to be the challenger of other 10-inch rivals, like iPad Air, Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro/Tab S/Note 10.1, Sony Xperia Z/Z2, Google Nexus 10 or even Xiaomi Mi Pad?

Is this tablet still relevant in today’s tablet market? Is it worth it to get this tablet?

Back to Top

• Release Dat Aug 27, 2012
• Weight 1.2 pounds
• 9 inch Touchscreen Display, 1280 x 800 pixels
• 1.2 GHz quad-core Tegra 3 Processor
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• NVIDIA Tegra 3 GPU
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 16 GB SSD Internal Storage
• microSD, microSDHC up to 32 GB
• 3 MP rear-facing camera
• 1.3MP Front-facing camera
• Music player: Album art cover, Background playback, SRS TruMedia
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• EDGE
• Bluetooth
• HSDPA, HSUPA
• HTML, Adobe Flash Browser
• USB
• Java MIDP emulator
• GPS
• Accelerometer, compass Sensors
• Micro HDMI (Type D)
• Color Black
• Lithium Polymer Battery (LiPo)
• 6.46 hours Battery Life

From the hardware standpoint, i think this tablet is pretty similar with one of Acer’s other tablets – Acer Iconia Tab A110 – given that these 2 devices are packing the same Tegra 3 processor but sadly bringing some mediocre sectors here and there on their hardware specs.

Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 features a 9-inch display sporting the 1280x800 pixel resolution, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 12-core GeForce ULP GPU, 1GB of RAM, 3MP rear-facing camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, microSD card slot for up to 32GB to support the 16GB of internal storage, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, and a couple of other basic features.

The downside found on this device is its battery life, which could only last around 6.4 hours, which is the same thing that plagues the Acer Iconia Tab A110.


It’s a great decision by Lenovo to use 720p resolution on the 9-inch display of this tablet.

Even though the Tegra 3 quad-core processor on this tablet is still more than capable to handle even the 1080p display, having this lower-resolution display means that the overall performance of this tablet will be fast and smooth (plus lag-free), the gaming performance will also be smooth in full graphics, and the most importantly, its battery life could last pretty long in heavy usage.

Unfortunately, according to the spec sheet of this tablet, Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 could only last in just 6.4 hours in battery life.


Similar just like other Lenovo IdeaTab tablets, this Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 also comes pre-installed with stock Android UI, but with less-aggressive customizations from Lenovo.

So if you’re already familiar using any Android device in the past, especially the one with Android Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, then you will feel at home when using this tablet.

It has the same standard homescreen that you can fill with widgets, app shortcuts or live wallpaper, it has the same looking app drawer, the same bottom navigation on-screen buttons, the same notification and setting windows on the top and many other features that you’ve come to love on your Android device.

Back to Top
As a Tegra 3 tablet, there’s no single doubt that Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 will scream in performance.

Thanks to the NVIDIA Tegra 3 GPU inside this processor, all the graphics-related tasks that you throw on this tablet will be executed in smooth lag-free performance.

The good thing is, Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 is only sporting a 720p display, meaning that the Tegra 3 processor inside this tablet will not be tasked with a lot of pixels to execute.

So as a result, the performance of this tablet will be fast and smooth, the display still looks pretty sharp and it doesn’t squeeze a lot of juice from its battery, making it last pretty long even in heavy usage like watching HD movies or playing heavy 3D games.

And thanks to the 1GB of RAM provided on this tablet, multitasking many apps is not gonna create such a huge impact to the overall performance of this tablet.

So even if you open many apps or tasks at once, this tablet is still more than capable to perform fast and smooth without any lag whatsoever.

In terms of gaming performance, i believe this tablet will be slightly similar with other Tegra 3 tablets with the same 720p display – like say, Google Nexus 7 or Sony Xperia S -, where games like Modern Combat 4, Asphalt 7: Heat, Need for Speed Most Wanted, GTA Vice City, Dead Trigger, Horn, N.O.V.A 3 or Real Racing 3 can be played in buttery smooth performance and the most importantly, in full highest graphics.

So if you’re planning to get this tablet anytime soon and you happen to be a gamer, then you’re in great hands with this tablet because Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 is still a good gaming tablet, if not the best.

However, it’s worth noting that - even though most of the games aforementioned above will run so great, smooth and of course, in full graphics -, as for the latest and most graphically demanding games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 5 or GTA San Andreas, these games won’t perform smoothly on this tablet in full highest graphics.

And that’s for sure because i’ve already seen many Tegra 3 tablets are not that capable to run these latest 3D games in full highest graphics setting.

