lenovo

Get a Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $189

This is an update of a deal I wrote about a couple months ago.

New iPad, new schmi-Pad. If you're looking for bang for the buck in the tablet department, and don't care about things like pixel overkill and 4G, the deal to beat remains the Lenovo IdeaPad A1. It's the little tablet that could--by which I mean it could prove more than adequate for the majority of users.

For a limited time, Lenovo is offering the black IdeaPad A1 tablet for $189 shipped. (To get that price, apply coupon code FOURDAYDEAL315 at checkout.) That's not … Read more

Recall: Lenovo calls back two ThinkCentre models on fire risk

You can read Lenovo's recall information page for all the details of the recall. A tool on the page lets you plug in your machine code and serial number to find out if you have an affected unit. The M90z is a different unit than the M91z we reviewed in October 2011.

Lenovo markets the ThinkCentre line to business customers, although it is available for anyone to purchase. Lenovo says it sold the at-risk systems between May 2010 and January 2012.

If you are at risk for a flaming all-in-one, Lenovo advises you to immediately unplug your desktop. Once … Read more

One-third of U.S. adults will own a tablet by 2016, says report

Tablet fever will grip more than a third of all U.S. adults by 2016, according to Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

In a report released yesterday, Forrester upped its estimates for U.S. tablet ownership, now forecasting that 112.5 million adults, or 34 percent of the population, will own a tablet in another four years. If that prediction proves correct, it means the industry will sell almost 293 million tablets in the six years from 2010 to 2016.

Europe is also getting into the act.

Forrester expects 105.7 million tablet users to surface in the EU-7 by … Read more

Lenovo and Motorola may confirm Intel Medfield plans next week

Both Motorola and Lenovo are expected to announce Android devices powered by Intel Medfield chips at next week's Mobile World Congress.

First disclosed all the way back in December 2008, the Intel processor has been making some noise lately with terrific benchmark scores. … Read more

Windows 8 and Android Jelly Bean: To wait or not to wait?

Windows 8 is hoping to merge tablet touch screens into our desktops, laptops and whatever hybrid devices we might be using a year from now. Meanwhile, Google is allegedly already at work on Android 5.0 Jelly Bean and is looking to further integrate its mobile OS with Windows 8. It's a lot to look forward to, but where does that leave us for the rest of 2012?

In my case, my old Windows laptop is on its last legs--as is my much-abused Android phone. It's time to buy new hardware, but unfortunately we're stuck in an awkward in-between time for both operating systems and hardware.

Last month at CES in Las Vegas, I had a chance to play with the perhaps too cleverly named Yoga from Lenovo--it's a laptop with a keyboard and touch screen. The keyboard folds all the way around nearly 360 degrees to transform into a de facto tablet.

With the Yoga in my hand, a single thought repeated itself in my head--so, this is what Windows 8 is meant for!… Read more

Is it OK to have a boring laptop?

Here's a question for you: Are laptops becoming the ultimate commodity products? And, as such, does sexiness simply not matter anymore?

I say this because of the overwhelming response I got to a piece I wrote on why the 13-inch MacBook Pro needs to go away. I argued in favor of the Air's sleek design and equivalent everyday performance; many readers argued fiercely that the 13-inch Pro has features and functionality--more hard-drive capacity and more robust RAM, not to mention an Ethernet jack--that still make it a strong favorite.

I also say this because, at CES 2012, sexed-up laptops--aka "ultrabooks"--were the Theme of the Day. Everyone seems quick to come up with a New, Cool Laptop.

I've been encouraging forward-thinking laptop design, and yet I understand that laptops, in an age of ever-smaller, ever-cooler smart devices, just might for many be destined for a role as a reliable commodity device. Yes, I've been bored by laptops...and yet, maybe boring laptops are just what many people need. … Read more

Hey Intel, lower chip prices for Windows 8 stuff, says Asia pub

Asia-based DigiTimes posted another in a series of articles that call for Intel to lower its chips prices. In this case, for Windows 8 gadgets.

This isn't the first time DigiTimes, which has close connections to Asia-based device makers, has expressed the sentiment of Taiwan's manufacturers (aka, OEMs and ODMs). It has been a recurring theme with ultrabooks. Device makers obviously want lower prices so they can turn more of a profit.

This time, the publication is calling for Intel and Advanced Micro Devices to lower prices of their most power-efficient processors that will go into, among other … Read more

Apple iPad breaks HP's hold on top PC spot

Apple is out-shipping traditional PC vendors by a wide margin on the back of strong iPad sales, a marketing research firm has found.

In the fourth quarter, Apple became the leading worldwide client PC vendor by shipping more than 15 million iPads and 5 million Macs, representing 17 percent of the total 120 million client PCs shipped globally in the fourth quarter, according to Canalys.

Hewlett-Packard was a distant No. 2 with about 12.7 percent.

"We're going through the biggest shift the PC industry has seen in 20 years. It's very difficult to grow in the … Read more

Get a Lenovo IdeaPad A1 7-inch tablet for $167.20 shipped

I've said it before and I'll say it again: prices always come down. (OK, hard-drive prices recently went up, but that was after years of drops.) If you're not ready to pull the trigger on an item because you think it's too expensive, just wait a while.

Or, in this case, a week.

A mere six days ago, I wrote up the Lenovo IdeaPad A1 at $199. Today, it's quite a bit less.

Update: Sorry, everyone, looks like the price is back up to $199. I had it on good authority that this deal would … Read more

New Intel chip takes fast jabs at iPhone, Galaxy Nexus

Intel's new chip for phones is surprising in many respects, but the biggest shocker is speed.

The "Medfield" Atom Z2460 chip for smartphones, announced at CES, handily beats some of the fastest phones on the market, review site Anandtech said in this post.

Is this fast enough to be smartphone-market disruptive? Will battery life measure up? Only Lenovo and Motorola know for sure (Anandtech thinks Medfield will be fine on battery life). One thing is for certain, though: neither of those companies are signing up for Medfield out of pity, as Anand Shimpi points out.

And--another shocker--the … Read more