Lenovo is bringing the pain with their new tablet

[jsh1120]

Thank you for clearing this up. As I said before, I am not 100% sold on Lenovo and this tablet as of yet, but I am glad they are trying. It's only a matter of time before some other tablet maker comes out with a compelling design and the software to back it up. The galaxy comes close, but doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from the pack, I think.

Actually, it appears that Lenovo is introducing two tablets; one aimed at the consumer market and the other at business users. Though almost identical in basic specifications, there are important differences. The IdeaPad "K1" is more or less identical in terms of specs to the Samsung Galaxy 10.1. Better overall specs than the iPad 2 but with far fewer apps. Pay your money and take your choice. That model is currently available from Lenovo at an introductory discount of $100 with about 40 included apps of various kinds. ($499-$519 w/ 32 gig storage.)

The specs suggest good hardware but I suspect it may struggle in the crowded consumer marketplace without more to differentiate it.

The ThinkPad Tablet, on the other hand, will come along next month, apparently. That's the model with a slightly different case, a combo case/keyboard, usb support, up to 64 gigs of memory and some other upgrades. Similar to the ASUS Transformer but more likely to live up expectations customers have for the ThinkPad line. It's certainly not going to be an iPad "killer," but it may well set the standard for business tablets.

 

[Mac.World]

The problem with tablets wanting to be netbooks, is that there are already netbooks and notebooks for the smae or lower price that do everything better than a tablet.

So why would I want to buy a Lenovo tablet that does far less than my laptop for the same amount of money? And with less apps to play with?

I'll be suprised if they sell a million before they can they entire line of products.

 

[jsh1120]

The problem with tablets wanting to be netbooks, is that there are already netbooks and notebooks for the same or lower price that do everything better than a tablet.

So why would I want to buy a Lenovo tablet that does far less than my laptop for the same amount of money? And with less apps to play with?

I'll be suprised if they sell a million before they can they entire line of products.

There's something in what you say but I used a pretty good netbook (HP Mini 310) for about 18 months before getting the iPad. And while it does have some advantages over the iPad, e.g. 11" screen, a more capable OS (Win7), better software for business, I found that the iPad has completely replaced it.

() iPad screen, though marginally smaller, is much better.

() I can fit my iPad AND an Apple Wireless Keyboard in an Origami Workstation on a tray table in a middle seat in coach. Even if the a**h**e in the seat in front of me is trying to recline his head into my lap. That was a challenge with my netbook and an impossibility with my 15" laptop. The AWK is FAR better than the netbook keyboard and with the touch interface I can get along without a travel mouse or use the trackpad on the netbook. (I HATE trackpads.)

() I no longer have to find a power source or carry an extra battery if I'm on a five hour flight.

All in all, I've been surprised that the iPad has virtually replaced my netbook. What the netbook does better than the iPad is done even better by my 15" laptop and since I have to carry both when I travel, the iPad is preferable.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Sorry, no app store= Fail

 

[jsh1120]

Sorry, no app store= Fail

Actually, both the Android Marketplace and a Lenovo certified app store is part of the deal.

P.S. No I don't want to debate the relative pluses and minuses of Apple's iTunes app store versus the Android Marketplace. It's can be an interesting topic but (a) it's more complicated than simply counting apps and (b) it's really outside the scope of this thread.

 

[fertilized-egg]

P.S. No I don't want to debate the relative pluses and minuses of Apple's iTunes app store versus the Android Marketplace. It's can be an interesting topic but (a) it's more complicated than simply counting apps

You've been adamant about that point but I don't see how you can justify that. Your claim only makes sense if the Android Market has more highly quality developers and the reality is exactly the opposite. For now the iOS app store is vastly superior both in quality and quantity, especially for tablets. Word processing, spreadsheet, multimedia, photoediting, business, games, animated ebooks, etc. Almost in all areas the iPad holds a big edge. And if you're a hacking type, there's always Cydia.

 

[NebulaClash]

Well, I wouldn't bury the PC just yet. About 360,000,000 PC's will ship in 2011. That compares to about 40,000,000 iPads.

It's true that tablet sales are cutting into PC sales growth but that meas a reduction of the increase of from 14% to 11% or 17% to 14% depending on the source. In short, PC sales continue to grow at a healthy rate.

Certainly, touch interfaces will proliferate. But a touch interface does not disqualify a device as a personal computer.

As Mark Twain might say, reports of the death of the PC are somewhat premature.

First of all, it's not about the PC dying. People will be buying PCs decades from now, just as businesses still buy mainframes today even though we are hardly living in the Mainframe Era any more.

Secondly, we are in the early days of the Post-PC Era. Most people haven't figured this out yet, but once they do the growth of the PC at least in the consumer space will start to fade, and it may happen quickly. But it's not there yet.

