Lenovo Shows Android Laptop In Leaked User Manuals 106
itwbennett writes "PC maker Lenovo accidentally posted manuals on its website showing an Android laptop called the IdeaPad A10. Lenovo spokesman Chris Millward said the company had planned on making an official announcement for the device, and that 'the product has not been canceled. It will be going out to the market.' Launch dates and pricing to come, but specs show that it could be a budget product."
Actually, this is kinda nice... (Score:4, Interesting)
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Agreed, I quite like the look of this. It's like a decent size tablet, with keyboard and built in hard screen protector (the keyboard). I never fancied a netbook (too small and under-powered for windows) and haven't missed my proper laptop much since it broke, yet I often wish I had a keyboard on my nexus 7, and maybe a bit bigger screen. Yes I know larger tablets and separate keyboards are available, but suddenly just by putting these things together in this nice package Lenovo has made something I really
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You can if you want to.
I paid $50 to get a leather case for my Nexus 7 which has a Bluetooth keyboard and a stylus holder. I think it's made by Hipstreet or something, and I think I even just bought it at Wal Mart.
If all you want is a keyboard for your Nexus 7, it's a solved problem.
Android 4.3 broke the ZAGGkeys Flex (Score:5, Informative)
If all you want is a keyboard for your Nexus 7, it's a solved problem.
No it isn't. The Android 4.3 update broke the ZAGGkeys Flex and several other Bluetooth keyboards that worked under Android 4.2, mistakenly recognizing them as "non-alphanumeric keyboards" (that is, gamepads). And it can't be fixed without wiping and rooting the device to rename a keyboard layout file.
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Really?
That's annoying ... the one I have still works, but that doesn't help anybody.
And, yes, I'm running Android 4.3.
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I haven't found a good one that works as well as something like a traditional netbook where its easy to grab and type on a train or hold on my lap. I think the asus transformer is a better solution for this problem than nexus 7+ bluetooth keyboard.
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Actually, this is more valuable than a full fledged PC Windows laptop. Because it supports a SIM card; and camera, HDMI out of the box at budget price; it's a wonderful appliance. You can connect a headphone/mic and make and receive calls; you can write software that takes advantage of the availability of these added peripherals as options.
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And yet, ironically, a Windows laptop will be better at passively consuming content (hulu, netflix, etc.). Since, obviously, the fact that it uses an ARM/runs Android is evidence it's a mobile device, and not a computer.
Re:Actually, this is kinda nice... (Score:5, Interesting)
Why is that? Because that ARM device running Android does a crap load more than the first PCs I owned.
If it's Turing complete, it's a computer. If it's got a general instruction set in the CPU, it's a computer. Running Android or being on an ARM processor doesn't magically make it not a computer.
Modern 'mobile devices' have far more computational power than any PC made 10 years ago -- and they were still called computers.
I don't understand where this arbitrary distinction of "that's not a computer" comes from. Because it's wrong.
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Mostly content providers who set up separate licenses for mobile/computers(meaning PCs?)/consoles/televised/disk-based/on-demand-to-cablebox and probably a few others I'm not aware of. That way, they can keep charging for the same content. But, if you have an Android Mini Computer, even though it has no Edge/3G/4G data connection, it's a mobile device. So Hulu will not stream to it.
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Your post makes you come off as a pedant (or a troll, a
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Why is that? ... I don't understand where this arbitrary distinction of "that's not a computer" comes from.
Yes, technically they are all computers. Maybe it would be better to find a new set of terms to describe the difference between a handheld device and a traditional PC.
But the distinction is important because (generally speaking) people use these types of devices differently, and that has a big impact on user interface, what capabilities are important to the typical user, and what to optimize the user experience for. All the Slashdotters who show up to every dicussion on Windows 8 or OS X bemoaning "they're
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An ARM based desktop computer? Unpossible: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes [wikipedia.org]
$500/year; front-facing camera; VGA out (Score:2)
Actually, this is more valuable than a full fledged PC Windows laptop. Because it supports a SIM card
So does the USB mobile broadband dongle from any carrier that isn't Verizon or Sprint or a Sprint MVNO. The problem here is that one has to pay hundreds of dollars a year to use that SIM card unless applications are designed for "offline first", anticipating that a user's Internet connection will be intermittent. I imagine that Windows applications are more likely to support offline use than Android applications, especially because Android was first sold on phones.
and camera, HDMI out of the box at budget price
Laptops have had a front-facing camera as a
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So does the USB mobile broadband dongle from any carrier that isn't Verizon or Sprint or a Sprint MVNO.
