Lenovo Archive

Lenovo bids farewell to the Ideapad K1 with a sweet treat, provides stock ICS update as legacy

– July 27, 2012Posted in: Lenovo, NewsFeed, Tablets

Lenovo is done with the Ideapad K1. They are so done with it that they have packaged a final palate cleansing update, made it available to users, and washed their hands of the slate that was never particularly noteworthy to begin with. But perhaps this sendoff will be the one note we do remember about the Ideapad K1, because Lenovo has done something rather unique. While the tablet will no longer be sold or supported, this final update wipes out all UI customizations in favor of implementing a stock Android 4.0 experience.

The only issue with the update that leaves as the Ideapad K1′s legacy a rather fresh build of Android is the lack of access to the Google Play Store. But let’s not pretend that Lenovo wasn’t well aware of how easily their stock build of Android could be modified by the industrious dev community. With any luck, the tablet will go on to have a second life as an easily hackable alternative for those looking to experiment with the Android source code. If you are ready to sail off intro the sunset with the Ideapad K1, head over to the link below to download ICS and begin the installation process now.

[Lenovo via DroidDog]

Lenovo and Motorola Delay The Debut of Intel-Based Slates

Radu Iorga

– July 26, 2012Posted in: Lenovo, NewsFeed

Intel and Motorola have announced their partnership early this year and we would have expected to see some fruits of their cooperation by now. Well, we haven’t, at least not tablets and nor have we seen Lenovo Intel-based slates. Also, it appears we’re in for quite a wait, as Lenovo and Motorola decided to delay their Intel-based tablets.

The delay will make the products come after the month of November and it appears that this decision is already influencing the big picture, the Intel Android tablet PC plan, according to the supply chain sources. Intel refused to comment on products yet unannounced and its partners’ plans. We saw some engineering samples of Lenovo’s Intel tablet back in April, with Medfield CPU on board and the product was ready to debut in mid 2012, but for some reason that went away.

It appears that taking into account the arrival of Windows 8, Win RT and new entry level Android tablets, the whole project seemed doomed from the start. Lenovo wants to “further observe the market”, as they prepare their product. Meanwhile, on the smartphone market Intel has many more partners, such as Orange, Lava International, ZTE and obviously Lenovo and Motorola.

Lenovo IdeaPad S2110 Now on Sale, Already Gets Discount

Radu Iorga

– July 24, 2012Posted in: Android, Lenovo, NewsFeed

Lenovo and Acer shouldn’t really matter when it comes to Android tablets, since they’re no ASUS or Samsung, but they do put some impressive product every once in a while. One of them is the new Lenovo IdeaPad S2110 tablet, that’s on sale now and already it’s discounted, for some reason.

The device is already seen as a clone of the Transformer series from ASUS, since it comes with a 10.1 inch display and an optional keyboard dock with touchpad and USB ports. There’s also an added battery and card reader on board of the dock. The slate part relies on a Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ806A chip, a dual core 1.5 GHz unit with Adreno 225 GPU. Other specs include 1GB of RAM, 16 to 64 GB of storage and there’s also the option to buy a 3G model if you want more connectivity.

GPS is also included and the resolution of the screen is 1280 x 800 pixels. But enough about that, here’s the amount of money you pay for the Lenovo IdeaPad S2110: $449 without dock and $569 with it. That’s the MSRP, however you can even get the product now for as low as $343 for the 16GB unit or even $431 for the 32GB model with dock, crazy as that sounds. Is that a mistake? Apparently not!

ASUS, Lenovo, Toshiba and Samsung Preparing Windows RT Tablets for Later This Year

James A.

– July 24, 2012Posted in: ASUS, Lenovo, NewsFeed, Samsung, Toshiba

If you thought that the Windows RT segment was helpless, seeing that HP is not on board any more, think again. The likes of ASUS, Lenovo, Toshiba and Samsung are now on board with this platform and will release tablets carrying it this year. Other makers will also debut products and wait for Microsoft’s permission that may come in January.

