[mgmueller]

Initial frustration (seal had been opened) aside:

There are 4 stickers on the back.
Why?
Do they produce centrally and want to cover all legal obligations they face globally on every single unit?
I've had this on an Asus tablet as well. Seems to be something about Asian manufacturers. I don't have this on Dell, Microsoft, Apple and the likes...

Build quality:
It's not as plasticky as Dell Venue 8 Pro, but it's no iPad either.
The back is the same metal as the sides, but it feels and looks a bit "plasticky".
At second glance, it all looks a bit cheap. From the looks alone, one couldn't tell any price difference to the Dell (although it's € 350 vs. € 650 list price).
The bezel seems slightly uneven. It's raised about a fingernail on the bottom (in portrait mode), the left and the top. On the right, it almost feels even. And on the right I can see some gaps in the housing.
Definitely no iPad, not even close.

The backside:
Lenovo seems a bit childish.
There's a red plastic ring around the lens of the camera.
And there's a tiny red LED, marking the dot of the i in "ThinkPad".
I'm not a fan of such gimmicks.
What if the LED dies on me in 12 months? Does it have any function at all? Or is it just an annoying light at night?

Display quality:
It's brighter than Dell Venue 8 Pro. And the higher resolution is visible. It's no quantum leap, but slightly more appealing than Dell Venue 8 Pro (although Dell Venue 8 Pro is absolutely fine for me).
I'll compare to my iPad mini Retina later on.

The momentary verdict:
It's a nice little Windows tablet.
The display is great.
But Lenovo doesn't seem to be able to build real quality. I've checked out Lenovo Yoga a few months ago and had the same feel about sub-par build quality. Maybe not sub-par, but clearly not worth the premium in price...

Wow!
The resolution is killer!
When I set the icons in system settings to the small size, they're almost hard to see. And it won't be easy, to actually hit them without a stylus. For the desktop, like many recommend, an increase to 125% or even 150% might make sense or even be unavoidable.
But the text, small as it is, is still perfectly readable.

The quick shot cover is crap.
The front is rigid. Entirely.
No folds as on iPad.
It probably is protective, but neither elegant nor multi-purpose-like.
At least wake-up and sleep via magnets work flawlessly.

The tablet seems to have died on me!
"Built-in battery needs to re-charge".
I had connected it to the (proprietary!) power supply, but didn't track battery level (who does?).
I'm trying to charge, but it doesn't look good.
I probably should have sent it back without even opening the box. But now at least I know: What I had heard about the "quality" of Lenovo products seems to be correct.
I'll most likely send it back tomorrow...

Impressions after 18 hours:
It's a mixed bag for me.
In some parts, it's what I heard feared of a unit from Lenovo.

The bad:
- A permanent red LED on the back (in the dot of the "i" of ThinkPad) to show the activity status? Utter nonsense to me.
- Build quality. It's no disaster. But compared to the likes of Surface Pro or iPad... Even more so considering the premium price.
- The snapshot cover. I haven't tested the functionality (taking pictures by pulling back one edge of the cover) yet, no need for it (taking pictures on a tablet?), but I don't like the touch and feel. It's absolutely rigid. This might be great protection-wise, but it feels awkward and I have no idea how to conveniently get it out of the way. In comparison: If I turn the iPad smart cover to the back of the tablet, it doesn't bother me and attaches nicely with the magnets. If I do the same with this snapshot cover, it doesn't attach and the stiffness is inconvenient to gold.

Neutral:
- The display is great. I still have to compare to iPad mini Retina, but it's certainly nothing to complain about. But I'm no "fanatic" about this. I'm fine with my Dell Venue 8 Pro and for pst of my usage patterns can't make much use of the high resolution.
- No pen. Actually, I'm not even sure about that. I've read somewhere about a pen. If so, it's not marketed very well. I'm not even a fan of pens. But for Windows devices, I find them helpful. On the road I don't always take mouse and keyboard with me. Then a pen can be helpful for the not-yet-touch-optimized programs.
- The speakers. They seem loud enough and of okay quality, but nothing special.

The good:
- It boots in about 2/3 of the time my Dell Venue 8 Pro takes. It seems rather snappy.
- 128GB. Many manufacturers still don't integrate enough storage. In my "fun units", I always go for >128GB in the meantime. The 32GB of my Kindle Fire HDs for example are way too limited. I couldn't find a 128GB Dell Venue 8 Pro.

Meaning:
I'll keep it, I only send back defective units.
It has the potential, to be my Windows counterpart to iPad mini Retina.
It does have some weaknesses re. design and childish gimmicks, so it probably won't be in my top 3 gadgets (iPad mini Retina being my #1 gadget, Surface Pro 2 being my #1 professional tool and Nvidia Shield being my #1 toy). But I intend to take it with me on the road, when I don't see the need for Dell Venue 8 Pro + keyboard + pen.

Display:
I've compared to Dell Venue 8 Pro and iPad mini Retina for now.
Colors are more vibrant than on Dell and about the same as on iPad.
Viewing angles are spectacular. Better than both others.

Speakers:
Speaker on Dell Venue 8 Pro is not very loud.
Louder on iPad mini Retina.
Lenovo ThinPad 8 is even more powerful. Great for watching movies.

With a (significantly!) better build quality, it would be a fantastic gadget.