But the good news is, most of these heavy games provide you the options to set their graphics to even the lowest level.

So if you still want to play these games – then Yes, you can – but they will only run smoothly in medium or even low graphics setting.


Overall, in terms of gaming performance, i think Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 excels perfectly in that department.

Unfortunately, the good gaming performance of this tablet is not followed by its great battery life.

To be perfectly honest, I haven’t managed to find out the information about the exact battery capacity of this tablet nor its battery life in multimedia usage.

But according to the spec sheet of this tablet, Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 could only last in 6.5 hours in battery life (i’m not sure in which usage that number is).

So even if this tablet could perform great for gaming, i’m still not sure if this tablet could last that long for playing games.

So if you’re really planning to get this device in the near future, be sure to check out first the exact battery capacity and battery life of this tablet before jumping to the final decision of buying this tablet.


So my final impression of this tablet is, i have no single doubt that Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 will be a great media-consumption tablet.

• It has a huge 9-inch and pretty sharp 720p display,
• it has a fast 1.2GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor (which is great for gaming),
• it has NVIDIA Tegra 3 GPU (again, great for graphics-related tasks like gaming),
• it has 1GB of RAM, it has 2 front and back cameras (although not the impressive ones),
• it has microSD card slot for up to 32GB (which is important for most users to expand the 16GB internal storage of this device
• and it has a complete set of features (from Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, micro HDMI port, USB, Java).

It goes the same as a gaming tablet, Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 is definitely a good gaming tablet.

It has fast processor, powerful GPU and a pretty huge 1GB of RAM, giving users the power to handle almost any games – even the graphically demanding games like Modern Combat 4, N.O.V.A 3, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, GTA Vice City, GTA III, Dead Trigger, Asphalt 7: Heat and some other older games released around 2013 or before that year.

However, there are still some downsides found on this tablet.

First of all, this tablet apparently is not that great in battery life, which according to the spec sheet, could only last in 6.46 hours.

I’m not sure in which kind of battery life usage this number is related with (standby mode, multimedia or any other usage).

So if you really want to get this tablet in the near future, be sure to check out the battery life and battery capacity of this device before making the final decision to buy. This is really crucial for you.

I mean, i don’t think you would want to buy a powerful gaming tablet but could only last in 3 hours for gaming, right?

This tablet actually kind of reminds me with one of Acer tablets – Acer Iconia Tab A110 –, which also has Tegra 3 but low-resolution 1024x600 pixel display.

But unfortunately, this Acer’s slate doesn’t last that long in heavy usage, even in standy mode – probably due to the quad-core processor that is power hungry and low battery capacity inside this device.

So as a result, even though this Acer tablet is capable to handle most of the graphics intense games aforementioned above, it could only last in just few hours or around 3 hours for gaming, which is horrible for a gaming tablet.

This Acer tablet is probably gonna be similar with Lenovo IdeaTab A2109.

Both are gonna be great in gaming performance, but they have low battery life, which could prevent these tablets from being good gaming tablets - despite having the adequate hardware for gaming.

Okay, to end this review, as usual, here are the answers of my previous questions i asked earlier in ‘introduction’ section above:

1. No – definitely not. Given its low-grade specs, it’s really obvious that Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 is not comparable or doesn’t deserve to be a challenger for other today’s 10-inch rivals like iPad Air, Samsung GALAXY Tab Pro/Tab S, Sony Xperia Z/Z2, Google Nexus 10, let alone Xiaomi Mi Pad with its powerful Tegra K1. Even though this tablet is powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, it’s still not enough to put this device on the same page with other 10-inch tablets on today’s tablet market.
2. No – again, definitely not, with the same reason aforementioned above.
3. Unfortunately, no – the reason is mainly because its battery life, which probably “on the same page” with other Tegra 3 tablet from Acer – Acer Iconia Tab A110 -, which has horrible battery life. So even if Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 is capable to handle most of the graphically demanding games like Asphalt 7, Modern Combat 4, N.O.V.A 3, Dead Trigger or GTA Vice City, its weak battery life could be the thing that would hold back this device from being a good gaming tablet.

So what do you think? Are you still interested of getting this tablet after reading my personal review? Or you want to switch to other options? Well, if you ask me, i would recommend you to tablets like Xiaomi Mi Pad, iPad mini 2, LG G Pad 8.3, Samsung GALAXY Tab 4/Tab S/Tab Pro, HP Slate 7 Extreme, HP Slate 8 Pro or other tablets with more powerful hardware.

Have any question? Leave your comment here!