Category Archives: Lenovo

Seton Hall University Hands Out 400 Lenovo ThinkPad Tablets to Students and Faculty

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As more and more institutes of higher education dabble in the tablet as a tool useful for learning, Seton Hall University has become the first to deploy Lenovo’s Android-powered ThinkPad. The university handed out over 400 tablets to students and faculty alike. The ThinkPad slates came loaded up with applications and tools such as Documents to Go, and custom apps are in the works. Lenovo’s director of worldwide educations Michael Schmedien said, “We believe the tablet will be instrumental in changing how students learn and influencing teacher-student interactions in and out of class.” Stephen G. Landry, chief information officer at Seton Hall, echoed his statements, saying, "We see tablets as the next wave of technology to implement to support teaching methods and learning outcomes." You can read the full press release on the matter below.

Seton Hall University Adds 400 Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet PCs to Mobile Technology Toolkit

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - September 15, 2011: Seton Hall University announced today it is the first higher education institution in the U.S. to use Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet PC, with more than 400 tablets now circulating amongst students and faculty in the Sciences, Honors and School of Business Leadership Programs. The University is making the 10.1-inch, Android 3.1 tablets a central part of its Mobile Computing Program as well as an essential teaching device.

Seton Hall students will use a variety of the ThinkPad Tablet’s pre-loaded applications. Documents to Go allows them to view and edit Microsoft Office documents and synchronize their latest papers with their desktops via USB or Bluetooth. In addition, the University is developing its own customized chemistry science application that aims to expand the classroom experience by delivering more interactive experiment processes for students.

"We believe the tablet will be instrumental in changing how students learn and influencing teacher-student interactions in and out of class," said Michael Schmedlen, director of worldwide education, Lenovo. "With the ThinkPad Tablet, Seton Hall and other education institutions can take advantage of an incredible piece of hardware to complete assignments, consume multimedia content and collaborate with peers, all in a device that’s standardized and IT-friendly."

ThinkPad Tablet and Laptop are University’s New Power Couple
Seton Hall continually pushes the envelope on technology leadership, so the ThinkPad Tablet deployment complements this commitment. Each year, the award-winning Mobile Computing Program outfits its incoming freshmen class with new Lenovo ThinkPad laptops to use in their classes. Now with tablets, the program enlarges students’ technology footprints with new ways to explore subject matter beyond the typical textbook, pen and notepad.

"We see tablets as the next wave of technology to implement to support teaching methods and learning outcomes," said Stephen G. Landry, chief information officer, Seton Hall University. "The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablets are reliable companions to our ThinkPad laptops. We know this technology combination will appeal to our students for a long time to come."

Hello to New Breed of Science Experiments
Say goodbye to the old days documenting data by hand with pen and paper. On the new Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet, students will use a soon-to-be released customized Android application developed by the University’s IT department to guide them through lab safety and instructional content. Students will complete the lab, and then create and submit their final reports for review through their Lenovo tablet. During the lab, students will write digitally using the digitizer pen to complete math and science equations. The days of the pencil may soon be erased forever!

Tablets Can Do What?
Students and faculty will explore how applications like Blackboard Mobile Learn, CourseSmart, DropBox and Wolfram Alpha deliver new ways to learn and teach. Seton Hall’s IT department will conduct three different surveys over the course of the semester to capture metrics on tablet usage to identify new levels of creative flexibility and positive learning experiences like increased faculty-student engagement and use of digital materials. The ongoing user assessment will allow the University and its peers in the higher education community to evaluate use cases and establish and share best practices on an ongoing basis.

Seton Hall University Joins Lenovo’s Global Education Research Initiative
The University’s tech prowess and commitment to leveraging new tools for classroom learning make it a perfect fit for Lenovo’s Global Education Research Initiative (ERI). Through this initiative, Lenovo seeks to gain insight into technology’s impact on the learning environment. Utilizing quantitative and qualitative research, the initiative seeks to measure the effect of technology on the learning experience from grade one through the university level.

IFA 2011: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 $199 Android Tablet Demoed in Berlin (Video)

Lenovo also had some products to showcase in Berlin during IFA 2011, including the IdeaPad A1 slate, priced at $199. This is an Android model, that joins the likes of the IdeaPad K1 and ThinkPad Tablet, but in more low end form. We’re talking 7 inches here, Android 2.3 and $199, a very affordable price.

Lenovo IdeaPad A1 uses the already famous Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and it seems to include a custom interface made by Lenovo, with a special area in the middle for the main functions, such as music, browser and email. The 7 inch display supports a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and the specs of the device include an ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and up to 32GB of internal memory.

A dual camera is also on board, as well as a microSD slot and microUSB port, while the battery inside provides up to 7 hours of functioning time. The weight of the product is 400 grams. Various color version of the slate will be available and in case you want to see the product in action, there’s always the video below, taken on the IFA 2011 floor:


Lenovo Announces the IdeaPad A1, 7-inches of Gingerbread for $199

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The 7-inch Lenovo IdeaPad we first caught a glimpse of after it moved through the FCC back in July has been officially announced at IFA. Perhaps the most surprising element of the new tablet is its price, which starts at a very affordable $199 for the 8GB model. Keeping in the tradition of sub-$200 tablets, you won’t get the latest version of Android (or at least not the latest version meant for tablets). The Lenovo IdeaPad A1 comes with Android 2.3 out of the box and sports a single-core Cortex A8 chipset and dual cameras.

