20
Jul
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[Updated With Video] Lenovo Unveils Its IdeaPad K1: The First Honeycomb Tablet With Full Netflix Compatibility

Posted by in IdeaPad K1, News

Lenovo finally made its Honeycomb-sporting IdeaPad K1 an official commodity - and it's basically just another fish in a sea of Android 3.1 tablets. It's filled with the nearly-identical hardware guts of the top Android tablets on the market today:

  • 10.1 1280x800 display
  • 1GHz Tegra 2 chipset
  • 1GB RAM
  • 16/32GB on-board storage; SD Card slot
  • MicroHDMI
  • WiFi
  • Optional 3G (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint)
  • 5MP rear camera; 2MP front
  • Android 3.1

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Of course, Lenovo has made a few changes to add its own custom touch to the device, like the Lenovo Launcher: a five-pane launchpad dead-smack in the middle of the screen that allows quick access to a user-customizable set of shortcuts. If you're not into a big overbearing launcher in the middle of your screen that (from what I can tell) offers little more than a standard set of shortcuts would, then Lenovo has graciously offered the option to disable it.

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There is one more thing that sets the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 apart from other Honeycomb-powered tablets in a big way: Netflix. The K1 is the first (and only, at this point) Honeycomb tablet with official Netflix support, thanks to a built-in hardware DRM module. On top of content-streaming, this module will allow content to be downloaded and stored locally on either the K1's on-board storage or external flash memory. While we're all glad to see Netflix officially come to Honeycomb, it's not all blue-skies-and-sunny-beaches, as this doesn't help the rest of the tablet world one bit. You see, the hardware DRM is both a curse and a blessing all wrapped into one: if Netflix decides to make this a requisite, then not a single Honeycomb tablet on the market will ever gain Netflix support, as a simple firmware/software update will not suffice.

All-in-all, I feel like Netflix will be the main selling point for the IdeaPad K1, as it's definitely the main thing that sets it apart from other Honeycomb-based tablets.

Update: Here's the promo video for the IdeaPad K1:

The K1 is set to hit the street for a starting price of $449 (16GB, WiFi only), but a firm release date has yet to be announced.

[Engadget]

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Cameron Summerson
 Cameron is a self-made geek with an affinity for all (okay... most) things tech. His love for Android has been noticed in some unlikely places - he once went to a concert and upon meeting the band, the singer said "You're like, Android king, right? Can you you tell me why this doesn't run flash?" and handed Cam his Optimus S.

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  • aLb3Rt

    "All-in-all, I feel like Netflix will be the main selling point for the IdeaPad K1, as it's definitely the main thing that sets it apart from other Honeycomb-based tablets."

    --- you might be right with Netflix as a selling point but if Netflix keeps raping us with their prices then its just not gonna work.

  • Curt

    I can't help but feel the title of the story should be:

    "Netflix enforces ridiculous and unnecessary hardware requirements, Lenovo play ball and charge you for the privilege"

    And they wonder why torrent indexers are making a mint on advertising, morons.

  • ken

    think this will get a hybrid laptop dock or is that just the U1 "LePad"? Still holding out...