Jan 08 AT 8:38 PM Dustin Earley 27 Comments

Lenovo IdeaTab S2 unveiled; keyboard dock, Qualcomm Krait, Android 4 and more

Lenovo has just announced their IdeaTab S2, a keyboard docking Ice Cream Sandwich tablet set to go head to head with ASUS’ Transformer devices.

Coming in at a familiar 10.1-inches, the IdeaTab S2 is Lenovo’s stunningly gorgeous attempt at a tablet with a keyboard dock. Along with an extra 10 hours of battery life, the keyboard dock for the IdeaTab comes with two USB ports, and a handy card reader. As far as specs on the tablet itself go, it’s certainly no slouch.

10.1-inch display
1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait processor
1GB of RAM
64GB of storage
1.27 pounds
8.7mm thick

Lenovo is saying that the IdeaTab S2 is a China exclusive for now, and they’ll announce worldwide availability sometime in the future.

What do you think of Lenovo’s Transformer challenger? Will it turn out to be a cheap imitation, or is it a full-on competitor to the original? Either way, there’s no denying the thought put into the IdeaTab S2′s design. The render of the device certainly looks good; we’ll just have to wait and see how it performs.

Source: Lenovo

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27 Comments Join the discussion!

51 M3rc Nate 01/08/12 8:43 PM

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My impression? Very respectable. But in no way would i pick this over the T-Prime. Hard enough investing in the T-Prime considering all the new advances coming in tablets (higher res screens, better glass screens, better cameras etc), but to jump on board the tablet train now with a dual core? I cant.

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- 87 dacatalyst41 01/08/12 9:06 PM
  
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  How do you launch a tablet in 2012 with a dual core processor??? 2012!!!
  
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  - 24 scores87 01/08/12 10:42 PM
    
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    According to qualcomm dual-core krait is better than Tegra 3
    
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    - 51 M3rc Nate 01/08/12 11:55 PM
      
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      Somethings wrong with that sentence…oh ya, according to the people that made it, “Our product is better than our competitors product” lol. I’ll believe it when i see unbiased sites post benchmarks and other data.
      
      Also depends on what “better” means. Better performing in games? Ok thats nice but not Tegra zone games, aka games made for quad cores.
      
      The only thing i really care about its better battery performance, and i am pretty sure the whole point of the quad core in a mobile/tablet device is that architecturally, its always going to utilize a battery better than a dual core.
      
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      - 29 aykutb 01/09/12 9:48 PM
        
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        i wonder if you’re powering up a satelite? because last time i checked quallcom krait wasn’t that bad, i mean people went to the moon with worse computers than our smartphones. now you’re whining about 30 fps instead of 34-35 fps while playing a game? and no a quad core actually consumes more battery but tegra3 isn’t a quad core. its a penta core, 5th core alone is how tegra3 uses less power, don’t talk if you don’t know.
      - leomaxGuest 01/09/12 11:31 PM
        
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        krait ~= cortex a15 > cortex a9
      - itsfuntodobadthingsGuest 01/11/12 2:34 AM
        
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        exactly leomax, Krait uses ARM A15 on a smaller die than Tegra 3 Arm A9!
  - metaforGuest 01/09/12 1:43 AM
    
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    “more cores must be better!” is a marketing team’s dream come true.
    
    Hint: Intel’s quad is far better than AMD’s 6 core.
    
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    - Moosa MahsoomGuest 01/17/12 11:55 PM
      
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      AMD always needed a better core. Well, we will need to wait for Komodo.
      
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- 77 tmihai20 01/09/12 11:23 AM
  
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  As long as performance is on par with Transformer Prime, I would choose it, especially if the price will be lower. My guess is that Google will drop the bomb with their tablet (I really really hope that they will do so).
  
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99 BiGMERF 01/08/12 8:48 PM

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I agree with Mr nate

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95 DroidSamurai 01/08/12 8:48 PM

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bq. Will it turn out to be a cheap imitation

Sadly, even if it is just a shameless imitation, I don’t think it will really be “cheap” when it comes to the price tag.

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98 spazby 01/08/12 8:49 PM

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Gotta go with quad core in 2012…

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- Moosa MahsoomGuest 01/17/12 11:59 PM
  
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  hint- intel quad is better than AMD 6.
  Qualcomm krait is a Cortex-A15 class and is build on a 28 nm process. aSMP. in-build Augmented Reality. Adreno 225 to be equal to PowerVRSGX 543 MP4+(PSVITA). the dual-core can eat tegra 3 for breakfast.
  
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15 Neil Calvin 01/08/12 8:55 PM

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I can’t really see this as a “cheap” imitation. Based on the information at hand, it’s hard to tell how the dual-core Krait will compare with the quad-core Tegra 3, but if the promise of an additional 10 hours of battery life for the dock is true then, in terms of efficiency, they would seem to be in stiff competition for one another. Real-world performance figures will be the deciding factor.

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98 Nathan D. 01/08/12 9:00 PM

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I’m already with the Prim and no way I’ll be switching anytime so.

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- 51 M3rc Nate 01/08/12 11:57 PM
  
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  What do you think of it? I am planning on getting one when they start shipping with ICS installed. Any issues?
  
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11 sockeqwe 01/08/12 9:11 PM

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How much does it will cost?

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2 Cactrot 01/08/12 9:16 PM

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Lenovo has a stellar reputation because they do not cut corners unless dictated by competitive pricing. The quality of the product will be determined by cost of manufacture and market pricing and Kindle does not help. Lenovo is surely capable but keep your fingers crossed anyway

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79 amgala 01/08/12 9:37 PM

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While it’s good to see competition, it’s the Prime for me!

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55 Jorge Branco 01/09/12 12:09 AM

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I’m really excited to see how the new krait chips stack up against tegra. Tegrazone does make it hard to ignore

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26 anujahooja 01/09/12 12:22 AM

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Who cares if it’s not a quad-core, guys? It’s like saying all computers should come packed with an i7 – you need variations. It’s obviously not as good as the T-Prime, and I’m sure Lenovo knows it as well. A dual-core tablet with a keyboard is good regardless of what’s out there.

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81 jimtravis 01/09/12 12:51 AM

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Have a Thinkpad which I am quite impressed with from performance, build quality, and value point of views. If this new product has similar qualities, it could definitely be serious competition for the Transformer.

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96 pekosROB 01/09/12 8:56 AM

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Pretty close to the Prime, but no quad (+ninja) core. Still, it’s impressive. I wonder what kind of price tag it’ll fetch.

I also wonder if the folks at Asus are pissed.

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54 vid500 01/09/12 10:45 AM

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Cool that more companies have picked up the transformer thig with the keyboard and additional battery, for me it’s really a cool thing to have the posability to recharge it on the way with the keyboard and have a netbook experience if you have to write a longer mail.
But now after a half year of nervously waiting for the Transformer P I wont to have it. Sorry Acer but maybe next year.

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4 aryin 01/09/12 12:32 PM

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depends on the price, but i doubt it’d be good

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95 Futureboy 01/09/12 2:14 PM

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Without VANILLA ICS, no thanks.

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