Tablet maker Lenovo today announced a trio of new 10.1-inch tablet devices, with two that run on Android 3.1 and one that operates on Windows 7.
The Android-based tablets are marketed for consumers under the name IdeaPad Tablet K1 and for sold for business users under the moniker ThinkPad Tablet. The Android tablets are certified to play Netflix movies.
Lenovo stated that the 32GB version of the K1 with Wi-Fi is able to be ordered online starting today and has limited availability at retail stores in the U.S. until sometime in August. Availability for the rest of the world will open up following the American launch. The K1 retails at $499.
The ThinkPad is also available for online orders today with retail availability in the U.S. also slated for August. The 16GB tablet with Wi-Fi sells for $479 or $509 with an optional digitizer touch pen. The company said a 3G wireless version will be made available at an unspecified future date. Lenovo said they interviewed 100 business customers to help design the ThinkPad, which also has the option of a keyboard portfolio carrying case for $99.
The device comes with 2GB of free cloud storage, a USB port, a SD card reader and a mini-HDMI port. Dual HD cameras provide video conferencing over apps such as ooVoo. SD card encryption, anti-theft software and the ability to disable a lost device are also provided.
The Windows-based tablet is sold as the IdeaPad Tablet P1, which also uses Wi-Fi and will be available for sale in the fourth quarter. Pricing has not been announced for the IdeaPad Tablet P1.
All three tablets have a 1280-by-800 pixel resolution and have 10.1-inch HD displays.
The K1 and ThinkPad tablets have Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processors with Flash, while the P1 runs on an Intel 1.5GHz chip. This combination appears to continue the Windows-Intel alliance that was borne from the past when the companies only supplied desktops and laptops.
According to Lenovo spec sheets, the P1 is the heaviest at 1.75 pounds with the K1 and ThinkPad hitting the scales at 1.65 pounds. The consumer-marketed K1 has up to 10 hours of battery life, the business-focused ThinkPad with up to eight hours and the P1 only delivering six hours of performance.