See? When you try to connect a SIM card to a regular PC; your vendor thinks he can impose arbitrary restrictions on how it's used. The Android OS provides all the useful things that a Windows OS does - a useful, quick browser; full fledged Office, low power consuming ARM support, support for mobile-related peripherals right in the OS etc. In addition you can just plug in any SIM card like on a mobile phon
CDMA2000; Android can't snap (Score:2)
When you try to connect a SIM card to a regular PC; your vendor thinks he can impose arbitrary restrictions on how it's used.
I don't see a single way Windows differs from Android in this respect. You can't plug a SIM into a Windows PC with a Sprint mobile broadband adapter for the same reason that you can't plug a SIM into an Android phone sold by Sprint. A device that takes a SIM won't work on Verizon or Sprint or a Sprint MVNO either because the U.S. CDMA2000 carriers have chosen to program the subscriber identity directly into the mobile equipment rather than using a CSIM. This is true no matter whether a device runs Windows,
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This is one of the annoying things about Android (and iOS) on a tablet.
I know there are some third party windowing solutions, and Samsung have their own (or licensed one) for side-by-side apps.
But yeah, for apps that are happy running on a thin phone screen, why can't they run on the side on a tablet whilst another (or two more) are also running on the screen? In a way, Windows 8 supports this in the Metro view, because apps have to support a narrow view as well as a wide view (I don't know the specifics).
H
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Many Samsung devices have split window support. Samsung devices arguably have a better implementation than Windows RT since each window can be resized by an arbitrary amount, rather than the fixed values available in Modern ("Metro") style Windows apps. I'll be overjoyed when I can use that technology on non-Samsung Android devices, but it's definitely useful on my phone.
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Uhhh, don't know where you have been the last few years but VZW uses mini-SIM / micro-SIM in all of the 4G LTE capable phones. I would assume sprint and everyone else offering 4G LTE is the same.
I had to get a SIM from VZW for my S3 and from U.S. Cellular for my GNote2....
Try swapping these SIMs (Score:2)
VZW uses mini-SIM / micro-SIM in all of the 4G LTE capable phones.
For one thing, entry-level devices sold by Sprint MVNOs are less likely to support 4G, and devices that don't support 4G still store the subscriber identity on the device. For another, I was under the impression that CDMA2000+LTE devices sold by Verizon, Sprint, and Sprint MVNOs were carrier locked not to accept a SIM from a GSM+UMTS+LTE carrier. And finally, can you swap CDMA2000 subscriber identities by swapping SIMs in a CDMA2000+LTE phone, or is only the LTE subscriber identity stored on the SIM and the
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I imagine that Windows applications are more likely to support offline use than Android applications, especially because Android was first sold on phones.
My Android phone supports offline use, probably because I pay my carrier a flat rate for unlimited everything and my using it offline or on wifi saves them money. My guess is other carriers disable the ability so they can run your bill up higher.
But Android does indeed support offline use.
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Yes. It's the Chromebook that leans towards always-online.
Chrome purges tabs (Score:2)
But Android does indeed support offline use.
The OS does. The applications aren't quite as likely to. For example, Chrome for Android doesn't appear to register itself as a handler for HTML file open intents, which means that (unlike Firefox for Android) it doesn't appear in the "Open With" dialog box. And unlike Firefox for desktop Linux and Chromium for desktop Linux, Chrome for Android likes to purge pages associated with tabs that aren't in view, triggering a reload when I switch back to that tab. If I open a tab while online, go offline, and swit
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Chrome for Android doesn't appear to register itself as a handler for HTML file open intents, which means that (unlike Firefox for Android) it doesn't appear in the "Open With" dialog box.
