By Don Clark
Thinking about a tablet computer instead of a laptop? Lenovo is offering to sell you both at the same time.
The China-based computer maker is using the Consumer Electronics Show this week to announce an unusual hybrid product called the IdeaPad U1 that covers the two categories. It can function as a conventional clamshell-style laptop, which runs Microsoft Windows, uses a microprocessor from Intel and weighs in at about 3.8 pounds.
Lenovo Lenovo’s new IdeaPad U1 hybrid laptop Alternatively, a user can detach the 11.6-inch, 1.6-pound screen and use it like a tablet, Lenovo says. The display includes all the features of a computer, including a Linux-based operating system and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip, which is not based on the x86 technology used in most PCs but a design licensed from ARM Holdings.
Interesting take on the combo laptop-tablet. The HP TC1100 was a similar device, but it was more of a slate with a detachable keyboard than this laptop with detachable slate. I’m curious to see how this works in person.
