Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid: laptop by day, unhinged tablet by night
By Joanna Stern 
posted January 4th 2010 7:38PM
posted January 4th 2010 7:38PM
Updated: Hit the break for the press release.
One PC, Two Devices: Lenovo Introduces the Industry's First Hybrid Notebook
Innovative New Design Lets Users Switch Between Full Function Notebook Mode and 3G Multitouch Slate Tablet for Mobile Internet
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 6, 2010: Lenovo today announced the industry's first hybrid PC for consumers, the IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook, a groundbreaking concept and new genre in PC form factors. The IdeaPad U1's unique design is engineered to provide consumers with two PCs in one device – each with its own processor and operating system – that work together and independently as either a clamshell laptop or a multitouch slate tablet.
"The IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook is a game-changing technology in the PC industry that lets the user switch at will their PC experience to match their dynamic lifestyle," said Liu Jun, senior vice president, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. "By fusing the functionality of a notebook with the slate tablet's rich multitouch entertainment and mobile Internet experience, U1 provides consumers the freedom to choose the device they prefer for any activity."
The IdeaPad U1's fashionable scarlet red exterior has a footprint just smaller than a piece of paper and is paired with an equally impressive 3.8 pound thin and light design. With its unique detach-and-converge form factor, users can easily remove the screen to instantly switch from clamshell mode into a multitouch slate tablet. When the IdeaPad U1 is in its traditional clamshell form, the system boasts an 11.6 inch HD LED screen and runs Windows 7. When the 1.6 pound, multitouch screen is removed, it becomes an independent slate tablet with a powerful ARM processor, running Lenovo's customized Skylight operating system.
Two Brains are Better than One
Leveraging the benefits of both CPU, the two devices can synchronize to work as one with the ability to share battery power, 3G wireless, data and documents. In this way, the base laptop system can serve as a hub and docking station and the slate tablet as a mobile device. The two PCs have been engineered to work together and independently through Lenovo's Hybrid Switch technology that enables seamless toggling between the two processors. For instance, users can surf the Web in laptop mode and then continue from the same point without interruption if they detach to tablet mode.
"Me Centric" User Interface Provides Instant Gratification for Today's Consumers
Lenovo's hybrid notebook also features a customized "Me" centric tablet interface for comfortable landscape and portrait viewing. Users can switch between a six-section display and a four section display. U1's six-section screen display is designed to enhance the mobile internet experience by letting users easily multitouch access multiple Web-based applications at once such as email, calendars, RSS readers and social networking Web sites. The four-section screen display option is perfect as a media center on the PC such as photos, music, videos and to view/edit documents.
IdeaPad U1 Doubles Entertainment Fun
The IdeaPad U1's laptop and tablet modes each support more than five hours of 3G Web browsing and 60 hours of 3G standby. In addition, the U1 comes with integrated video camera and two stereo speakers with integrated microphone with echo cancellation make this the ideal PC for users who need flexibility but do not want to compromise features or functionality.
Pricing and Availability
The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook will be available June 1, 2010 with an estimated retail price of $999.1
For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook. Follow Lenovo's activities at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at LenovoSocial.com/Live.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
1 Price and availability vary by region.
Innovative New Design Lets Users Switch Between Full Function Notebook Mode and 3G Multitouch Slate Tablet for Mobile Internet
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 6, 2010: Lenovo today announced the industry's first hybrid PC for consumers, the IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook, a groundbreaking concept and new genre in PC form factors. The IdeaPad U1's unique design is engineered to provide consumers with two PCs in one device – each with its own processor and operating system – that work together and independently as either a clamshell laptop or a multitouch slate tablet.
"The IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook is a game-changing technology in the PC industry that lets the user switch at will their PC experience to match their dynamic lifestyle," said Liu Jun, senior vice president, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. "By fusing the functionality of a notebook with the slate tablet's rich multitouch entertainment and mobile Internet experience, U1 provides consumers the freedom to choose the device they prefer for any activity."