It does on my Kyocera, which annoys me because I don't use Chrome. Seeing your complaints about it I'm wondering why you do.
And what do ad-supported applications (which are quite common on Android) do when they can't contact the ad server?
I don't know. Winamp works fine offline. And since it's a phone, it has yet to be off
Re: Actually, this is kinda nice... (Score:1)
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Who needs a camera on a tablet? Ok maybe for video chat if you're into that, in which case vga is probably just fine. Problem with putting a better cqamera on them is people use them inappropriately. Last time I went skiing I had to keep avoiding Chinese people trying to ski whilst holding up a full sized iPad, complete with large case hanging off it, to take pictures of their kids.
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Hmm, headline reads more like, "Lenovo just goosed M$, we want a 50% discount on current prices across the board or else". It seems like other manufacturers are also joining the action. So will M$ dig deep or is this the light at the end of the tunnel for M$, that great big huge Android freight train.
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1) Will the laptop sit fine on its keyboard regardless of monitor angle, or will it tip over if the monitor is pushed back past, say, 45 degrees?
You can't fold it flat with the monitor on being visible. This will never be a tablet device.
IdeaPad (Score:3, Funny)
ipad for short?
The nightmare that keeps MS awake.... (Score:5, Interesting)
has arrived. Android on PCs and Linux on tablets are both wonderful for innovation; and doomsday for Microsoft.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2013/01/12/the-nightmare-that-keeps-microsoft-awake-android-on-the-desktop/ [forbes.com]
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I'm failing to see how this - bringing Android's touch-first interface to a mouse+keyboard interface - is any better than Microsoft's approach with throwing (a bastardization of) Metro into Windows. I mean, I already find the Android somewhat funky on a phone (compared to iOS and WP) and awkward on a tablet (compared to iOS). The UI simply doesn't seem to scale well, and I have yet to see a package that significantly improves it.
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bringing Android's touch-first interface to a mouse+keyboard interface
The interface is a minor issue; easily solved by adding a No-Touch app to the default Android OS. The fact that SIM cards, camera etc are built-in and supported by the OS makes so many exciting applications and use-cases possible.
Say, you have a list of clients in a CRM software whom you need to talk to; and record the conversations back into the CRM itself.With an Android laptop; you can just click on the number; and get options to
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so you need to write apps in order to do what you want? What stopped you from writing simple apps for Windows or Linux all these years?
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Full computer, office suite, surfing with top browser, what else?
High-end games, of course, but almost all big PC games are first console design, with port to PC. Microsoft was instrumental in this shift, succeeding in co-development via Direct X for PC and X-Box, thinking the console would take over as game/surf/TV machine. cThere are no games tying people to the PC anymore.
I cry for them as much as I cried for IBM when Microsoft ascendant.
You're looking at about 2035 before Google slips to something else
Re:The nightmare that keeps MS awake.... (Score:5, Funny)
> You're looking at about 2035 before Google slips to something else.
That's pretty bold of you.
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almost all big PC games are first console design, with port to PC. [...] There are no games tying people to the PC anymore.
What you say is true of big games from big companies, not so much of small games from developers that haven't yet found a console publisher. Those are more likely to be released on OS X, desktop Linux, Android, or iOS before one of the major consoles.
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There are no games tying people to the PC anymore.
That's just your opinion. Games like League of Legends are mapping the way gaming is heading with a truly world class competitive scene, paid players and more. The population of that game alone is huge. There's tones of MMORPG that are very popular on PC and not available on other platforms.The big commercial titles like COD and BF are now available on console but even those titles still have a huge following on PC.
And what plans does Android have to provide a client server environment for companies? There
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There's tones of MMORPG that are very popular on PC
There's tones of large user base software being used
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
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Funny how MS putting a touchscreen OS on a PC/Laptop was the dumbest thing ever.... unusable tripe. Now that Lenovo is going to give it a go with Android it's innovative and fresh? Huh?
Oh well, the goose steppers have really spun this one up into high gear.
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Funny how MS putting a touchscreen OS on a PC/Laptop was the dumbest thing ever
Yes it was. The PC/laptop never traditionally supported things like SIM card, telephony software or even camera software out-of-the-box. The reason MS forced touch on PCs is to try and spur development of touch based and Windows-Store style apps for the enterprise. Without these peripherals above; the touch interface is a huge waste.
