10 ms·

Lenovo shows new Android laptop in user manual [pdf]

bfish510 13y ago
This seems weird to me seeing as they could have used Chrome OS. I imagine it's because this will be marketed as a touch screen laptop though.
- camus 13y ago
  I'll never get ChromeOS. An Os where you cant install anything is useless. Want to use webapps? use a browser,at least on Android I can develop "native apps",run background processes. Tell me what can do ChromeOS that Android cant do? All google services are on Android.
  - derekp7 13y ago
    I've felt the same way -- it makes more sense to have ChromeOS on phones / tablets, which are intended to always be connected, and put Android on laptops which are sometimes connected.
  - Pxtl 13y ago
    > Tell me what can do ChromeOS that Android cant do? Boot up fast. Never get malware. Never get bogged down by a process running in the background. ChromeOS is the OS-level version of "Worse is better". The ultimate "just works" zero-maintenance device. Android keeps demanding more and more hardware to stay performant, ChromeOS is comparatively light. That said, I'm always surprised that Google maintains 2 OS's (plus their internal Goobuntu distro). Remember that Android wasn't really suitable for this until Android 4 - no landscape mode, no Chrome browser... even now, Android's home-screen looks rather ugly in landscape since the app icons are terribly spaced. I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be looking to discontinue ChromeOS as Android gets better features in that space. The big failing is that Android's app space is fixated on touch, and reaching out to touch a laptop touchscreen sucks.
    - dublinben 13y ago
      >The big failing is that Android's app space is fixated on touch, and reaching out to touch a laptop touchscreen sucks. If Google has learned anything from the launch of Windows 8, it's to keep touch/non-touch operating systems separate. Even if they occupy similar form factors, you still can't expect a unified UI to work well.
      - Pxtl 13y ago
        I think it can be done, but you have to start with that goal in mind from day one and keep all your application develpers held to that goal. The Win8RT platform avoids the legacy baggage of the main Windows desktop OS, and most users say it succeeds quite well at being a good netbook/tablet OS.
      - Aldo_MX 13y ago
        After using a Surface Pro, Windows 8 began to make sense. Still I don't appreciate the lack of Start Menu in the desktop portion of the OS, fortunately Start8 compensates that nuisance.
      - RexRollman 13y ago
        This. I am absolutely not interested in a touch screen on a laptop.
  - Touche 13y ago
    > Tell me what can do ChromeOS that Android cant do? Go check out the benchmarks, Android still doesn't have a desktop-class browser.
ludoo 13y ago
If I could find a 12" or 13" Android laptop with a nice screen, good keyboard, no fan, and decent specs I'd use it as my primary machine. Debian kit+console+a decent editor is all I need for work, and for play Android has more and better apps than Ubuntu or any other Linux distro. It's about time manufecturers started producing them.
- georgemcbay 13y ago
  I'd actually like one a bit bigger, like 14" or 15", with touchscreen, and which dual-boots standard Linux and Android, both as first-class citizens (you can usually hack Linux booting via chroots into Android devices, but I'd rather just have the dual-booting supported at the BIOS level with no goofy hacks). I would buy the hell out of a system like this.
- dublinben 13y ago
  Hasn't the Oyua shown that most Android apps are pretty terrible if not used on a touchscreen device? For the features you want, it's going to be comparably priced to a $1000 Surface Pro.
  - Touche 13y ago
    This is a touchscreen device.
  - Pxtl 13y ago
    The big failures exist in the 3rd-party apps and the home-screen. With a custom home-screen and a secondary app-store full of key/mouse-friendly apps? You could make a comfy Android/Netbook experience.
  - aray 13y ago
    I think the Oyua has really shown also that games work well with a controller. Many android games are just trying to use the screen to emulate what we're used to (buttons, d-pad, analog sticks, etc)
  - recursive 13y ago
    It's debatable whether it's shown that, but it doesn't give us much information about this device even if that's true. The statement that Android apps are terrible on non-touchscreens doesn't necessarily tell us anything about how good they are on touch-capable devices.
fidotron 13y ago
Ideally we'd be looking at Cyanogenmod fully and easily supported on Chromebook hardware, but they seem busy enough, and until then this might have to do the trick. The real problem is finding a laptop that isn't built like crap, and I would doubt anything of this nature is going to change that.
