Lenovo to shelve tablet plans until Honeycomb
A growing number of hardware makers are finding that there is no need to rush out an Android tablet. The race to counter the iPad will need to wait at least a few months.
Taking a cue from LG, Lenovo has pulled back from releasing an Android 2.2 tablet. PC World reports that Rory Read, COO of the company's U.S. operations, feels Lenovo would be better served waiting until the tablet-friendly version of Android (Honeycomb) arrives next year. Initially expected by the end of 2010, this means the "LePad" will not arrive until around the summer of 2011.
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Looking down the road, however,the next two releases are expected to focus on aesthetics as well as custom animations and UI tweaks. It will be interesting to see how much Android evolves over the coming year and what changes are made to adapt to larger screens.
On a related note, Lenovo says it does not plan to pursue a Windows 7-based tablet. The company says it believes the platform is designed mainly for use with a mouse and keyboard and does not itself lend well to a touch interface. Should more companies echo this sentiment, Microsoft will have a tough battle ahead against Google and Android.