Lenovo Officially Unveils Its IdeaPad K1; Honeycomb with Full Netflix Compatibility

[dgstorm]

Even though we've heard about it for weeks now, Lenovo finally pulls the cover off their first Android Honeycomb tablet, the IdeaPad K1. Besides the specs listed below, the most exciting thing about this tab is that it is the first Honeycomb enabled device that comes stock with full Netflix compatibility.

• 10.1 1280x800 display
• 1GHz Dual-Core Tegra 2 chipset
• 1GB RAM
• 16/32GB on-board storage; SD Card slot
• MicroHDMI
• WiFi
• A Gobi chip for optional 3G (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint)
• 5MP rear camera; 2MP front
• Android 3.1
• Two-Cell battery for up to 10 hours of life

The IdeaPad K1 also includes another feature that attempts to make it "stand out from the crowd". Here's a quote from the AndroidPolice article detailing it,

Of course, Lenovo has made a few changes to add its own custom touch to the device, like the Lenovo Launcher: a five-pane launchpad dead-smack in the middle of the screen that allows quick access to a user-customizable set of shortcuts.

They further indicated that this Lenovo Launcher was able to be disabled, in case you don't like it. Additionally they also mentioned that the Netflix official compatibility is a bit of a double-edged sword, because it exists as a hardware DRM built-in to the device. The only saving grace of this "feature" is that it even allows your downloaded movies to be stored locally on your device.

If Netflix decides to make this a requirement from now on regarding Honeycomb tablets, then that would make it nearly impossible to get "officially supported" streaming Netflix on your earlier model Honeycomb tablets, since a firmware/software update would not be sufficient. If you can look past this "issue", then the 16GB, WiFi only version of the IdeaPad will eventually be selling for $449.

Although a firm release date has been set by Lenovo yet, it's shipping to America and globally, on July 28th. We'll be sure to keep you apprised as more concrete dates arrive. Hit the Source links for more pics of the device, and Engadget has a hands-on video that we couldn't pull to our website for security reasons.

Source: AndroidPolice and Engadget

 

[hunter505]

Hmmm...based on the photo this thing will be HUGE...if the screen is 10.1 and there is an extra inch of that annoying black band all the way around this tab will be almost 12" from corner to corner. Not a fan of the rounded corners either. Just my 2cents.

 

[GLK]

The information i received from the lenovo online store was that this model does not have a micro sd card slot. Can anybody confirm this is correct?