2nd Gen. Lenovo ThinkPad 10 Announced

Lenovo took to their own Lenovo Tech World show in Beijing today on May 28 to officially unveil the 2nd generation Lenovo ThinkPad 10 enterprise tablet with Windows 10. Lenovo says it will launch worldwide later during the summer from $549.

For a Windows enterprise tablet, that's actually a good price, and the reason lies with the use of cheaper Intel Atom Z8500 or Z8700 processor choices, instead of going for the more expensive Intel Core processors.

Lenovo ThinkPad 10 2 is a successor to the Lenovo ThinkPad 10 that was unveiled in May last year. The changes from the first to the second generation of this tablet are small, with most details remaining the same, including the square edges on the bottom of the tablet. But obviously there are some changes in specs and features.

One feature is the Lenovo WRITEit feature that lets users hand write into all input fields in the programs they are running. This feature was added to four tablets in April with the 1st gen. Thinkpad 10 being one of them.

Lenovo wants to release Lenovo ThinkPad 10 2 with Windows 10, so that's the date to go by so far. The basic model has a 10.1-inch 10 point Multi-touch IPS screen, with 1900 x 1200 resolution, and a protective layer of Gorilla Glass 3.

Optional screen accessories are Anti-Glare Film for improved visibility in bright sunlight, or, a 4-way Privacy Film for confidentiality in information sensitive environments.

RAM is limited to either 2GB or 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM (1600 MHz), while storage options are between 64GB and 128GB eMMC storage. It has 1 watt stereo speakers from Realtek, called ALC5672. Though this may not matter all that much on a enterprise tablet. The front camera is a 1.2MP fixed focus camera, while the rear camera is a 5MP auto-focus cam with LED flash.

It has 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi support though I don't know if it's single-band or dual-band yet. Then Bluetooth 4.0, and optional 3G/4G. The ports are micro-HDMI, microSD, and even USB 3.0, so that's positive.

The battery pack is a 32Wh integrated Li-Polymer battery with a 10 hour battery life.

This tablet has actually added a little weight since last year, so that the new weight is now 617 grams, or about 20 grams more than last year's model. The thickness is 9.1 mm.

Like the first generation model it supports a long range of accessories, including a brand new ThinkPad Pen Pro digitizer, as well as a ThinkPad 10 Quickshot Cover that opens the camera app when you flip the camera lid open, a ThinkPad 10 Ultrabook Keyboard, ThinkPad 10 Folio Keyboard, and a ThinkPad Tablet Dock.

Optional enterprise security features include dTPM encryption, fingerprint reader, and a smart card reader. Lenovo also offers business-class service and support, like asset tagging, laser etching, priority support, imaging and more.

– Tom Bowen