Lenovo readies an iPad competitor: IdeaTab S2109

Hoping to be a standout in the crowded Android tablet market, Lenovo released a video overview of its newest slate, the IdeaTab S2109. No official release date or price is available yet, but most of the specifications, features and dimensions are; showing a thin Android 4.0 tablet running with a reported 10 hours of battery life. There are a few clues, however, indicating that this IdeaTab?will be priced at or below Apple?s $399 iPad 2. Here?s the video look, which I found at SlashGear.

The key hint is the IdeaTab?s 9.7-inch screen resolution of 1024 x 768. As new Android tablets go, this resolution is relatively low. Most of the larger Android tablets costing $399 use higher resolution screens. The IdeaTab?s screen is also the same resolution ? if not the exact same IPS display ? as Apple used in the original iPad and iPad 2.

Lenovo also has a little bit of product history to support a relatively low price on this new tablet. The company introduced a 7-inch slate last year, the A1, with a starting price of $199. The specifications were lacking in a few areas, but the capable tablet undercuts competing 7-inch slates from Samsung, HTC and others.

As Apple has proven with its successful iPad, however, consumers are willing to pay more for an overall premium experience. For most tablet buyers, Android hasn?t yet provided that at any price; if it did, multiple Android tablets combined would likely be outselling the iPad.

Once Lenovo?s new IdeaTab hits the market ? with a starting price of $299 to $349, is my guess ? we?ll see how Android 4.0, combined with with a low investment, affects the tablet market. Without a dedicated ecosystem to offer, however, Lenovo may still be hard pressed to sell slates at any price.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

2012 grammy awards powerball results pebble beach golf beverly hilton roland martin whitney houston dead at 48 whitney houston dead 2012