With an open source Android OS that supports every thing that the traditional PC does and much m
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What on earth can Android support that a traditional PC (Windows or Linux) can't?
AFAIK a touchscreen, at least on Windows. They've had (if I remember the name correctly) MegaGame machines in bars for over a decade that were touch-only and ran Liinux, as it was easy to tell when one was booted (I don't remember what distro, probably Red Hat). I haven't heard of any version of Windows before W8 that would.
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The key word (Score:2)
I demand restitution! My BS-o-meter has exploded as it scanned over "accidentally".
The BS density was so high that the main sensor melted and is now a tiny puddle in my desk.
Re:The key word (Score:5, Funny)
Evidently the Starfleet Corps of Engineers designed your BS-o-meter, since it didn't have any circuit breakers. ;-)
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Evidently the Starfleet Corps of Engineers designed your BS-o-meter, since it didn't have any circuit breakers. ;-)
It did have a fuse, but the GPP didn't reverse the polarity in time.
Android is worse than Windows (Score:4, Insightful)
As a desktop operating or some sort of mobile computing operating system, aside from the open source angle and the general openness, I don't see Android being any better of an alternative than Windows.
Android has quite a bit of fragmentation, has malware and exploit issues (I have some sort of pesky nuisance-ware on my Android phone, apparently from installing some free game outside the Google Play ecosystem) -- and if ends up encroaching onto the traditional desktop/laptop space --- then you are back to hardware interoperability/printer drivers/etc.
So setting aside the open nature and potentially the "cost" (i.e. Microsoft tax) --- I don't see this being an improvement over Windows.
But I would definitely welcome Microsoft's near-monopoly to start feeling the heat and would be nice to get more utility out Android apps or developing them personally.
Re:Android is worse than Windows (Score:5, Insightful)
has malware and exploit issues (I have some sort of pesky nuisance-ware on my Android phone, apparently from installing some free game outside the Google Play ecosystem)
That's not really an Android problem, is it? You circumvented the controls by downloading a shady app from an unaccreditied source. Don't blame Android for your own stupidity.
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That's not really an Android problem, is it? You circumvented the controls by downloading a shady app from an unaccreditied source. Don't blame Android for your own stupidity.
Android users can't have it both ways. Is the walled garden good or bad? I guess it's only bad if you are not as "smart" as the poster.
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The walled garden is bad, and having the freedom to create your own apps to install for yourself and trusted friends without going through the google app store, or even to choose some other app store to trust (e.g. Amazon's) is a great Freedom. If you choose to use that power to shoot yourself in the foot by trusting a random stranger on the internet, then don't blame anyone else for your own naivety.
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To bad there are people who ignore the warning and just open the gate to let something in from an unknown source.
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Is it really so difficult to fix this with proper sandboxing and per-app permissions? Maybe running in a virtual machine to prevent exploits?
In my head, it seems possible to design a system where I can download anything and run anything without worrying about malware.
It seems like a problem that should be solvable. But, like many problems, I recognize that it probably looks different close up.
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Android does have per-app permissions.
Except you don't get to choose those permissions, you can only install or not install. If you want Fluffy Kitty Screen Saver and it demands access to contact lists and to be able to send SMS messages, you can't say 'let it install but don't let it do those things.'
If Google cared about user security, they'd let you pick and choose which permissions you allowed.
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Android does do sandboxing and the "nuisanceware" the OP talks about could just be uninstalled.
There have been one or two exploits in the past that allowed apps to make themselves difficult to uninstall. They were bugs that got fixed. Android doesn't have anywhere near the same level of risk as Windows does when it comes to malware.
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"Stupidity" controls are fine on a phone, but that sucks on a PC.
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I think Microsoft's monopoly was lost years ago.
As for your comment about the "Microsoft Tax", my belief is that for a company to be viable for a business or end user, it must support its products. MS has done that (some will argue but they speak from their wind hole). If I have an issue with their software I can actually call someone and get up and running quickly or at the least get a ticket to devs put in. On the open source side I have to post in a forum and HOPE someone helps me. That isn't viable for
Re:Android is worse than Windows (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, it has the benefit of not being Windows.