Up until now, aside from Surface, we didn’t have a clear a idea on who was going to make Windows RT slates. Now names like Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm appeared and these companies had the task of selecting two OEM partners each for the big launch of Windows RT tablets. So, Nvidia selected ASUS and Lenovo, while TI went with Toshiba and Qualcomm with Samsung and HP. Since HP backed out recently, Dell might jump in and fill the gap.

Microsoft will lift all restrictions on Windows RT licensing in January and give the public a wider selection of OEMs to choose from. This means that we’re to expect an avalanche of Windows RT announcements at CES 2013 and also at MWC 2013. The second wave of Windows 8 ARM tablets is supposed to ship in Q1 2013.

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110A Reaches the FCC, Features Optional Keyboard Dock

Radu Iorga

– June 16, 2012Posted in: Android, Lenovo, NewsFeed

The guys of the FCC are now testing the Lenovo IdeaTab S2110A, a transforming Android slate, that has an optional keyboard dock. The device was tested at the FCC to see if the WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 are safe for use. Since the tests went OK, expect this product to reach the States soon enough.

There’s a nice texture at the back of the tablet, as shown in this picture and it reminds me very much of the texture of the ASUS PadFone. The tablet is supposed to have a 1.5 GHz dual core processor, 64GB of storage, a 1280 x 720 pixel LED-backlit IPS LCD screen, 3G connectivity and micro HDMI. Add to that 1GB of RAM, two cameras (1.3MP front, 5MP back) and USB 2.0 and you’ve got the perfect picture. I would have gone with a more powerful back camera and higher resolution, but that’s only me.

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110A will be based on a battery that should provide about 9 hours of use on a single charge. In case you want to know, the dual core processor is a Snapdragon S3, so don’t expect too much from it. The keyboard dock is the one that adds 2 USB 2.0 ports and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s also a SD card on there.

Lenovo Debuts World’s First Dual SIM Tablet: LePad A2107

Radu Iorga

– June 15, 2012Posted in: Android, Featured, Lenovo, NewsFeed

We’ve seen tablets with sliding keyboards, convertible tablets, even All in One PCs that are actually tablets, but strangely enough dual SIM slates have been missing so far. Lenovo just introduced what they call the world’s first dual SIM tablet, the LePad A2107, according to GSMinsider.

The LePad A2107 is a 7 inch Android tablet with dual SIM support and some pretty unimpressive specs, if you ask me. The device supports a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution and allows its user to rely on two different mobile broadband networks, without having to switch SIM cards. I’m certainly hoping that this device comes with dual standby, if possible. As far as specs go, inside there’s an underwhelming single core 1 GHz MTK6575 processor, plus 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 3,550 mAh battery.

At the back there’s a 3 megapixel camera, while upfront there’s a 2MP shooter and other features include a microSD card slot, WiFi and 3G connectivity. The tablet runs Android 4.0 ICS and I’m curios if the OS will be customized or not. Anyway, know that the Lenovo LePad A2107 weighs 400 grams and measures 11.5 mm in thickness. The A2107 will start selling in China on June 18, just 3 days away from now. No price was made official just yet.

Computex 2012: Lenovo ThinkPad Windows 8 Tablet Hands on Revealed (Video)

Radu Iorga

– June 5, 2012Posted in: Lenovo, NewsFeed

The folks of Engadget took their time at Computex 2012 and played with a new Lenovo ThinkPad tablet, that features Windows 8. So, we’ve got Acer, ASUS and Samsung with unusual tablet formats based on Win 8 and now here comes Lenovo, a bit late to the party. Honestly speaking, their Windows 8 tablet is not that much of a departure from the ThinkPad Android slate.