But life isn’t all rainbows, and the 8GB version won’t be shipping in the US. Instead, American citizens will have to settle for the 16GB or 32GB model priced at the slightly more expensive $249 and $299 respectively. What the IdeaPad A1 does boast over other slate’s of its class is the backing of a respectable brand and higher quality construction.

 

Seton Hall University Giving Lenovo ThinkPad Honeycomb Tablets to Students and Faculty

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Apparently, in New Jersey, they know how to party AND how to get their study on. According to CampusTechnology Seton Hall University will be giving Android-based Lenovo ThinkPad tablets to both faculty and students this fall semester. The tablets have already begun shipping on Monday and contrary to what I initially assumed, these are not your run-of-the-mill, low-end Android tabs.

The Lenovo ThinkPad just launched today and features a 10.1-inch 1280×800 resolution display, Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 3-in-1 card reader, full usb support, 5MP rear/2MP front facing cameras and the real bread and butter, Android 3.1 Honeycomb.

Okay, before you rush out and enroll just to so you can get your hands on these ThinkPads, the university isn’t exactly handing them out to all of their students. About 350 faculty and students will be given the tablets as part of the university’s broader program to support learning using mobile devices. So, only specific programs will see these tabs. Stephen G. Landry, Seton Hall’s chief information officer had this to say,

“As a long time partner with Lenovo as a ThinkPad University campus, we’re delighted to bring the ThinkPad Tablet to our students and faculty in the Sciences, Honors and the School of Business Leadership Program. This new technology represents the next evolution in Seton Hall University’s Mobile Computing Program to use technology effectively to support teaching, learning and institutional effectiveness while keeping pace with technology that appeals to our students.”

Normally Lenovo’s ThinkPad tablets cost $500 for 16GB ($530 with the stylus), $600 for the 32GB model and they even offer a 64GB version (with the stylus) for $700. I’d be pretty thrilled if my local community college began offering these to students. I mean, they could do a lot worse (iPad).

[Via CampusTechnology]

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet Now On Sale from $499, Shipping Soon

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Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet has gone up for sale over at the manufacturer’s website in all of its variations. Starting at $499 for a 16GB/WiFi-only version, the price rises incrementally for the 32GB/3G model ($569.99) and the 64GB/3G model ($669.99). The ThinkPad, announced last month, looks to be a true competitor in the Honeycomb tablet space with a 10.1-inch display, 1GB of RAM and NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor. The tablet also features an optional digitizer pen for stylus input, enhanced enterprise support and SD card encryption, and full-sized USB connectivity. The site lists a ship date of August 29th, or next Monday. Head over to the source link to to learn more.

[via Lenovo | Thanks, Marco!]

Lenovo LePad A1-07 Tablet Starts Selling in China

Lenovo A1-07 is a tablet that’s getting a “solid” (read close to zero) marketing effort in China, where it’s ready to take off in shops. Meanwhile, we’ve seen this product at the FCC last month and now the blurry leaked photos have turned into beautiful press shots like those shown in this article.


It appears that the product has already reached some stores in China, but pretty quietly and without a huge marketing effort. Just like we’ve heard previously, the tablet comes with a 7 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display, microSD slot, no Honeycomb, so we get a mere Android 2.3 Gingerbread instead. To run this OS there’s a 1GHz TI OMAP3622 CPU and not the OMAP3621 we’ve heard of a while ago.

512MB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a front and back camera complete the picture, plus a microUSB port. The price of this model is around $390, at least in its homeland. Maybe we’ll see it decreasing, but it is already more appealing than the iPad 2 and even some hot ASUS model. If only the device was appealing as well…

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  3. Lenovo LePad to Reach the US in 2011


Lenovo ThinkPad Does Business with the FCC

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En route to an August 23rd release, the business-oriented Lenovo ThinkPad has made its coming-of-age trek through the halls of the FCC. While the filing isn’t revealing anything we didn’t already know, those looking forward to the tablet can breath easy knowing that everything appears to be going as scheduled. After gaining the approval of the FCC there is little else left to prevent the ThinkPad from a timely release.

[via Engadget]

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet Available on August 23, Priced at $479

Lenovo debuted a trio of tablets last week, with the IdeaPad K1 being directed to consumers, while the ThinkPad is aimed at business folks. This unit was supposed to be coming to the USA on August 2nd, according to rumors. Now that’s changed and the slate has been delayed to August 23.

Priced at $479, the tablet is available in a 16GB version without the digitizer pen. With the pen, you’ll pay $509 for it and if you want more storage, the 32GB version will set you back $59. There’s also an accessory to purchase, an optional keyboard portofolio going for $99. These are all WiFi models, with the 3G ones being launched in the following months.

The ThinkPad slates will reach the international market in September, packing a 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 display, dual core Tegra 2 1GHz CPU and mini HDMI port. Will you buy one?

Related posts:

  1. Lenovo Details Future Tablets: Honeycomb ThinkPad and More…
  2. Lenovo Shows The World a Trio of Tablets: IdeaPad K1, ThinkPad Tablet and IdeaPad Tablet P1
  3. New Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet With Android Leaks