- dangero 13y ago
  "The real problem is finding a laptop that isn't built like crap" The other day I went to Best Buy with the intent of buying a non-Apple laptop to make it easier for me to do some Windows development. I left empty handed after being appalled by the bulky plastic machines I found. It felt like the PC laptop industry hadn't evolved in the last 10 years since I switched to Macs. They did get somewhat thinner and nicer at the high end, but then I was getting no price benefit over just buying a Mac.
  - dublinben 13y ago
    I think your first problem was looking for a professional-quality computer at Best Buy. They've always been full of cheap plastic junk that can only be pushed on unknowing consumers. Have you considered the Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Yoga 13, Vaio 11/13 or Asus Zenbook?
    - cloverich 13y ago
      Yoga 13 is available at the Best Buy by me. First time in a while I've been envious of a non-mac laptop. IMHO, non-mac design has come a long way (finally!) in the last few years.
      - bluedino 13y ago
        Best Buy also has the XPS 13
      - phaus 13y ago
        If anyone's in the market for a new computer, keep in mind that the new version of the Yoga is about to be released, it's going to have a retina quality IPS panel instead of an HD+. Also the old ones have been on the outlet for as low as $500 recently, so you can save quite a bit of money if you don't get it at Best Buy.
coryfklein 13y ago
What is an "Android laptop"? Is it different from a laptop that has Android installed on it?
leokun 13y ago
Nice. Also HP already sells an Android laptop: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/x2/slatebook-x2.html http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/x2/slatebook-x2.html
- unwiredben 13y ago
  Seems very similar to the Asus Transformer, another table with a keyboard docking station that makes it laptop-like.
PaulHoule 13y ago
Windows is going to wrecked in the low-end hardware market since switching to Android could shave $100 off the cost of a cheap machine.
- AjithAntony 13y ago
  The net cost of windows for an OEM is probably lower than $100. It is often offset by all the trial software and things.
  - VladRussian2 13y ago
    and if the OEM continue to put all the trials and other bloat (and why not? :), now in Android version, it would allow for those $100 saving
    - benologist 13y ago
      And in fact they do exactly that with phones.
- arrrg 13y ago
  Not sure about that. Netbooks didn’t really work. This seems similar to netbooks. Many of those also didn’t have Windows but at least some sort of explicit desktop UI. This is a mobile UI on a desktop device. Not sure how to square that.
  - phaus 13y ago
    Netbooks worked until Microsoft intentionally killed them.
  - deelowe 13y ago
    Netbooks worked just fine. Intel stopped updating their cpus for them and Microsoft wouldn't offer a lightweight OS to support them after XP was EOLed. Intel/MS purposefully killed the netbook. I know plenty of people who'd rather have a decent netbook over their tablet.
radley 13y ago
Lenovo IdeaPad A10 Specifications: 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels RAM: 1GB / 2GB based on storage Processor: Quad-core Rockchip RK3188 processor, 1.6 GHz OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Storage: 16GB / 32GB versions, expandable with MicroSD card (I'd like to see an Android laptop that takes itself seriously, with proper storage, screen, etc)
- Nux 13y ago
  I stopped being interested after "Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels".
  - gcb1 13y ago
    thats actually fine for a 10"
    - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
      Only if low end. Compare to the 2x res of a nexus 7, for example.
    - Nux 13y ago
      What I dread is the ratio, not the actual resolution. Fuck 16:9.
seabrookmx 13y ago
For everyone complaining about using Android without a touch screen, you have obviously never done it. I have an MK808 and MK908ii Android stick (the latter of which uses the same chip set as this Lenovo) with a Logitech wireless keyboard+track pad combo as my media center. It works flawlessly, and the latest Chrome build is fast and stable. I can access my NAS and stream movies over Samba without worrying about the format, or having to have the NAS box do any stupid transcoding etc. Best $65 I've ever spent ($130 including the keyboard). I own a Chrome boom as well, and while I can see the benefits of ChromeOS, Android is vastly more functional. For example, the method I outlined above for streaming movies wouldn't be possible with ChromeOS unless I booted another distro in a chroot(like with crouton).
gboudrias 13y ago
That means no paying for a Windows license even though you don't want it! Awesome!