My original prediction, made here more than a year ago is that by the year 2020 there will be more tablets sold to consumers than PCs. I stand by that prediction. It's possible I'm being conservative with the deadline.

 

[Tsuchiya]

I don't quite understand the adamant bias in this forum. Who is to say that Lenovo don't do a cracking job with this tablet? The ThinkPad brand has been around for a while, and their machines are fantastic. Even though they still "just" run Windows, they are in a league of their own.

I get that this is a Mac forum and so people will be a little fanboy-ish but jeez

 

[jb1280]

I don't quite understand the adamant bias in this forum. Who is to say that Lenovo don't do a cracking job with this tablet? The ThinkPad brand has been around for a while, and their machines are fantastic. Even though they still "just" run Windows, they are in a league of their own.

I get that this is a Mac forum and so people will be a little fanboy-ish but jeez

It's not an issue of the hardware, it's primarily an issue with the software.

 

[neutrino23]

...

My main lament when traveling with my tablet is that I cannot download photos and movies straight onto my tablet and it is not easy to compose lengthy emails (more than 100 words).
...

I haven't had a chance to try this yet but it looks interesting. It is a lightweight device that attaches to the iPad to let you do touch typing. It is a frame that aligns to the software keyboard.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1030552097/ikeyboard-0?ref=search

 

[IsaacM]

That looks cheap, plasticky, slow and unresponsive. I'd rather have a high quality device, and buy the accesories seperately.

 

[Digidesign]

If you buy a Lenovo you're (theoretically) assured that the apps you download are both "safe" and "useful."

My thinkpad came preloaded with programs I wouldn't wish upon my greatest enemy. It became pretty apparent within a few minutes with the new laptop that those programs were there because of licensing deals, not because Lenovo cared about their users. bloated apps that slowed down my system considerably.

So while it may be safe, I'm far from assured about the useful part.

 

[jsh1120]

You've been adamant about that point but I don't see how you can justify that. Your claim only makes sense if the Android Market has more highly quality developers and the reality is exactly the opposite. For now the iOS app store is vastly superior both in quality and quantity, especially for tablets. Word processing, spreadsheet, multimedia, photoediting, business, games, animated ebooks, etc. Almost in all areas the iPad holds a big edge. And if you're a hacking type, there's always Cydia.

I believe we're going over trod ground but I'll try again since you don't seem to understand my point. You seem to be concerned with giving a trophy to either Apple or Google. I'm not. I'm just pointing out that counting apps is not a sensitive measure of the quality of an individual user's experience.

I noted earlier that the Apple App Store is crowded with hundreds of apps that are virtually identical in functionality. And I deliberately chose a "tip calculator" as an example. It's a trivial task. There are probably 50 such apps in the App Store and a dozen or so in the Android Market. On the other hand, keyboard options are more numerous (and distinctly different) in the Android environment. Which is more important? The number of keyboard options or the number of tip calculators?

Likewise, the Android environment provides a much richer GPS-based experience than iOS. I've had turn-by-turn voice navigation on my Android phone for over two years. It's still not there on iOS devices. If I'm a user that depends on such a feature, that feature alone may be a critical difference. And if I'm wondering what the weather holds or what my calendar for the day is like I can look at the screen of my Android device without opening an app. That's an important convenience for me. It may not be for you but you don't live my life.

This, by the way, doesn't excuse the garbage that clutters the Android Market. I'm simply noting that counting apps without reference to their functionality is not very enlightening.

Furthermore, I also noted that in many categories iOS devices outstrip the Android environment. I specifically mentioned apps for kids (important to me) and specialized professional apps such as medical applications (important to some of my friends.) There are many other examples.

At the same time, I'm neither a photo editor nor a musician. The fact that the iPad has a huge edge in these categories is no more important to me than whether my sports car can haul trash to the dump.

No one disputes (or at least should dispute) that more users will find more apps that suit them in the iOS environment. But just what is the point of that fact? Should I choose a device because video editors prefer it? Because I have a greater range of choices of tip calculators? Because more developers focus on the iOS environment? If I'm awarding a prize those factors might count. But I'm not awarding prizes; I'm trying to select a device that meets my requirements while recognizing that no device is ideal.

 

[jsh1120]

My thinkpad came preloaded with programs I wouldn't wish upon my greatest enemy. It became pretty apparent within a few minutes with the new laptop that those programs were there because of licensing deals, not because Lenovo cared about their users. bloated apps that slowed down my system considerably.

So while it may be safe, I'm far from assured about the useful part.

Granted. That's one reason for inserting "theoretically" in my comment. Bloatware is a universal problem in the PC environment. On the other hand, that's a slightly different issue. There's a difference between loading down a device with bloatware a customer doesn't want and providing assurance that an application functions as it should. (Not to say that licensing deals may not influence the latter as well as the former.)