Lenovo IdeaPad K2110 Intel-based Android tablet Hands-on Review
We got to spend some time today with Lenovo's Intel-based Android slate, the IdeaPad K2110, here at the MWC expo, and liked the way it's proving the point that Intel can run Android well and efficiently. Well, still not like ARM, but the competition between Chipzilla and the lean, mean ARM Holdings, should do wonders for us consumers.
The most intriguing thing about the 10-inch Lenovo IdeaPad K2110 is, of course that it runs the Atom chipset formerly known as Medfiled, that appears in Android smartphones and tablets for the first time. It is very powerful with its 1.6GHz, even compared to the current Cortex-A9 ARMs, but its power efficiency is somewhat of a concern.
Lenovo claimed that the tablet will last 9 hours on a charge, when ready, as much as your typical Android Tegra 2 or 3 slate, so we'd have to reconsider the hungry Atom nature, at least on paper.
Externally the Lenovo IdeaPad K2110 had a nice feel to it, with very rounded corners and a fancy patterned back with figures drawn to make it stand out. It said "pre-production/beta" on the unit, but Android Ice Cream Sandwich ran well during the short time we handled it. The slate has all the typical bells and whistles we've come to expect from a high-end Android tablet, like a 1280x800 screen resolution, microHDMI and microUSB ports, a SIM card and microSD slots, as well as front and rear cameras.
It is really too early to know when it will be released and for how much, but it will stay forever in history as a sign that times are changing - Microsoft will wiggle into ARM-based tablets, while Intel will be powering Android slates.
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