Lenovo debuts X200 Tablet, X200s at NY event

At Thursday's Pepcom press event in New York, Lenovo showed off an updated ultraportable Tablet PC and an even lighter version of the ThinkPad X200.

The ThinkPad X200 Tablet finally brings the wide-screen format to Lenovo's tablet line, with a 12.1-inch display and up to WXGA resolution. Buyers can opt for an LED-backlit option that not only reduces the tablet's weight but should also make for better visibility outdoors. Lenovo also lets you choose between a passive touch-screen that lets you use your finger to navigate menus or an active digitizer that only accepts input from the included stylus.

Another key enhancement with the X200 Tablet is a bi-directional display swivel, meaning you can twist the screen in either direction to convert the laptop into a tablet. This seems like a minor feature, but we always appreciate not having to remember which way the screen turns every time we want to switch modes. We also appreciate that, like the X-series laptop, the X200 Tablet incorporates the same broad ThinkPad keyboard found on Lenovo's 14- and 15-inch models.

With a starting weight of 3.6 pounds, the X200 Tablet is still rather portable, if not exactly designed for taking handwritten notes on the run, clipboard-style. And it incorporates all the top-of-the-line features that have become a ThinkPad hallmark: Intel Core 2 Duo processors (the low-voltage variety), an integrated Webcam and dual-array microphone, a 128GB solid-state drive option, and connectivity options that include WWAN, GPS, and (later this year) WiMax.

Also on display Thursday evening: the ThinkPad X200s, a lighter version of the CNET Editors' Choice-winning X200. Though it shares many of the same features as its larger sibling, the X200s includes a new top cover roll cage made of carbon and glass fiber that helps bring the system weight down to a highly portable 2.4 pounds. The 12.1-inch screen is available in resolutions up to 1,440x900; the case can be stocked with the full range of hard drive and solid-state drive options as well as a variety of low-voltage and ultra-low-voltage Core 2 Duo processors. Those power-efficient processors, the company claims, will achieve a maximum battery life of nearly 13 hours.

The ThinkPad X200s starts at $2,242 and will be available this month; expect to see the ThinkPad X200 Tablet, which starts at $2,323, in October.

[snowisred]

wow lenovo done it again

The first to have biometric facial recognition on laptops, then first to have anti-bacterial keyboards, and the roll cage technology to reduce weight, then airbag technology to absorb shocks, now a touch screen tablets, wow.