Buy the Google branded products. That's precisely why I bought a Nexus 7, so I didn't have to worry about vendors taking forever to roll out updates.
So, you turned off the thing which prevents you from side loading, side loaded something, and have problems with it? You can do the exact same thing in Windows. But it was you who took responsibility for that and did it. Google just provided the option to shoot yourself in the foot.
Which is hardly unique to Android. But I set up cloud printing for my mother in law in about 10 minutes, and she can happily print from her tablet through to her PC.
Maybe what we need are better standards for those devices so it's not the user's problem to sort out interoperability.
Re:Android is worse than Windows (Score:4, Informative)
Well, it has the benefit of not being Windows.
Windows has traditionally lagged behind other OSes feature-wise. Linux supported multiple monitors years before Windows did, and my kubuntu box has features my W7 notebook sorely lacks (like not having to reboot the goddamned thing every month).
Not being Windows is a benefit because Windows is just not a very good OS. It never had to be, thanks to their monopoly. Look how much better telephony got after AT&T was broken up.
As to "fragmentation" I think a better word is CHOICE. Hate Gnome? Use KDE or other desktop. Fragmentation is a non-issue cooked up by worried MS marketers.
But I set up cloud printing for my mother in law in about 10 minutes, and she can happily print from her tablet through to her PC.
Indeed, "interoperability" is yet another lie cooked up by MS marketing. The truth is it's Windows that not only lacks interoperability but designs its lack into its products. Hell, try opening a Word 2007 document in Word 98; MS isn't even interoperable with itself.
Driver support is a dead issue, Linux hasn't had many driver problems in years, not that I've seen anyway. The only devices that won't work with Linux are those designed to be windows-only (e.g., winmodems).
I think you responded to a shill, or to someone who's never used anything but Windows.
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Do you think compared to Linux that the apps model for Android is "secure" like Linux?
I don't either. Which is my point.
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Sorry, I thought I was replying to the same guy you responded to. He's the shill.
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Word 2007 document in Word 98......
wait for it.......wait for it.....oh God, how could we have known the file layout of a 2007 document in 1998....
now get off my lawn.....
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Yeah, nice troll you stupid idiot.....
How much is Ballmer paying you, shill? Guess what happened ten years ago when they upgraded Office 98 to Office 03 where I work? None of my fucking Access programs would work! I had to rewrite every damned one. That never happened in any other language (when talking about Access I use that term very loosely) I've used in the last 30 years.
I repeat, Microsoft isn't even compatible with itself. They go out of their way to try (usually in vain) to make Samba not work, or a
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"So, you turned off the thing which prevents you from side loading, side loaded something, and have problems with it? You can do the exact same thing in Windows. But it was you who took responsibility for that and did it. Google just provided the option to shoot yourself in the foot."
True except
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Define 'without problems'. As in no problem ever, or you can mostly do it and it's not that bad?
You can use the Google cloud print, and Chrome and set your tablet up to print to a PC you control and are logged into Chrome with.
It may not be ideal, but you can print from Android without too much difficulty. In fact, it took me about 10-15 minutes to set it up for my mother in law.
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Try the "Let's Print Droid" app. It works great for me printing to my Brother HL2070N wireless laser printer.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackspruce.lpd&hl=en [google.com]
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So setting aside the open nature and potentially the "cost" (i.e. Microsoft tax) --- I don't see this being an improvement over Windows.
Fragmentation isn't a disadvantage when you're expanding. Android now works with lots of different screen sizes, resolutions, chipsets etc. That just means you can successfully port it to any kind of device.
BTW, we're talking ARM here, not x86. Competitors to Android would be Windows RT and iOS, not the full-fledged Windows we all know and hate with varying degrees of intensity. That means Android is significantly more open than the competition. There's a tremendous gap in performance, but an even bigger on
Fine, just give us back the ThinkPad (Score:5, Insightful)
I couldn't give less of a shit what they do with consumer-targeted products that are used entirely or mostly for dicking around. I mean, Android is cute, but some of us actually need our computers to work.