The IdeaPad U1's fashionable scarlet red exterior has a footprint just smaller than a piece of paper and is paired with an equally impressive 3.8 pound thin and light design. With its unique detach-and-converge form factor, users can easily remove the screen to instantly switch from clamshell mode into a multitouch slate tablet. When the IdeaPad U1 is in its traditional clamshell form, the system boasts an 11.6 inch HD LED screen and runs Windows 7. When the 1.6 pound, multitouch screen is removed, it becomes an independent slate tablet with a powerful ARM processor, running Lenovo's customized Skylight operating system.
Two Brains are Better than One
Leveraging the benefits of both CPU, the two devices can synchronize to work as one with the ability to share battery power, 3G wireless, data and documents. In this way, the base laptop system can serve as a hub and docking station and the slate tablet as a mobile device. The two PCs have been engineered to work together and independently through Lenovo's Hybrid Switch technology that enables seamless toggling between the two processors. For instance, users can surf the Web in laptop mode and then continue from the same point without interruption if they detach to tablet mode.
"Me Centric" User Interface Provides Instant Gratification for Today's Consumers
Lenovo's hybrid notebook also features a customized "Me" centric tablet interface for comfortable landscape and portrait viewing. Users can switch between a six-section display and a four section display. U1's six-section screen display is designed to enhance the mobile internet experience by letting users easily multitouch access multiple Web-based applications at once such as email, calendars, RSS readers and social networking Web sites. The four-section screen display option is perfect as a media center on the PC such as photos, music, videos and to view/edit documents.
IdeaPad U1 Doubles Entertainment Fun
The IdeaPad U1's laptop and tablet modes each support more than five hours of 3G Web browsing and 60 hours of 3G standby. In addition, the U1 comes with integrated video camera and two stereo speakers with integrated microphone with echo cancellation make this the ideal PC for users who need flexibility but do not want to compromise features or functionality.
Pricing and Availability
The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook will be available June 1, 2010 with an estimated retail price of $999.1
For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook. Follow Lenovo's activities at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at LenovoSocial.com/Live.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
1 Price and availability vary by region.
Now that's innovative and clever. Fuck whatever tablet Apple MIGHT be coming up with.
@Solidstate89
im gonna uprank you before all the apple fanboys start coming in here and doing the opposite.
@Solidstate89 nb4 iSheep
@Solidstate89 Agreed, raking up before iSheep
@Solidstate89 I'm not kidding, I have been dreaming of a device just like this for YEARS. I even had a sketch of how it would look. I can't wait!
@Solidstate89 Let's wait until the so called Apple Tablet comes out before we go comparing it to other devices. To preemptively say fuck the Apple device seems a bit trite.
@Solidstate89 - I laugh at the Apple fanbois that are excited about a completely non-existent product w/ no predecessor, but this concept here is, well, stupid.
You're carrying around and paying for nearly two computers, have to manage two operating systems with apparently separate harddrives so you can't just continue what you were working on the way you were working on it without interruption, w/ a performance degradation in tablet mode.
@Solidstate89
I agree 110%.
I think am gonna get one of these instead. I MEAN WOW THAT'S HOT!!!
@Solidstate89
I was actually describing something like this just the other day, its called a docking station. And Apple can do the exact same thing. It's not a new idea. What would be cool, as I mentioned before, is it the SOFTWARE changes based on whether or not you're docked.
If its just Windows7, then super-meh, but if there is an REAL touch oriented UI (yea I know Windows has a dock, be quiet) for when its being used as a tablet. Then its a very interesting device, and if the price is right, could be a future for touchscreen laptop designs.
@Solidstate89 I would not be surprised if Apple releases something similar--maybe not a tablet, but a pico net of devices that transform into a laptop of tablet. The iPhone/iPod paradigm was all about syncing. Now that Mobile Me and the clound are here to stay, Apple needs to up it's game.
