The tablet has a stunning mixture of features which can be very attractive not only for domestic users but also (and specially) for the corporate market. It is available in models with 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.
The Lenovo tablet, targeted to the business segment, is already available for sale (starting August 29th / 2011). The launch of this Android gadget with a 10-inch screen was announced approximately one month ago by Lenovo. It has a stunning mixture of features for consumers and for using in business environments. So, if you are working in a, for example, IT department of a company, this tablet could be a great choice for you and your team.
By the way, the screen contains the highly damage-resistant and lightweight Gorilla Glass (manufactured by Corning Incorporated), so you won’t need to be worried all the time about awful scratches. That’s cool!
The same like other tablets with Android 3.1 (HoneyComb) in the market, the ThinkPad tablet has cool features like a IPS (In-Plane Switching technology) multitouch screen of 1280 x 600, 1GB of memory, front 2-megapixel camera (perfect for video calls and teleconferencing), rear 5-megapixel camera (for functions like taking pictures, making videos, or scanning barcodes), and a NVIDIA Tegra 2 DualCore processor. There is an available model of 16GB for $499 (350 euros), a version of 32GB for $569 (400 euros), and a third option of 64GB for $669 (465 euros).
With only these specs and an adequate price, the ThinkPad Tablet is at the same level as other competitors.
However, the plus of the ThinkPad is a set of corporate tools focused on remote administration (which would be very useful in case the tablet is lost or stolen), support for Cisco VPN, and encryption tools for all the data that you can use whenever you want. Free included applications (about 25) like Documents to Go, PrinterShare, and Computrace make obvious that the main target of this gadget is the professional user who needs to work with a reliable, and high quality mobile computer in a work environment.
Continuing with the ThinkPad portable design and style, Lenovo also has added physical keys for the tablet in order to go back, lock the screen, and go home. You can add a case with keyboard for $100 with an optical TrackPoint which is quite similar like those you can find in the ThinkPad laptops (as seen in the picture below). And even there is support for entering data through a stylus (digitizer pen or pen tablet) on the pressure sensitive screen. The active digitizer stylus costs only $30 and was developed by N-Trig that also provides the software for handwriting recognition; in addition, it’s nice to know that the stylus can be hold inside a slot located on the tablet that was specifically designed for this purpose.
Other features include: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, buit-in GPS, mini HDMI out, SD slot for increasing storage capabilities (actually it is a 3-in-1 memory card reader), a full-size USB 2.0 port that can be used to increase storage even more or to connect other devices (such as external hard drives), a micro USB port, a battery that allows up to 8.7 hours of power after a full charge, and a set of sensors such as A-GPS (Assisted GPS) or ambient light sensor.
Additional applications are installed by default including Oovoo for video conferences, Netflix, and Kindle for Android.
Of course, you also will be able to access to a lot of other applications from Android market.
As a temporal drawback, this tablet is not compatible with 3G technology for mobile broadband yet… but this should not be a problem after October 2011 when this feature will be added… at least for the 32GB and 64GB versions. However, if you have a mobile hotspot, this drawback is not a problem for you at all since you can use 3G broadband connection like a Wi-Fi connection; so, in this case, it’s possible to use a mobile broadband even if you buy the 16GB version.
If you keep in mind that HP is shutting down its tablets segment, we can say Lenovo is taking advantage of the current condition of the industry to become an important and serious competitor in this market segment with a great Android-based tablet, completing at the same time the Thinkpad family that also includes laptops and desktops computers. In point of fact, the Lenovo Thinkpad series (previously owned by IBM) is known by its high-quality features and innovation, so it’s no wonder that this new tablet becomes a very strong competitor for the iPad in professional environments.
Todd Bradley, executive vice president of Hewlett-Packard’s Personal Systems Group, has stated in an interview that the TouchPad tablet, which was recently pulled out from the market, could be revived. That is to say, the company has not entirely abandoned it WebOS system and still fighting to get a strong status in the mobile market.
“Regardless of what happens, we’re the largest PC company in the world”, Bradley has pointed out. Then he emphasized the importance of the mobile segment: “Tablet computing is a segment of the market that’s relevant, absolutely”.
According to Reuters, Bradley confirmed that the TouchPad tablet could come back; and he made this statement while he was traveling (for business) in China, trying to calm down and explain the current situation to the parts providers. So, obviously, these declarations are an official confirmation that HP is clearly looking for a second chance in the tablets segment which is dominated by the iPad and the Android tablets at this time.
