ThinkPad

As Hewlett-Packard retreats from the tablet market, Lenovo continues its assault. The first ThinkPad Tablets are now available for purchase, the company said today.

The 10.1-inch ThinkPad may have a better shot at success than HP's now-defunct webOS-based TouchPad. It is built around Android, the most popular alternative to Apple's iOS, and is aimed at business, not the dicey consumer tablet market.

Part and parcel of Lenovo's appeal to business is the pen-based handwriting recognition technology to "digitally write, draw, and create content," according to Lenovo.

In the productivity department, typically a tablet weak … Read more

Lenovo, which reported first-quarter earnings in Hong Kong on Thursday, discussed its upcoming strategy for Ultrabooks--ultraslim, light Windows laptops that compete with the MacBook Air.

During the earnings conference call on Thursday, Chief Operating Officer Rory Read spoke about Lenovo's Ultrabook strategy in response to a question from an analyst. "Lenovo will invest in innovation to be a leader in that space and that will drive demand. No doubt," he said, referring to the Intel-based laptops.

Read continued. "You'll see us introduce over the coming quarters the ability to reach mainstream price points with [Ultrabook] … Read more

You can now officially add Lenovo to the list of computer manufacturers pushing out Android tablets this year. In fact, put the company down for two.

Meet the Tango & Cash of tablets. The ThinkPad Tablet is the business-minded one of the pair, with its optional digital pen and suite of DocsToGo software. The IdeaPad K1 is the party animal, with certification for Netflix streaming and a SocialTouch app that puts all your social networks within easy reach.

Both tablets are set for major release in August, though the IdeaPad K1 can be ordered directly from Lenovo and select partners starting today. The base price on the ThinkPad Tablet is $499 (16GB), and the IdeaPad K1 starts at $449 (16GB).

For the ThinkPad, that $499 gets you a Wi-Fi-only connection to the Web. Other options, such as 3G data modules, preinstalled software, and keyboard portfolio cases, can all be added to your bill. An extra $30 will get you the N-trig digital pen, which can be neatly tucked away inside the tablet frame. Because Lenovo is ultimately targeting the enterprise market with the ThinkPad Tablet, it can be tailored in hundreds of different ways to suit the need. So whether you need VPN-secured desktop virtualization software, or a custom app store filled with company-approved software, Lenovo has your back. … Read more

We've seen a number of redesigned business laptops lately. "Not your father's business laptop." "A business laptop for the cooler set." Whatever you want to call them, these notebooks are defined by thin profiles, sleek bodies, and features more often seen on "consumer" laptops. In other words, they're trying to be business laptops in disguise.

The ThinkPad X1 and ThinkPad Edge E220s. The Dell Vostro V130. The HP ProBook 5330m. All of them are, in their own way, worth considering for nonbusiness users.

Why, then, call them business laptops?

Lenovo plans on hitting the tablet market this year with devices aimed at both Android and Windows.

In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires reported this week by The Wall Street Journal, (subscription required), Lenovo president and Chief Operating Officer Rory Read revealed that the company will launch two 10-inch Android tablets this summer followed by a 10-inch Windows tablet later in the year.

One Android tablet, named the IdeaPad, will be geared for the consumer market, while the other, with the ThinkPad name, will be marketed toward the business crowd. Both tablets will run Honeycomb and be priced anywhere from $450 to $900 depending on their configurations, according to the interview. Lenovo's current tablet, the Android-powered LePad, is only available in China.

Some tech sites, including TechConnect and Pocket-Lint, are pointing to the IdeaPad tablet as the IdeaPad K1, a device that's already received some buzz and was reportedly listed on a few retail sites, such as Buy.com, according to Engadget.

TechConnect describes the K1 as powered by a Tegra 2 processor with… Read more

Fancy a thin ThinkPad? Lenovo's venerable ThinkPad brand may seem from a distance to look the same every year, since lately the interesting changes have been made under the surface lately. It's also a confusing landscape to navigate, even when you know what size you want. Case in point: the ThinkPad X1 and the ThinkPad Edge E220s.

In one sense, they're completely different laptops. The X1 is a full-powered 13-incher, with a serious professional bent and durable construction. The Edge E220s is a smaller, low-voltage laptop, a 12.5-incher with a more reasonable price tag. And yet, … Read more

Lenovo's top product manager for the popular ThinkPad line says USB 3.0 will go mainstream in 2012, while Intel sees the new Thunderbolt interface gravitating to some high-end nonmainstream laptop models.

This week, Lenovo began selling its ThinkPad X1, a 0.85-inch thick (thickest point), 3.8-pound design based on Intel's "Sandy Bridge" Core i5 and i7 processors.

Beyond the obvious attractions of a svelte, high-powered laptop, the X1 also sports an increasingly popular USB port based on the "SuperSpeed" 3.0 specification. USB is one of the most widely used connection technologies … Read more

This week: We search for the elusive 11-inch version of Samsung's Series 9 laptop, which is allegedly in-stock at a single online retailer, check in on the still-ailing PlayStation Network, hear a bit about NYC's plan to become a leading "digital city." Then it's quiz time, as we stump the gang with some ThinkPad trivia.

Bonus: Download the show's jaunty theme song as a free MP3 here.

… Read more

Especially in an age of iPads and tablets, thin laptops seem to be back on the rise. Emerging into a landscape full of MacBook Airs, Samsung Series 9s, and Toshiba Porteges--to name a few--is Lenovo's corporate take on the thin, sexy 13-incher, the ThinkPad X1. We've played with one for a week now, and have finally emerged with our review of Lenovo's sex(ier) beast.

The ThinkPad X series has been alive and well for years--the x100e and X201 are recent members of the ThinkPad's ultraportable line--but the X1 is a 13.3-incher that's … Read more