What I want is for them to reverse the spread of this toxic notion in the ThinkPad lineup. See: crippled, flexing keyboards and buttonless trackpoints/pads that are pretty but feel and work like shit, wide screens that are fine for movies but shit for actually working, removal of status lights that gave useful information at a glance replaced by various indicators scattered among hardware and software that make usability a load of fragmented shit, poor construction materials that make them feel and behave like cheap shit...
In case it wasn't clear, the point I'm getting at is that the last several generations of ThinkPad have increasingly been ... shit.
Fix that shit first, please.
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Indeed, this is more important. Stop screwing up the ThinkPad lineup first.
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I mean, Android is cute, but some of us actually need our computers to work.
Ha, that's what the mainframe generation used to say about those upstart IBM PCs.
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My previous T410s died, the screen finally gave up the ghost (I'd had two screws/nuts through it to hold it together, but it eventually became too much for the plastic)
Fortunately a collegue had a barely used one from the same era. I ordered him a new one, and took his. Battery life now back up to 5 hours rather than 90 minutes, screen just opens too.
I'm dreading the day this one dies, you just can't get a good laptop any more. The only problem I have with the t410s is the stupid "thinkvantage" button -- wh
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| us actually need our computers to work.
The PC back in the day was accused of being "consumer-targeted" and not a real machine for businesses to get work done. Same with the internet.
History repeats itself again and again.
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I moved away from ThinkPads after several generations for the same reason. Recent high end Latitudes (keyboard) and EliteBooks (everything else) outshine current ThinkPads for me, and I indeed moved to an EliteBook.
Why, oh why, can't anyone get the pointing stick/buttons right, though? Lenovo had it nailed right through the T61. All they had to do was not dick with it.
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Seriously, Lenovo? You fscked with the ThinkPad keyboard?? The keyboard by which all other laptop keyboards were judged for well over ten years? You just threw that away?
I've been idly looking at "white box" laptops as a possible upgrade avenue, but I have no idea w
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I'm lucky enough to have a T420. It's a glorious machine. There's enough right with it that even given the changed keyboard I'd want to at least try out the T430 as a replacement before writing it off.
Not the first (Score:2)
I have an Asus Transformer TF300 [asus.com]. I bought it about six months ago. It was on sale with the keyboard for about $350. It has a 10.1 inch HD touchscreen, and a keyboard with 'signature Android buttons for "home screen", "previous"'. (No Apps Screen button, but nothing's perfect.) Its screen doesn't swivel, but it does detach. It also has a camera, a microSD card slot and an HDMI port like the Lenovo, plus a USB port on the keyboard.
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10 is still a netbook, and we see how well that market did.
What, sold tens of millions of machines before Microsoft crippled them with a bloated pig of an operating system and tablets came along doing most of the things netbooks were used for before that?
Small Laptop Market (Score:2)
Make it 13 and we might have a winner, depending on price. 10 is still a netbook, and we see how well that market did.
...till Microsoft and Intel crippled its specifications, while raising its price over traditional laptops, very well. Given that this is about removing Intel/Microsoft and their 70% Gross Margins, and without any stupid hardware limitations. It looks to repeat itself. With the massive growth of Chromebooks...No1 selling laptop on Amazon...fastest (and only) growing PC market...blah blah blah I would argue it already is.
This reaffirms one thing for me.... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Go back to core ideas behind ThinkPad name (Score:1)
In particular, the pen-centric interface which Go Corporation was an early pioneer.
Everyone should read:
- ThinkPad: A Different Shade of Blue
- Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure
So as to provide some sort of background into the original hopes and dreams for ubiquitous computing.
Android vs Chrome (Score:2)
Frankly I don't quite understand the appeal of the chrome notebook and I've played with a few. Sure, it's different, but so are a hundred different flavors of Linux. Now an Android laptop is something that I think makes a lot of sense as there is an incredible marketplace already in existence for their software.
It would be very easy to transition from an Android phone to an Android laptop for the large number of people that already have Android phones. When you consider the jarring UI change that is being f
Wondering... (Score:2)