Lenovo has gone for the best of both worlds by integrating Windows and Android operating systems into its dual function tablet, the IdeaPad U1 hybrid with LePad slate.
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Lenovo predicted the tablet boom last year when it revealed the concept for the now-functioning IdeaPad with its laptop design with detachable tablet. While last year’s model ran on Linux, this year’s release of the U1, unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, runs on Windows 7 Home Premium with a 1.2GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM and a 320GB hard drive.
The removable tablet, the LePad, features a 10.1 inch HD screen and front-mounted, two megapixel camera, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.3GHz processor that Lenovo claims will run for up to eight hours of battery life. It also features 1GB of RAM and up to 32GB flash memory. While the U1 base features a USB and HDMI port, the LePad slate sports its own Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, EVDO/WCDMA 3G and a slot for SIM cards.
Lenovo aim to make the slate experience parallel competing mainstream tablets with a smooth touch experience via Android 2.2, while its Windows-powered base is meant to make the computer function like a mainstream laptop with all its bells and whistles (including a physical QWERTY keyboard unlike other tablets). Lenovo says that the transition between web-browsing between Android and Windows when removing or placing the slate into the U1 base will be seamless thanks to its Unique Hybrid Switch Technology.
The IdeaPad U1 hybrid will only be available in China for the first quarter of 2011, with Lenovo planning to ship to the rest of the world after this time.
