Lenovo Launches ThinkPad 10 Tablet Refresh And Lenovo Cast Accessory
The second generation ThinkPad 10 replaces the first gen model which was launched about a year ago. It keeps a lot of what made the ThinkPad 10 a decent tablet, including the 10.1” 1920x1200 16:10 display. It continues to offer 2 or 4 GB of LPDDR3 memory, as well as both 64 and 128 GB eMMC storage options. The big change is to the processor, with the ThinkPad 10 now being powered by the 14 nm Intel Cherry Trail Atom, specifically the x5-Z8500 or x7-Z8700 models. It is also rated at the same ten hours of battery life with the integrated 32 Wh battery, and includes the ThinkPad Pen Pro technology with WRITEit. WRITEit is a Lenovo software add-on which allows the pen to be used for almost any input.
Since this tablet is aimed at the enterprise, it also includes features that you will be hard pressed to find in consumer level tablets including optional dTPM encryption, a fingerprint reader, or a smart card reader. Lenovo will even do laser etching and asset tagging of this model to assist companies with inventory control.
As an enterprise tablet, it also has a full assortment of accessories including a folio keyboard, ultrabook keyboard, QuickShot cover, tablet dock, protector case, and more.
| Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 10 | ||||||
| Lenovo ThinkPad 10 Gen 2 (2015) | Lenovo ThinkPad 10 Gen 1 (2014) | |||||
| Dimensions | H: 177mm W: 256.5mm D: 9.1mm |
H: 177mm W: 256.5mm D: 8.9mm |
||||
| Weight | 617 grams | 598 grams | ||||
| CPU | Intel Atom x5-Z8500 1.44-2.24 GHz quad-core 14nm Cherry Trail Intel Atom x7-Z8700 1.6-2.4 GHz quad-core 14nm Cherry Trail |
Intel Atom Z3795 1.59-2.39 GHz quad-core 22nm Bay Trail | ||||
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics (Gen 8 with 12 EUs on x5, 16 EUs on x7) | Intel HD Graphics (Gen 7 with 4 EUs) | ||||
| RAM | 2/4 GB LPDDR3 | 2/4 GB LPDDR3 | ||||
| Storage | 64-128 GB eMMC | 64-128 GB eMMC | ||||
| Display Size and Resolution | 10.1" 1920x1200 | 10.1" 1920x1200 | ||||
| Battery | Rated at 10 hours, 32 Wh | Rated at 10 hours | ||||
| Active Pen | ThinkPad Pen Pro | ThinkPad Pen Pro | ||||
| Price at launch | $549 | $599 | ||||
The ThinkPad 10 will ship with Windows 10 pre-installed, and the launch timeframe for the tablet is August 2015, which fits into the summer time frame that Microsoft has promised for Windows 10. The price at launch is $549 for the base model.
The second item launching today is the Lenovo Cast, which is a Miracast and DLNA module which can be connected to any television with HDMI. Lenovo is promoting the dual frequency Wi-Fi available on the Lenovo Cast as an upgrade over many of the other Miracast devices on the market today. Since it supports both DLNA and Miracast, it should work with almost any device which supports either of those standards. As with most of these devices, it is powered by micro USB to allow it to be powered off of a TV USB port. Lenovo is claiming that the device will support casting from up to 20 meters and through up to two walls, but that is not at 1080p, where it drops to 5 meters on 2.4 GHz or 15 meters on 5 GHz Wi-FI. The included Realtek wireless chip is the RTL 8192DU which is 802.11 a/b/g/n. The Lenovo Cast includes a 1 meter USB to micro USB cable, a 1 meter HDMI cable, and a bracket to mount the Lenovo Cast on the back of a television. At just 70mm x 15 mm (2.76 x 0.59 inches) and a weight of just 50 grams, it should be an easy accessory for travel too. The Lenovo Cast is launching in August for $49 USD with worldwide availability.
The ThinkPad 10 is a bit of a price premium for a tablet, but not excessively so, and hopefully we can get our hands on one to see how it compares to the Surface 3 which is the only other device around with Cherry Trail at the moment. I believe this is the first device that I have seen which has specifically stated it will launch with Windows 10 as well, and assuming Microsoft hits their time frame, Lenovo should not have to hold this device back.
There is a lot of competition in the casting space, but a small DLNA and Miracast device for $49 is, I think, a good price especially considering it comes with dual-band Wi-Fi and all of the necessary cables and even a mounting bracket.
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Spot the CPU: Russian Baikal-T1 SoC Goes MIPS
The SoC at the heart of today’s press release is the Baikal-T1, which uses the dual core MIPS P5600 Warrior CPU at its base, clocked at 1.2 GHz but supporting a fabric that also integrates dual gigabit Ethernet, 10 gigabit Ethernet, SATA 6 Gbps, DDR3 and PCIe 3.0 at once. The 25x25nm package is manufactured on 28nm (TSMC we would assume) for a sub-5W power consumption.
In a world where we discuss smartphone, tablet and notebook SoCs moving to 64-bit, perhaps linking back in to a 32-bit core seems like a regression. Imagination is keen to point out their Enhanced Virtual Addressing for 4GB use and Extended Physical Addressing for 1TB technologies help on this front, as well as enhanced instruction bonding featured in recent generations of Imagination MIPS.
So perhaps a 5W communications processor is not that exciting but it sets a small precedent here. Most of our readers are situated in the west, where x86 and ARM are the key players in anything above 1W. Security concerns regarding backdoor implementations in both designs and algorithms are causing two of the world’s largest superpowers, Russia and China, to pursue other avenues, even if this is via the government or commercial. On the commercial line, nation states will offer contracts to those who can satisfy the criteria, and if the criteria is non-x86 + non-ARM to avoid potential issues, especially when it comes to networking, then commercial will come in to fill the void. To that extent, ELVEES, another Russian SoC semiconductor company, is already using 32-bit and 64-bit MIPS in their designs for video analytics.
Source: Imagination Technologies
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The AMD A10-7700K and AMD A6-7400K CPU Mini-Review
In recent months and quarters I have had discussions about why CPU manufacturers offer a number of processors each separated by $7 and 100 MHz. The obvious answer (but not always the logical answer) is to cater for what the customer wants by overloading them with choice. As a result, sometimes direct CPU comparisons can be difficult, as it requires testing every CPU released. Thankfully for AMD’s Kaveri, todays tests of the A10-7700K and A6-7400K plugs a few holes in our AMD benchmark numbers to allow those comparisons.
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Samsung and Marvel Team Up for Slick Iron Man Avengers GS6 Edge
But in a cruel plot twist no plans for a U.S. launch have been announced for the low volume Limited Edition ... yet
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A Supercomputer on Your Wrist: Inforgraphic Series Shows Moore's Law in Action
Theoretical computing performance has increased a trillion fold over the past 60 years
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Study Shows Prior Owner's Data is Easy to Recover From Used Android Phones
Alarming wealth of data remains in reset 'droid smartphones; for true security physical destruction post-reset is a solid solution
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