This seems weird to me seeing as they could have used Chrome OS. I imagine it's because this will be marketed as a touch screen laptop though.

camus 13y ago
I'll never get ChromeOS. An Os where you cant install anything is useless. Want to use webapps? use a browser,at least on Android I can develop "native apps",run background processes. Tell me what can do ChromeOS that Android cant do? All google services are on Android.
- derekp7 13y ago
  I've felt the same way -- it makes more sense to have ChromeOS on phones / tablets, which are intended to always be connected, and put Android on laptops which are sometimes connected.
- Pxtl 13y ago
  > Tell me what can do ChromeOS that Android cant do? Boot up fast. Never get malware. Never get bogged down by a process running in the background. ChromeOS is the OS-level version of "Worse is better". The ultimate "just works" zero-maintenance device. Android keeps demanding more and more hardware to stay performant, ChromeOS is comparatively light. That said, I'm always surprised that Google maintains 2 OS's (plus their internal Goobuntu distro). Remember that Android wasn't really suitable for this until Android 4 - no landscape mode, no Chrome browser... even now, Android's home-screen looks rather ugly in landscape since the app icons are terribly spaced. I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be looking to discontinue ChromeOS as Android gets better features in that space. The big failing is that Android's app space is fixated on touch, and reaching out to touch a laptop touchscreen sucks.
  - dublinben 13y ago
    >The big failing is that Android's app space is fixated on touch, and reaching out to touch a laptop touchscreen sucks. If Google has learned anything from the launch of Windows 8, it's to keep touch/non-touch operating systems separate. Even if they occupy similar form factors, you still can't expect a unified UI to work well.
    - Pxtl 13y ago
      I think it can be done, but you have to start with that goal in mind from day one and keep all your application develpers held to that goal. The Win8RT platform avoids the legacy baggage of the main Windows desktop OS, and most users say it succeeds quite well at being a good netbook/tablet OS.
    - Aldo_MX 13y ago
      After using a Surface Pro, Windows 8 began to make sense. Still I don't appreciate the lack of Start Menu in the desktop portion of the OS, fortunately Start8 compensates that nuisance.
    - RexRollman 13y ago
      This. I am absolutely not interested in a touch screen on a laptop.
- Touche 13y ago
  > Tell me what can do ChromeOS that Android cant do? Go check out the benchmarks, Android still doesn't have a desktop-class browser.

ludoo 13y ago

If I could find a 12" or 13" Android laptop with a nice screen, good keyboard, no fan, and decent specs I'd use it as my primary machine. Debian kit+console+a decent editor is all I need for work, and for play Android has more and better apps than Ubuntu or any other Linux distro. It's about time manufecturers started producing them.

georgemcbay 13y ago
I'd actually like one a bit bigger, like 14" or 15", with touchscreen, and which dual-boots standard Linux and Android, both as first-class citizens (you can usually hack Linux booting via chroots into Android devices, but I'd rather just have the dual-booting supported at the BIOS level with no goofy hacks). I would buy the hell out of a system like this.
dublinben 13y ago
Hasn't the Oyua shown that most Android apps are pretty terrible if not used on a touchscreen device? For the features you want, it's going to be comparably priced to a $1000 Surface Pro.
- Touche 13y ago
  This is a touchscreen device.
- Pxtl 13y ago
  The big failures exist in the 3rd-party apps and the home-screen. With a custom home-screen and a secondary app-store full of key/mouse-friendly apps? You could make a comfy Android/Netbook experience.
- aray 13y ago
  I think the Oyua has really shown also that games work well with a controller. Many android games are just trying to use the screen to emulate what we're used to (buttons, d-pad, analog sticks, etc)
- recursive 13y ago
  It's debatable whether it's shown that, but it doesn't give us much information about this device even if that's true. The statement that Android apps are terrible on non-touchscreens doesn't necessarily tell us anything about how good they are on touch-capable devices.

fidotron 13y ago

Ideally we'd be looking at Cyanogenmod fully and easily supported on Chromebook hardware, but they seem busy enough, and until then this might have to do the trick. The real problem is finding a laptop that isn't built like crap, and I would doubt anything of this nature is going to change that.

