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Lenovo LePad S2005 vs. Dell Streak 5... cuddle!
It's inevitable that these two 5-inch tabletphones -- the Dell Streak 5 on the left and the Lenovo LePad S2005 on the right -- are to meet in the Chinese capital. With the exception of the slightly taller body on the S2005 everything else are suspiciously similar, especially the button and camera layout. Well, there's a good explanation for this: we've been informed that this new tabletphone hails from the same ODM, Qisda, as Dell's counterpart. Too bad Lenovo decided to keep the same screen resolution though. According to Stone Ip from Engadget Chinese, he found that the S2005 has a nicer grip than the Streak, and he also digs its more masculine appearance -- obviously this is open to debate. Performance-wise this slate responded well to our input, but the lack of promise on an Ice Cream Sandwich update will probably make potential geeky buyers think twice. Well, good thing we have some awesome modders around the interwebs these days. %Gallery-140564%
Mystery Lenovo Tablet tries to sneak through the FCC, 7-inch IdeaPad on the way?
Tell Sally Kimball to grab her bike, looks like we're gonna have to leave Idaville to solve this mystery. What appears to be a brand new tablet from the fine folks at Lenovo just tried to sneak its way through the FCC, bearing the model numbers IdeaPad A1-07 and LePad A1-07. There is a chance, however remote, this could be LePad successor CEO Yang Yuanqing said would be coming in September or October. But, with the K1 and P1 having only recently emerged from the shadowy back alleys of Leaktown, it's hard to imagine the Chinese manufacturer is already prepping a follow up. The "07" implies this could be a 7-inch sibling of those 10-inch slates, but we're just taking shots in the dark. The only thing we know for certain is the A1-07 sports Bluetooth -- not terribly surprising. If you're the type who likes line graphs and regulatory labels make sure to hit up the source link.
Lenovo's LePad gets LeTeardown
Lenovo's long awaited LePad finally made its Chinese debut back in March, and while we may not ever see the tablet stateside -- not as LePad, anyway -- we can at least get a peak under the hood. Thanks to a teardown by IMP3, we're seeing the inside of the machine for the first time, and while there's not much in the way of surprises here, it's always nice to see what makes these things tick. As we already knew, LePad's packing the 1.3GHz Snapdragon chipset with Adreno 205 integrated graphics as well as an internal 27Wh battery. It's also appears to be rocking Toshiba flash memory and a Wolfson audio processor. So we might not have much in the way of revelations here, but at least now you know what the LePad, or Skylight, or whatever, looks like underneath its skin.
Lenovo Skylight slate hits the FCC, no longer the LePad?
You remember Lenovo's 10.1-inch, Android LePad tablet, right? Well, we hope you didn't get too attached to its name since according to this fresh FCC filing it appears Lenovo's renamed it the Skylight slate. Yep, it looks like the company just didn't want that Skylight name to perish along with its never-released smartbook. We found the tablet hanging around those good old federal stomping grounds and from the images it looks exactly like the LePad we saw back at CES. According to the Skylight slate's user manual, it also has the same specs as the version we saw back in January -- there's a 1280x800-resolution 10.1-inch display, Snapdragon 8650A processor, Android 2.2, SRS speakers, and 1GB of RAM. There are also a few very clear shots of its two-cell, 27Wh internal battery. We don't have any details on the US arrival of the new slate and its U1 dock (if it's even still called that), but we're still assuming it won't arrive stateside until Honeycomb has been ported over. Hit the source link for a bunch of internal and external pictures and a glossy user manual.
Lenovo LePad and U1 Hybrid early hands-on
Believe it or not, it's been almost a year since we caught a look at Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, and while we've heard numerous times that the device and a new tablet part -- the LePad -- were still kicking, we've got some rock solid evidence this time around. Okay, we got some of the best evidence out there -- pictures and early impressions of the China-bound 10.1-inch LePad tablet and its U1 dock / shell. Now, we don't want to get your hopes up too much -- we didn't get to spend all that much time with either of the units and they were in very early form, but that didn't stop us from playing around with both of them and taking some notes. Interested? We thought so. Hit the break for a short rundown and don't forget to peruse the gallery below on your way. %Gallery-111893%
Confirmed: Lenovo LePad headed to US in 2011
Lenovo led us to believe that our LePad chances weren't terribly good, but CEO Yang Yuanqing recently told the Wall Street Journal that the Android tablet is indeed slated for a 2011 US launch. Though Lenovo's COO Rory Read was pretty clear that the LePad wouldn't ship stateside until a tablet-ready version of Android was ready to go, it seems the company's now confident that Google will deliver the goods. However, our gain is apparently China's loss, as the publication reports that the slate's been pushed into 2011 (as opposed to this December) in its country of origin as well. What's a multinational computer corporation to do?
Lenovo says no Android tablet in US until Honeycomb; no Windows 7 tablet, period
If you happen to be enthusiastic about Lenovo, tablets, and your American residency, look away now. Lenovo still plans to ship the Android-based LePad in China some time soonish, but its US roadmap can pretty much be summed up as "wait and see." The company's COO Rory Read has been cited as saying there are no plans to release a slate for the US market until at least Android's Honeycomb version comes out, agreeing with Google on the point that Froyo is not "the right base to have a fully functioning pad." Lest you think Windows 7 will fill the void until whenever in 2011 that Android tablet does arrive, Lenovo's director of new technology, Howard Locker, sets you straight: "Windows 7 is based on the same paradigm as 1985 -- it's really an interface that's optimized for a mouse and keyboard," and the Thinking machine team doesn't intend to build a slate around it. And if you were thinking of maybe picking up a LePhone as a consolation prize, tough luck, that won't be arriving in the US for at least another two years (which in smartphone terms is basically "never"), although it's good to know that it's now got 13 percent of the smartphone market in China. You know, in case you own stock in LeCompany.
Lenovo LePad to ship in December, IdeaPad U1 Hybrid dock slated for January 2011
Seeing that swiveling Dell Inspiron Duo earlier this week immediately made us think of the other really enticing tablet / laptop we've been waiting for... Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 Hybrid. To recap: it was over eight months ago that the company unveiled it at CES only to tell us a few months later that it was being shelved for the time being. However, we're hearing now that it's definitely still kicking! According to Lenovo, the 10.1-inch LePad (the tablet part of the U1 Hybrid) will be released in China in December running some version of Android. The LePad (apologies for repeating the name, we just love saying it in a French accent) will then be greeted in January by its "hybrid option" -- a separate case containing a keyboard and laptop guts. Lenovo didn't have any updates on the internal specs of the docking / hybrid part, though we're assuming it'll still pack some sort of Intel processor and Windows 7 to transform it into a real life laptop. Unfortunately for now, Lenovo's saying the LePad and the Hybrid part will only be available in China, but we're gonna keep wishin' and prayin' that both actually see the light of day and journey across the rough seas.
Lenovo promises LePad Android tablet for the end of the year
Liu Jun, Senior VP and President of Lenovo's Consumer Business Group, has revealed his company's intention to deliver an Android tablet by the end of this year. To be known as LePad, this apparent resurrection of the Skylight / U1 Hybrid R&D effort seems destined to follow LePhone in seeking its fortunes in China first before expanding out to the rest of the world. Lenovo's chairman did recently note that Apple's relative inaction toward mainland China creates opportunities for others, so this may well represent the IdeaPad maker's play for that burgeoning market. Of course, we'd love to be wrong and see a simultaneous release around the world -- it's about time the iPad got some legitimate competition in the slate realm.