@Wes Steele I designed two as well, though mine were not as portable. One would have been a small tablet powered by an nvidia TEGRA 600 series. I Imagined the other as a 15.6 incher (Though that may seem a little big, but looking at my laptop screen now, I would think that as a good size) with a 1080P multitouch resistive screen, HDMI In/Out, GSM SIM card slot, and unibody carved from moonstone.
@Solidstate89
I do LOVE this form factor, but i would prefer one OS, (probably Ubuntu), and i have to wonder, when disconnected from the keyboard, what would the battery life be on this thing? If the battery life is inadequate, its not really portable as a tablet.
@Ducman69
Think about the way this device will be used, though. You don't really need a seamless transition between the two, because if you're carrying around the full device, you're in an environment (e.g., the office or in a lecture hall) where you'd need full processing power and a keyboard. Keeping in mind that most mobile OSs can stay in standby with little affect on battery life, once you're done and on the road (e.g., heading to the subway or couch), you could shut down Win7 and wake the mobile OS from standby for web browsing and light document viewing/editing. The real kicker would be the ability to save to and access the SSD while in Win7, and hopefully one would be able to mount it like an SD card. I can't really imagine a situation where you'd need to jump between the two OSs immediately. With an SSD and its lack of spinning platters, there would be little affect to the battery life (hopefully). Two form factors for two separate needs, with the ability to access common data in both. Granted, there's a little speculation here, but it doesn't seem too far fetched.
If anything, this sort of device is a preemptive strike against the Apple Tablet. Perfect if you're in the market for a new laptop and a tablet, and like it or not, the possibly upcoming iSlate will create that desire (look at the Apple TV: despite being a flop, it definitely brought to life the nascent HTPC market). Unless if you're looking at a convertible with a Wacom digitizer to use for art or accurate handwriting recognition, which the market has shown to be a niche market at best, it seems like two separate devices is the way to go until tech can successfully bring us the accuracy of a capacitive multitouch screen for finger navigation and Wacom for accurate pen-based input at a consumer friendly price point.
That being said, all my dreams would be answered would Lenovo bring down the price of the X200s MT to under $1000. Yessir, they would.
@Solidstate89 This is the Apple Tablet.
@Matthew
And come to think of it, depending on the way the tablet was connected to the laptop, you might not even need to fully shut down Win7. Given the fact that the laptop processor would be housed in the keyboard, if it were connected via mini HDMI (or some other display equivalent), it would be like disconnecting a monitor from a computer.
@Matthew
Unfortunately, they share a single battery, in the tablet.
Pulling the screen without shutting down W7 would be like pulling the battery in a normal notebook.
@rydewnd2
I am not saying you are one of those people, but notice how for months (maybe even a year) when the Apple tablet roumors first started, many of the Apple fanboys were saying how it was going to be the best thing since sliced bread. That we should hold off on buying from Apple's competitors because the Apple tablet was just around the corner. It was the most beautiful thing ever, without nary a picture.
Now that it looks like something will be introduced, we keep hearing "wait until it is officially announced before you pass judgement"
@Solidstate89
i don't think that this is all that innovative, as the "hybrid" laptop-detachable-tablet concept has been done before (hp tc1100)
i do really like the design and the concept of two processors and two operating systems
@Solidstate89 This is going to be the kind of device Google Chrome OS will excel on.
@Solidstate89
I'm an iPhone fanboy and this this is the coolest thing ever lol. Uprank'd
@jon
Not if the power adapter is connected to the KB part.
@max1001
Ah, good point, and the picture looks like that is the case.
Although more and more notebooks don't work if the battery is missing, plugged in or not.
@jon I don't think this trend will continue...now that many airlines have power outlets at the seats, and require you to remove your battery during use.
@Solidstate89
I like to, now if I could only slip a handheld 5" screen device into the larger tablet and then dock with the keyboard even cooler!!!
@jblightning
The Compaq Concerto (1992) wants a word with you..
It is something like a cross between a convertible and Dell's Latitude On.
