Skip to main content

Lenovo plans hybrid Android ThinkPad X1 laptop, $800 Ultrabook, and quad-core tablet

lenovo-thinkpad-x1-slide
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Lenovo news and rumors are spilling today. A private presentation is available online which details Lenovo’s plans in the United States for the next few months including a new Ultrabook laptop and a hybrid laptop which has an “Instant Media Mode” that doubles battery life. Finally, another rumor points to the introduction of a quad-core Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet in December.

X1 Hybrid: The Lenovo presentation says that this Windows business laptop is coming in November and is “2 notebooks in 1.” It can switch from Windows 7 to “Instant Media Mode,” which doubles the battery life. Funny thing is, this Media Mode looks suspiciously like Lenovo’s Android media widget, leading us to wonder if it’s not dual-booting a modified version of Android. Lenovo has previously tried to accomplish this concept on the U1 without using Android, but it didn’t take off.  

$800 Ultrabook coming in May: The presentation also says that Lenovo will begin shipping its commercial Ultrabooks in May or June 2012–whenever the Intel Chief River/Ivy Bridge platform arrives. These Ultrabooks will “meet or beat” Ultrabook specs and the 14-inch version will cost $800 and up.

lenovo-quad-core-engadget-tablet

Quad-core Tegra 3 tablet: Engadget has heard “from a little birdie” that Lenovo will ship a 10.1-inch tablet with some impressive specs this year. According to the anonymous source, it will run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and be powered by a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a rear camera, a fingerprint scanner that doubles as a joystick, and a “Special Fusion-Skin Body” will also be included. From the pictures, it looks like a real Lenovo tablet to us, though the images are a bit too perfectly zoomed in and unrevealing. It’s almost as if Lenovo leaked this themselves. Hmm…

Editors' Recommendations

Jeffrey Van Camp
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
Visible just made its unlimited 5G plan better than ever
Visible wireless phones and plans featured

Digital wireless service provider Visible has announced upgrades to its premium Visible+ phone plan. The highlight is a new Global Pass feature that allows Visible customers to use their phones in 140 countries worldwide.

The Visible Global Pass offers unlimited talk and text services, along with 2GB of high-speed data, for a flat rate of $10 per day. Visible+ members can also enjoy a free Global Pass usage day every month. The activation process can be done through the Visible app.

Read more
The OnePlus Watch 2 is the Wear OS smartwatch I’ve been waiting for
Person wearing OnePlus Watch 2 with a green strap on their left wrist.

The OnePlus Watch 2 -- the company's first Wear OS watch -- has entered a market that Samsung dominates. However, OnePlus' popularity as a smartphone brand can be expected to bring small, yet meaningful changes that benefit not only OnePlus users, but all of the Wear OS segment in general.

For almost a decade, Samsung and Apple have predominantly been the default options if you want a smartwatch that is actually useful and goes beyond flashy features. With Samsung shifting gears and migrating from its own Tizen OS to the (relatively) more universal Wear OS platform and Google releasing its own Pixel Watch after struggling with an identity crisis in the smartwatch world, the platform has much more traction than it did a few years ago. As OnePlus carves its way into the segment, it has the opportunity to entice people who don't wish to live within Samsung's limitations when using a Galaxy Watch with another brand's phone.

Read more
Buying an iPad Mini today? You need to know about this deal
The Apple Pencil attaches to the iPad mini magnetically.

If you've had an eye on iPad deals for the latest model of the Apple iPad Mini for a while now, this may be the offer that you've been waiting for -- a $100 discount from Best Buy on the tablet's Wi-Fi, 64GB model, slashing its price to $400 from $500. It's still pretty popular years after its release, so we don't expect stocks of the device for this sale to last long. If you're thinking about taking advantage of this bargain, you better push through with your purchase as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad Mini 2021
The latest generation of the Apple iPad Mini was released in 2021, but it's still featured in our roundup of the best iPads because it's the model that you should buy if you want a smaller and more compact version of Apple's tablets. Its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is smaller than the screens of its peers, but it's still big enough to enjoy watching streaming shows and browsing websites, while allowing you to use the device with one hand. Unlike its predecessor, there's no Home button, so the Touch ID sensor is instead built into the power button at the side of the Apple iPad Mini 2021.

Read more