So your eyes are on an Android tablet, but you also need a Windows laptop to slog through those computing chores a touchscreen just can’t handle? The Lenovo LePad is for you. It’s an Android 2.2 tablet which pairs up with a docking station dubbed the U1 to turn it into a full-blown Windows 7 laptop.
The LePad runs Android 2.2, laden with a Lenovo reskin called… wait for it… LeOS. But there’s some less cringeworthy news too. Inside the LePad is a 1.3Ghz Snapdragon processor, zipping through Android apps at blistering speed, while inside the U1 dock is a 1.2Ghz Intel Core i5 processor.
There’s a switch on the dock to clunk your way between Windows and Android, and the process takes just a couple of seconds.
In essence, the U1 dock uses the LePad as a screen and nothing more. The Snapdragon chip inside the LePad is pretty much redundant while using Windows, and as far as we can tell, the two don’t share storage either, so anything stored on the base unit won’t be accessible on the tablet once you remove it.
More Lenovo Android tablets incoming?
There’s a second helping of bad news too: The price tag. Initial reports suggest we’re looking at $520, or £333 for the LePad tablet, but an extra $780 or £500 for the U1 dock.
That’s a total of more than £800 for an average spec laptop and tablet combo. Would you be tempted? You’ve got plenty of time to make up your mind. Lenovo hasn’t announced when the LePad will ship outside China, where it goes on sale in Q1 of 2011. In the meantime, we’re expecting yet more Lenovo tablets as CES news kicks up a gear. Stay tuned!
