Lenovo rumored partnering with NVIDIA on Win RT tablet
updated 08:01 am EDT, Fri August 10, 2012
Lenovo set to offer convertible ARM-based Win RT tablet
Lenovo is rumored to be partnering with NVIDIA (sub.req.) for the first time on an ARM-based Windows RT tablet, according to the Wall Street Journal. The news follows the unveiling this week of its full Windows 8 ThinkPad tablet that will run on an Intel Atom processor. The Chinese PC maker, now the second largest in the world, is set to join Asus in using an NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor to power and Windows RT tablet.
Sources suggest that the Lenovo Windows RT tablet will be "a convertible notebook, with a keyboard that flips around to turn the product into a tablet." It will compete not only with Apple's market leading iPad tablet, but also Microsoft's own Surface tablet running Windows RT. Unlike Microsoft's approach, which is to deliver keyboard input through an innovative keyboard cover, the Lenovo device is shaping up as a device aimed at enterprise users who may be looking to replace similarly styled Windows 7 convertible notebooks with something lighter and more portable.
During the unveiling of its new full Windows 8 Intel-based ThinkPad tablet earlier this week, Dilip Bhatia, Lenovo's general manager of its ThinkPad business indicated that the company would be pushing forward with a Windows RT tablet alterative, but did not offer any details on the unannounced product. Although NVIDIA's chips power a number of Android-based tablets, the overall Android tablet market has remained largely stagnant. The arrival of Windows RT, the first version of Windows to run on ARM-based Tegra 3 processors will offer it additional possibilities for growth in the mobile space.
