The dawn of 2010 may not have brought the hovercrafts we expected back in the 80's, but it has brought a bit of ohh-ahh innovation with it. This year's Las Vegas CES show is shaping up to be an innovator's dream with Lenovo showcasing its groundbreaking hybrid Windows laptop allowing users to detach the screen to use as a separate Linux tablet device.
As a perfectly normal laptop, the IdeaPad U1 runs Windows 7 on its Intel Core 2 Duo CULV processor, with a 128GB solid-state drive.
Detach the U1's 11.6 inch multi-touch-enabled-display though and you have a tablet on your hands, running Lenovo's custom Skylight touch-enabled version of Linux.
The tablet runs a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM chipset and boasts 16GB of flash memory.
Lenovo has used Hybrid Switch technology to allow for seamless toggling between the two processors.
This allows you to surf the web when using the device as a laptop, and then continue to browse from exactly the same point when the tablet is disconnected.
The difference between this device and previous laptops posing as tablets, is the past models would only allow you to swivel the screen around the keyboard.
The IdeaPad U1 seems to be the first laptop-cum-tablet that allows for complete screen detachment, creating an entirely separate device with its own processor.
Senior vice-president of Lenovo's Idea product group, Liu Jun, said “the IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook is a game-changing technology in the PC industry that lets users switch their PC experience within a single device to match their dynamic lifestyle.”
The base laptop doubles as a hub and docking station for the mobile slate tablet, which takes only three seconds to power up after being detached from the base.
The laptop weighs-in at 1.7kg in total with the Skylight tablet accounting for 700g on its own.
Both components of the IdeaPad U1 share the same battery power, 3G wireless data, files and documents. Lenovo says that battery life for both the laptop and tablet will support over five hours of 3G web browsing and 60 hours on standby mode.
US buyers will be able to get their hands on the U1 from 1 June this year for US$999 (£623). The nifty two-in-one device should hit British shores by the end of 2010.
Laptop-cum-tablet: genius or gimmick? Leave us a comment and let us know.
One thought on “CES 2010: Lenovo Unveils Hybrid Ideapad U1 Laptop Tablet”
Nice & cool one …..