Lenovo offers Android and Windows options
Lenovo is well known for its line of consumer and business focused notebooks and desktops than tablets. With the tablet market going crazy, Lenovo today announced new tablets being that run either the Google Android (Honeycomb) operating system or Windows 7.
The K1 tablet runs Android 3.1 Honeycomb. The K1 tablet uses the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor, weighs in at 1.63 pounds, and features Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. The tablet also has a 2-megapixel front facing camera for video calls and a 5-megapixel rear camera. The screen is 10.1-inches, has a resolution of 1280 x 800 and supports ten-point multi-touch. Storage capacity depends on the model and includes 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions. Other features include a 2-cell battery good for ten hours use, microSD card slot, Micro HDMI out, and a SIM card port.
The K1 is aimed at the general consumer and is the first in the industry to be certified for Netflix streaming.
“We’re very excited to see that TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix will be available on Lenovo’s family of Android-powered tablets,” said Bill Holmes, Netflix vice president of Business Development. “This is not only an important development for our company as we seek to expand the benefits of our services to more people, but also means that consumers now have greater choice in selecting a tablet device that best fits their entertainment needs.”
The other Lenovo Android offering is called the ThinkPad Tablet and it has most of the same features as the K1. It runs Android 3.1 Honeycomb like the K1, but the ThinkPad Tablet is aimed at the business user. This tablet is intended to be used as a notebook companion device and has an optional digitizer, SD card slot, USB port and an optional folio Case. The ThinkPad Tablet has layered data security and is designed to be supported by IT managers. It has a 10.1-inch screen with Gorilla Glass and support for Computrace software the LanDesk secure email. The tablet can be purchased in 16GB to 64GB versions and has the same cameras as the K1.
Lenovo has also unveiled in the IdeaPad P1 tablet runs an Intel processor at 1.5GHz and uses Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Home Premium. The screen on the tablet is a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 unit and it has GMA600 HD graphics. The tablet sports 2GB of RAM and can be purchased with 32GB or 64GB of storage. The P1 also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth inside and sports a microSD card reader, docking port, and headphone adapter. The front camera is a 2MP unit. The tablet is good for up to 6-hours with a 2-cell battery.
Pricing on the 32GB K1 Idea Pad is $499 and is on order today in select retail stores with wide availability in August. The 16GB ThinkPad Tablet is $479 without a digitizer pen and $509 with the digitizer. The 32GB Wi-Fi model with digitizer and pen is $589. The ThinkPad tablets will be up for order starting in August. Versions of the tablets with 3G modems inside will launch later. The P1 won’t ship until Q4 2011 and no pricing is offered.