Okay Geek Farm
Tuesday
Jan042011
Lenovo LePad U1 Hybrid shows up at CES again
Daniel Carey
Feeling like you’ve seen this before? That’s because technically you have. Remembering back to CES 2010, Lenovo displayed what originally looked like a very intriguing product, the U1 Hybrid — a laptop by day, and a tablet by night (or at least when you detached the screen from the shell). Now, their original hybrid device was running a mix of Windows 7 when in laptop mode, and Lenovo’s very own Linux based Skylight OS when in slate mode. Not too shabby, but this year the company’s come back with yet another hybrid and this time its running a mix of Windows 7 and Android.
The LePad U1 Hybrid is due to make a splash in China first with a price tag of about $520, however, should you be wanting the full U1 kit (both the tablet and base) you’ll be looking to drop $1300. It’s a bit steep, but at least at that price you’ll be getting a skinned version of Android 2.2 (being touted as LeOS), a 1.3GHz Snapdragon in the LePad, a 1.2GHz Intel Core i5-540UM in the base, a chiclet-style keyboard, and a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 capacitive multitouch display.
The principle is pretty much the same to the unit we saw last year, disengaging the tablet from the base station launches Android, and popping it back in re-engages Windows 7. Now, let’s hope Lenovo doesn’t scrap this unit for one with better specs… again.
The principle is pretty much the same to the unit we saw last year, disengaging the tablet from the base station launches Android, and popping it back in re-engages Windows 7. Now, let’s hope Lenovo doesn’t scrap this unit for one with better specs… again.
Best of Both Worlds: Lenovo’s Dual Mode Hybrid System Embraces Android Slate
LePad Multi-touch Android slate for mobility & U1 laptop base for full Windows 7 experience
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 5, 2011: Lenovo today announced the IdeaPad U1 hybrid with LePad slate, a unique two-in-one device that combines the mobility of a media rich HD slate with access to Android applications and a keyboard base that provides a full Windows 7 computing experience. Offering great performance, both separately and together for a unique Hybrid Switch dual mode capability, Lenovo delivers consumers an uncompromised mobile and computing experience.
“Our IdeaPad U1 and LePad truly fits the mobile lifestyle,” said Liu Jun, senior vice president, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. “Use the light-weight slate when you’re mobile, and then simply slide it into the U1 base when you need to do content creation. Consumers shouldn’t have to adapt their lifestyle to technology, and this product definitely gives them the best of both worlds.”
LePad Slate – Light, Long-Lasting and Application Rich
At under two pounds and only half an inch in thickness the extremely portable LePad, powered by Qualcomm’s SnapdragonTM processor, keeps users incredibly mobile all day with up to eight hours of battery life. LePad is available in four stylish colors with two different textures: scarlet, white, brown leather textured and black leather textured. The 10.1-inch widescreen and rich high definition LePad slate runs in landscape and portrait modes, giving users the ability to consume content such as video, surf the Internet, access social networks from their fingertips, as well as tap out messages and email. It also has a front camera for taking pictures or video chat.
“We are excited that Lenovo has chosen our Snapdragon processor to power the LePad slate,” said Luis Pineda, senior vice president of marketing and product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “Lenovo’s innovative 3G connected slate, powered by our Snapdragon platform, enables a high performance, always connected experience for consumers on the go.”
Built upon Android 2.2., Lenovo customized the LePad slate with an optimized Android media experience on LePad’s larger screen size, starting with an attractive 4-pane easy to use interface and a distinctive Lenovo developed push service that gives you your email, news, and other content in real time, eliminating the need to constantly open a browser and log in. LePad leverages the Android ecosystem Lenovo has already established in China for the LePhone Smartphone. LePad users, in addition to enjoying many preloaded applications, also have access to thousands of custom Android apps from China’s top content partners that are optimized uniquely for its large screen. Lenovo plans for LePad to support Adobe Flash Player 10.1 to provide users an uncompromised web browsing experience
IdeaPad U1 for a Complete Laptop
For users who need the full functionality of a mainstream laptop for doing content creation with Windows based productivity applications, the LePad can slide into the U1 Base. The IdeaPad U1 hybrid transforms the user interface on LePad into a Windows 7 laptop with a full keyboard. The base features a Windows 7 Home Premium operating system and an Intel CULV processor. With Hybrid Switch feature, users can seamlessly change operating systems to support continuous web browsing experience.
Pricing and Availability
The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 with LePad will be available beginning in China in Q1. The LePad slate can be purchased separately from the U1 Base. The LePad slate starts at approximately RMB 3,499 (approximately US$ 520), and the U1 hybrid laptop starts at approximately RMB 8,888
(approximately US$ 1,300). Detailed pricing and availability for other markets, please contact your Lenovo representative.
References (2)
Engadget
GottaBeMobile
