lenovo

Intel-based Windows 8 tablets see spotty availability

A tablet from Hewlett-Packard running the full version of Windows 8 is expected to finally ship to customers, though a full Win 8 tablet doesn't appear to be imminent from Lenovo.

HP's Envy x2 laptop-tablet hybrid "convertible" was originally slated for November 14 availability but is now expected to reach customers soon, HP said.

"Customers can expect to receive an Envy x2...in January, if they order today. Customers who ordered their units on Dec. 3 or prior are expected to receive their PC by Dec. 21 at the latest," an HP representative told … Read more

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

This flipping, folding combination of laptop and tablet was one of the very first glimpses anyone got of the possibilities of Windows 8. Starting with a sneak peek way back at CES 2012, the Yoga was seen as a great advertisement for the ability of Windows 8 to serve both the traditional PC and touch-screen tablet equally well, jumping between the two (nearly) seamlessly.

Almost a year after that, both Windows 8 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga are finally available. It's still the example of a convertible laptop/tablet most point to, and with good reason. Unlike many of … Read more

ThinkPad X1 Carbon touch for Windows 8 arrives

Lenovo said today that it has added a touch-screen ThinkPad X1 Carbon model, as PC vendors continue to ramp up shipments of Windows 8 ultrabooks with tablet-like attributes.

The 14-inch ThinkPad now measures 20.8mm (about 0.8 inches) thick and weighs 3.4 pounds, slightly thicker and heavier than the non-touch model.

The display resolution and internals stay the same, though. That means a pixel-dense 1,600x900 resolution display and Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

And, true to its name, the chassis is made from lightweight carbon fiber, which allows Lenovo to keep the weight of its 14-inch laptop below 3.5 pounds.

Other specifications have not been disclosed yet.

But the price has: $1,499. Some of that extra cost is due to the high-resolution touch display, which comes at a premium. … Read more

Intel discusses shift to system-on-a-chip tech

Intel today disclosed technology that it hopes will get more of its silicon inside smartphones and tablets.

At the International Electron Devices Meeting, Intel laid out its next-generation 22-nanometer "SoC" system-on-a-chip technology. An SoC puts most of a device's core functions onto one piece of silicon and is typically used in mobile devices where space and power efficiency are paramount.

"In the past...we were focused primarily on developing transistors with ever higher performance," Mark Bohr, an Intel senior fellow, said to journalists in a teleconference. "Now we're developing technologies with a much … Read more

Lenovo exec: We didn't realize how big touch would be

Nearly every day seems to bring another dismal report about Windows 8 and the PC market.

If the forecasts and comments are to believed (and they largely are), few consumers are buying computers, opting instead for the iPad or other tablets. And if people actually want to buy the more innovative computers out there, like the ones with touchscreens, they have a hard time finding them in stores.

But Gerry Smith, who sat down to talk with CNET today after recently being named Lenovo's president of the North America region, said those suppositions are only partially true.

The industry … Read more

Windows 8 touch PC demand strong

Demand for Windows 8 touch-screen PCs is strong, according to two analysts who spoke with CNET.

"Touch machines are actually selling above expectations," said Bob O'Donnell, a program vice president at IDC.

And that means supply shortages. "Some vendors are actually facing shortages because touch panels are in limited supply. Vendors are saying they can't get as many touch-based machines as they would like to meet the demand that they're seeing."

Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, echoed O'Donnell's comments. "We've talked to a number of PC makers … Read more

Lenovo unveils new Windows 8 home theater PC

Lenovo has bumped up the specs on its latest home theater PC but kept it as compact as ever.

Announced today, the new mini IdeaCentre Q190 is an upgrade to Lenovo's current Q180. And based on its features, it does qualify as a true upgrade.

The Q190 offers a 3rd-generation (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i3 processor, a hard drive as large as one terabyte, a 24-gigabyte SSD cache, and as much as 8GB of memory. The PC can also be outfitted with Windows 8 Pro.

In comparison, the Q180 comes with an Atom chip, a 750GB hard drive or … Read more

Lenovo sees 7-inch tablets vying with phones, not PCs

Lenovo expects the growing market for 7-inch tablets to compete with large-screen smartphones, not PCs.

During the company's second-quarter earnings conference call Thursday, Lenovo Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing said he had just read a report on Apple's iPad Mini and was encouraged about the trend in the tablet market.

"The market accepts the 7-inch [tablet] better than the 10-inch. That's a very strong signal, the tablet will not replace the traditional PC," he said during the conference call.

Yuanqing continued. "Probably, the tablet will compete with the large-screen smartphone rather than the PC," … Read more

Lenovo wins record market share thanks to strong PC sales

Lenovo seems to one of the few PC vendors thriving in a weak market.

For its fiscal second quarter that ended September 30, the Hong Kong-based company scooped up record sales of $8.7 billion, a jump of 11 percent from the prior year's quarter. PC shipments rose 10.3 percent, a healthy gain given that shipments for the overall industry fell more than 8 percent.

Based on data from IDC, Lenovo now holds 15.7 percent of the global PC market, its highest market share ever. It's also hot on the heels of No. 1 Hewlett-Packard, which … Read more