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Lenovo breathes new life into the tablet PC

Anand Parthasarathy

Lightest, least power-hungry models launched in country

BANGALORE: : Tablet PC designers Microsoft, might be tempted today, to rework American humorist Mark Twain's famous response when he read his own obituary in a newspaper: "Reports of my death are an exaggeration." And they have to thank the Chinese PC-maker, Lenovo, for breathing new life into their somewhat moribund form factor that innovatively turned the laptop computer into a writeable `electronic slate.'

Having acquired the rights to the "ThinkPad" portable computer brand, with its acquisition of U.S.-giant IBM's PC business, Lenovo has come up with what is possibly the thinnest and lightest tablet in the market today — just 2.8 cm thick and 1.5 kg for the machine where the 30-cm liquid crystal screen can be swivelled to convert into a writeable surface.

While the machine has all the usual portable PC features including a special Tablet edition of the Windows XP software and a high-speed wireless connection, it boasts over 6 hours of running time — 8.5 hours with an additional battery extender — which is unusual for the normally power-guzzling tablets hitherto available in the market.

In fact the tablet's undoubted attraction for sectors such as health and education was dimmed because the innovative design was both too bulky and power-hungry: Lenovo's innovations may change all that.

However, while the ThinkPad X 41 may be lightweight, it remains price-heavy. Models that go on sale in India from July 15 will cost between Rs. 1.1 lakhs and Rs. 1.32 lakhs: a major investment for schools that might plan to harness its educational potential.

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