Among the possibilities to explore in order to boost this segment at Hewlett-Packard, it’s possible that the WebOS becomes an open-source system (well, at least it could be an “open-source system” for a selected community of mobile makers in the industry). This platform has earned a sort of prestige because it is a product that has been active in the technology market since the Palm days. And the Palm was an innovative entity in the mobile market before Palm, Inc was bought by “the largest PC company”.
Recently (on August 18), HP had announced that the company was going to lay aside its WebOS operating system along with its TouchPad tablet; this product had been available only since July 1. And, when the company announced the tough decision, sellers reduced the price to $99.
But, why HP is changing its mind? Without doubt, the surprising demand from the consumers buying the remaining units of the TouchPad is a good reason, though the reduced price was obviously a powerful incentive to originate the strong sales.
“Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand”, HP spokesman Mark Budgell wrote on a post on the official HP website. Of course, “a last run of TouchPad” doesn’t mean a full come back of the TouchPad but, if the demand continues strong, then it can be a permanent decision.
The new produced tablets would be available for sale in a few weeks and the company has not said a word about how many tablets will be produced in this “last run”. “We can’t promise we’ll have enough for everyone”, Budgell wrote.
The company will produce the tablets during its fourth fiscal quarter, which finishes on October 31.
Regarding the price, HP has not confirmed if these new units will have the same reduced price of the remaining units in the stores during the last weeks: $99 for the 16GB version and $149 for the 32GB version. Keep in mind that, initially, the 16GB version had a price of $499 (an extreme difference).
With those incredible prices, most retailers were able to sell all the units of the HP tablet. It caused a sort of online craziness and long lines of common people and offer hunters waiting at the doors of stores.
“The speed at which it disappeared from inventory has been stunning”, Budgell pointed out.
In addition, while users were happily buying the bargain gadget, an interesting online initiative emerged: Taking a customized version of Android to work with the HP TouchPad. The project is leaded by a group of developers named Cyanogenmod team.
In fact, the project goal is to create a multiboot solution where the end user can utilize different mobile operating systems to work with the TouchPad (including, of course, the WebOS). This group of developers has a special version of Android for smartphones called CM7 and they were able to boot the HP tablet with this OS. (See the video below).
Anyway, according to some preliminary estimates by IHS iSuppli, HP could lose money with each Touchpad in this last run if the prices are not increased. For example: The 32GB version needs a list of materials that cost around $318. So… maybe the party is over.
HP has been criticized for changing its mind several times when making important decisions; in any event, the future of Touchpad is not an easy decision with the strong competitors out there. We’ll see what happens now.
New rumors and anonymous details have surfaced this week that point to a third "Pure Google" phone arriving in October with the latest build of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich.
According to information out of Korea's Electronic Times, the handset is expected to come from Samsung, run Android 4.0 and feature a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 720p Super AMOLED HD display. These details confirm reports initially leaked by Boy Genius Report nearly two months ago.
Samsung has long been rumored to be the handset maker of choice for the Nexus Prime and this recent news appears to substantiate the claims. Just this week, a pair of sources separately confirmed with OLED-Info that Samsung is readying mobile displays with a 720p resolution.
Samsung is expected to unveil new devices with these HD screens in September, presumably at IFA. What's more, an unannounced Samsung Celox recently arrived on the scene, carrying nearly identical specifications in a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 16GB storage, an 8-megapixel camera, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
The next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, was initially on track for a fourth quarter release though recent speculation suggests Google has been stepping on the gas.
It makes sense that Samsung would unveil a refreshed Galaxy S II in September with Google following quickly with the Nexus Prime. The Nexus S was nearly identical to the Galaxy S so I would imagine a Nexus Prime could closely resemble an updated Galaxy S II. Of course, the recent news Google's proposed acqusition of Motorola Mobility may change this scenario somewhat.
On a related note, Samsung also dropped a new teaser clip on YouTube today, promising "something big" for IFA next month. Unfortunately the company quickly pulled down the 30-second video, but considering the tags associated with the spot included 4G and LTE, I fully anticipate seeing a larger, faster Galaxy S II announced. It's also very possible that this is the first time we'll see the hardware that goes into the Nexus Prime.
