Lenovo Shows Android Laptop In Leaked User Manuals

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."

Comments

Actually, this is kinda nice...

[houstonbofh]

With all the painful attempts to turn my high end multi-headed large monitor computer into a phone, (Unity, Gnome Shell, Win8) it is nice to see some turnabout!

Re:Actually, this is kinda nice...

[gstoddart]

Since, obviously, the fact that it uses an ARM/runs Android is evidence it's a mobile device, and not a computer.

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.

The nightmare that keeps MS awake....

[jkrise]

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/

Re:The nightmare that keeps MS awake....

[spazdor]

> You're looking at about 2035 before Google slips to something else.

That's pretty bold of you.

Android 4.3 broke the ZAGGkeys Flex

[tepples]

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.

Android is worse than Windows

[TrollstonButterbeans]

Android is loved as a phone and tablet OS because it is open source and easy to work with.

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

[oodaloop]

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.

Re:Android is worse than Windows

[gstoddart]

I don't see Android being any better of an alternative than Windows.

Well, it has the benefit of not being Windows.

Android has quite a bit of fragmentation

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.

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)

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.

and if ends up encroaching onto the traditional desktop/laptop space --- then you are back to hardware interoperability/printer drivers/etc

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

[mcgrew]

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.

Fine, just give us back the ThinkPad

[FuzzNugget]

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.

Re:The key word

[SteveFoerster]

Evidently the Starfleet Corps of Engineers designed your BS-o-meter, since it didn't have any circuit breakers. ;-)

This reaffirms one thing for me....

[Dega704]

For the past few years it has become increasingly apparent that PC makers are longing for the day that they can finally wash their hands of Microsoft. The Linux netbooks, Instant on features like Splashtop OS and WebOS, Android laptops, etc.; They wouldn't be experimenting with all of these if they didn't find the idea of ditching Windows extremely appealing. And why wouldn't they? Not only have they been subject to the so-called "Microsoft Tax" for decades now, but their bottom line is tied directly to Microsoft's successes and failures. Vista and Windows 8, anyone?