This product doesn’t even have an official name yet, let alone a price or launch date. All we know is that it’s part of the ThinkPad line and it runs Windows 8. It stays close to the ThinkPad laptops, with a soft touch black finish, that will keep away scratches and smudges. The slate measures 9.7 mm in thickness and it comes with an unspecified Intel Clover Trail processor, while the battery should be able to provide the user with about 10 hours on a single charge. At the front we have a 10.1 inch 1366 x 768 pixel display and also on board we have an 8 megapixel camera (back) and 2MP shooter (front).

A micro HDMi and a docking connector are here as well, so peripherals should also come soon enough. In the video below you can see Engadget having fun with the product. This is merely a prototype, so it’s very likely that the final device in stores won’t look exactly like this. Anyway, I sure hope it’s better than the Android ThinkPad tablet…

Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 Priced at $349, Coming to USA with Android 4.0

James A.

– May 31, 2012Posted in: Android, Lenovo, NewsFeed

Well here’s an interesting offer for you: the Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 , priced at $349 and featuring Android 4.0. It’s rare that we see a major company making a sub $400 tablet, so this offer is welcome, especially since the product is also coming to the States.

Some of the specs of this slate remind me of the iPad 2, like the 9.7 inch 1024 x 768 IPS panel, the 1.3 pound weight and the 8.9mm unibody shell. Lenovo also outfitted this model with a 4 speaker system and 1080p video via micro HDMI connection. Inside the slate there’s a dual core 1 GHz TI OMAP 4430 processor, but that’ll do, since once again I need to remind you that this model costs $349. Lenovo and Office Depot will offer the product in early June, so be ready to buy it.

The last Lenovo tablet I played with was the ThinkPad, that was bulky, heavy, clunky and had useless physical buttons, plus a huge stylus. I certainly hope that this model is more comfortable, since the IdeaPad tablet I last saw and touched was extremely glossy and sunlight killed it.

Lenovo Preparing Removable Handgrip Keyboards for Tablets?

Radu Iorga

– May 29, 2012Posted in: Lenovo, NewsFeed

Lenovo is preparing a very interesting accessory for tablets, a removable handgrip keyboard, that can be attached to slates. As you can see we have a patent sketch here, in case you’re wondering what that’s like. I’m not sure such an accessory will catch on, but let’s follow their point in this.

Most of us are already used to virtual keyboards, but there’s still that time when you have a big email to write or big paper and you want to rely on physical keys. Lenovo’s patent application addresses that and delivers a set of hand grips that get clamped onto a tablet and add a physical keyboard to it. Thus, you’ll be able to enter text when holding the slate in your hands. I thought that Apple already solved that through that split virtual keyboard, but maybe there’s an alternative.

The grips here are adjustable so you can clamp them onto sides or the bottom of the tablet, as you please. You can also type with both hands while holding the tablet with two hands, thanks to the fact that the QWERTY keyboard layout is split in half. There’s also the option to detach the clamps from the tablet, lay them flat on a table and use them like a Bluetooth keyboard, but that defeats the purpose of the entire gizmo, right?

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet Gets Android 4.0 Update (in Some Regions)

Radu Iorga

– May 26, 2012Posted in: Android, Lenovo, NewsFeed

Lenovo ThinkPad is a blast from the past, since late last year we got to review it and we weren’t too happy with the product. It was clunky, bulky, had useless physical buttons and a stylus that was way too big for its own good. Now the device gets Android 4.0, apparently only in some regions of the world.

In a comment on the Lenovo forums there was a company representative saying that the UK and WE versions of the update will ve arriving over the air right about now and US certification is scheduled for June 8th. The rest of the world will have to wait a month or so after that. Meanwhile, members of the forum reported receiving the update early and they claim that it improves lots of things, like the GPS, also speed increases and it gets compatibility with Chrome Beta for Android, among others.

I wonder if there will be a special suite for the stylus on board, like the one Samsung offered for the Galaxy Note once Android 4.0 came. From what I remember the ThinkPad had a very cool handwriting recognition function. Could that evolve into something more?

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