@305BuddyLuv Intriguingly, it uses two different operating systems - Windows 7 when in laptop mode and a Linux-based system as a tablet.
From the brief demo of the prototype, it's hard to tell how useful the tablet element will be, but it's a neat idea that may tempt people who want the best of both worlds. This one is a chameleon indeed. Details: http://bit.ly/lenovo-ideapad-u1-details
o_O
Looks cool
@Steven
I want a tablet that has a kickstand like a picture frame. Then projects one of those optical/laser keyboards onto what ever surface you leaned the tablet on. This is a cool idea, but it will be too heavy and probably slow. K.I.S.S.
That. Is. Awesome.
@SarnGate
how do you like them Apples
@SarnGate I was fooled as well, but let's think about this.
For it to work the processor, battery and hardware must all be tucked within the screen, or tablet, portion. Therefore, the keyboard is really just a fancy accessory/housing that could easily be dispensed with.
Other tablets could easily add such functionality from third-party manufacturers.
You're really purchasing a gimped laptop due to the lack of space in the "tablet" portion. Furthermore, I guarantee the interface won't be optimized as a tablet, therefore, as history will show us, these kinds of items give us split functionality rather than full functionality in both departments.
Nevertheless it's an interesting concept were the disadvantages not disabling to the end product.
@Floppy
Uhh... no, its not just a glorified keyboard. All the laptop's components are housed underneath the keyboard, while all the tablets components are housed underneath the screen. When you remove the tablet from the lid, it disconnects from the laptop's components and will start using its own components.
Plus, if both the laptop and tablet stuff were in the tablet, it would be thick as hell. Think for a few minutes first before posting, please.
It depends how smooth the transition between laptop and tablet is. If it's great, then I'm sold. This is very cool.
@Special Agent Steve
I'm not sure why they went so over the top here, it would be a perfectly smooth transition if they made the removable tablet just a netbook or just a smartbook, why do a hybrid when you have to pay twice the price and have to work on two seperate OSs
@JeremyBenthem
This way you get the best of both worlds in one device.
This. Is. AWESOME.
Dangit lenovo, giving me another laptop to choose from.
But the question that I'm dying to have answered, when it's in laptop mode, will it use the snapdragon/RAM from the tablet for additional computing power? And the SSD as well?
@Cam That would be amazing. SSDs are raw memory potential. Windows 7 can already use a USB drive as additional ram, so this shouldn't be difficult at all. I imagine an SSD would be a better option than USB given the speed limits of USB.
@Cam Err, Readyboost is really only effective with 1GB of RAM, when you actually have enough RAM it's useless because an SSD is still an order of magnitude slower than RAM. The only thing useful from the tablet side would be the storage really, and it would be a huge oversight if Lenovo *didn't* make that mountable in both OSes.
go to hell apple this thing is awesome!!!! #FTFW!!!!
Really needs to have the same operating system on both. The transition from laptop to tablet needs to be as smooth as the transition of a laptop from plugged in power to battery. This lenovo hybrid may not be a game changer, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
@enjoytheride823 My thoughts also. I would rather have one OS running on both, for convenience, but I guess it's due to the OS not being able to switch processors, and among other things, as readily as some of us would like it to be.
So, what happens if you unhinge the screeen when it's switched on? Does it reset itself?
@Cydoniac
I think it's just a tablet with keyboard attachement, maybe just a wireless keyboard...
@htd: you didn't read the article at all, did you?
That is awesome. I want one.
seems like the tablet side is just a novelty. i mean, from the looks of it, you won't even have access to files from the other "half." would have preferred if they went with one hd, one OS.
@munir Well they probably included some sort of syncing software that keeps both the SSD & HD updated or at least some folders.
@munir Exactly my thoughts but i still find it interesting :)
@munir
yep. To do it right, you need to have all the "guts" in the tablet part, and have the attachment only working as a keyboard, touchpad, port array, and it'd be cool if it had an extra battery and maybe even optical drive as well.
But bravo, Lenovo.