Giant Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo has finally entered the consumer market revealing two all new tablets, the IdeaPad Tablet K1 and the ThinkPad Tablet.
Both tablets will run on Android’s Honeycomb 3.1 platform giving them access to the droid application market. However, they’re differentiated by their target market, with the IdeaPad K1 targetting consumers and the ThinkPad Tablet tailored to business users.
“We don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ device, Lenovo is committed to developing tailored solutions that can be configured to users’ needs,” said Lenovo’s Vice President and Managing Director, Alan Munro.
“We’ve created a family of tablets that has something for everyone; from entertainment-friendly features and content for consumers, to business-friendly features to enhance productivity and maximise security and manageability for professionals”
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The IdeaPad Tablet K1 and the ThinkPad Tablet will be powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor ideal for web browsing and gaming while being efficient enough to provide long term battery life.
“The Tegra 2 dual core processor is the perfect fit for Lenovo’s tablets,” said Michael Rayfield, General Manager of NVIDIA. “Consumers can now enjoy the whole web with Flash, console quality gaming and high definition video. These are a must have for today’s tablets.”
Geared towards multimedia and social networking the IdeaPad K1 comes preinstalled with applications, Flash Player 10.3, a 2 megapixel front facing camera, a rear 5 megapixel camera and weighs less than 730 grams.
In contrast, the ThinkPad Tablet is said to focus on the business side of life, with multimedia in the background of its design. Uniquely for a droid, it includes a digitiser pen that can be used to write notes directly on the screen.
It is also acts as an energy hub, including a full-sized USB port, a mini USB port, full-sized SD card slot and a mini HDMI port. The device will also have a dedicated ThinkPad keyboard, set to retail at $89.
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The ThinkPad Tablet has a 10.1″ WXGA (1280×800) display and weighs less than 730 grams. Coated in scratch resistant Gorilla Glass, the ThinkPad has an impressive 178 degree viewing angle.
With Android’s software quickly becoming a market standard, the ThinkPad will have strong market support, including anti-theft software and the ability to disable the tablet if it is ever lost or stolen through applications like Computrace.
Both models will come with a one year manufacturer’s warranty and orders can be placed from mid-August.
Three variants are offered for the IdeaPad K1 and the ThinkPad, including a 16GB WiFi, 16GB 3G version and a 32GB 3G model. The introductory IdeaPad K1 starts from $569, with the equivalent ThinkPad starting from $599.