dangero 13y ago
"The real problem is finding a laptop that isn't built like crap" The other day I went to Best Buy with the intent of buying a non-Apple laptop to make it easier for me to do some Windows development. I left empty handed after being appalled by the bulky plastic machines I found. It felt like the PC laptop industry hadn't evolved in the last 10 years since I switched to Macs. They did get somewhat thinner and nicer at the high end, but then I was getting no price benefit over just buying a Mac.
- dublinben 13y ago
  I think your first problem was looking for a professional-quality computer at Best Buy. They've always been full of cheap plastic junk that can only be pushed on unknowing consumers. Have you considered the Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Yoga 13, Vaio 11/13 or Asus Zenbook?
  - cloverich 13y ago
    Yoga 13 is available at the Best Buy by me. First time in a while I've been envious of a non-mac laptop. IMHO, non-mac design has come a long way (finally!) in the last few years.
    - bluedino 13y ago
      Best Buy also has the XPS 13
    - phaus 13y ago
      If anyone's in the market for a new computer, keep in mind that the new version of the Yoga is about to be released, it's going to have a retina quality IPS panel instead of an HD+. Also the old ones have been on the outlet for as low as $500 recently, so you can save quite a bit of money if you don't get it at Best Buy.

coryfklein 13y ago

What is an "Android laptop"? Is it different from a laptop that has Android installed on it?

leokun 13y ago

Nice. Also HP already sells an Android laptop: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/x2/slatebook-x2.html http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/x2/slatebook-x2.html

unwiredben 13y ago
Seems very similar to the Asus Transformer, another table with a keyboard docking station that makes it laptop-like.

PaulHoule 13y ago

Windows is going to wrecked in the low-end hardware market since switching to Android could shave $100 off the cost of a cheap machine.

AjithAntony 13y ago
The net cost of windows for an OEM is probably lower than $100. It is often offset by all the trial software and things.
- VladRussian2 13y ago
  and if the OEM continue to put all the trials and other bloat (and why not? :), now in Android version, it would allow for those $100 saving
  - benologist 13y ago
    And in fact they do exactly that with phones.
arrrg 13y ago
Not sure about that. Netbooks didn’t really work. This seems similar to netbooks. Many of those also didn’t have Windows but at least some sort of explicit desktop UI. This is a mobile UI on a desktop device. Not sure how to square that.
- phaus 13y ago
  Netbooks worked until Microsoft intentionally killed them.
- deelowe 13y ago
  Netbooks worked just fine. Intel stopped updating their cpus for them and Microsoft wouldn't offer a lightweight OS to support them after XP was EOLed. Intel/MS purposefully killed the netbook. I know plenty of people who'd rather have a decent netbook over their tablet.

radley 13y ago

Lenovo IdeaPad A10 Specifications: 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels RAM: 1GB / 2GB based on storage Processor: Quad-core Rockchip RK3188 processor, 1.6 GHz OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Storage: 16GB / 32GB versions, expandable with MicroSD card (I'd like to see an Android laptop that takes itself seriously, with proper storage, screen, etc)

Nux 13y ago
I stopped being interested after "Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels".
- gcb1 13y ago
  thats actually fine for a 10"
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    Only if low end. Compare to the 2x res of a nexus 7, for example.
  - Nux 13y ago
    What I dread is the ratio, not the actual resolution. Fuck 16:9.

seabrookmx 13y ago

For everyone complaining about using Android without a touch screen, you have obviously never done it. I have an MK808 and MK908ii Android stick (the latter of which uses the same chip set as this Lenovo) with a Logitech wireless keyboard+track pad combo as my media center. It works flawlessly, and the latest Chrome build is fast and stable. I can access my NAS and stream movies over Samba without worrying about the format, or having to have the NAS box do any stupid transcoding etc. Best $65 I've ever spent ($130 including the keyboard). I own a Chrome boom as well, and while I can see the benefits of ChromeOS, Android is vastly more functional. For example, the method I outlined above for streaming movies wouldn't be possible with ChromeOS unless I booted another distro in a chroot(like with crouton).

gboudrias 13y ago

That means no paying for a Windows license even though you don't want it! Awesome!