The Lenovo K900 was launched at a gala event at the M-Space located in Haidian, and will go on sale this week. The phone is being hocked by Kobe Bryant of the NBA, who is featured in advertisements from Lenovo throughout Southeast Asia and China. Lenovo calls him and his fame “a magnet of attention.” As for the phone, you can check it out in action in our hands on video below.

The Lenovo K900 features a 6.9mm thick unibody chassis, which makes it the most thin phone in its class. To help maintain its thinness, the rear camera is flush with the back panel, and the IPS display lies under Gorilla Glass 2 to help protect it from cracks. Inside, users will find an Intel Atom Z2580 dual-core 2GHz processor with hyper-threading.

Graphics are provided via an Intel GMA PowerVR SGX 544MP2 GPU. The camera is one of the phone’s more distinguishing points – and it certainly has a lot of them – with a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor BSI sensor and an F1.8 focal length lens with an 88-degree viewing angle for the front camera. Lenovo says the handset is capable of taking clear photos in a low-light setting without using the flash, something that is difficult to achieve with smartphone cameras.

Lenovo’s Senior Vice President Lio Jun said: “Smartphones are a critical component of Lenovo’s PC+ strategy and the Lenovo K900 is an example of this strategy in action. With its cutting-edge design and intuitive, optimized user experience, K900 offers China’s smartphone users a fresh, new option. At the same time, Lenovo’s smartphone business is growing fast in global markets. In 2013, we will add several new countries to our smartphone footprint, and by year-end we will cover most of the world’s emerging markets.”

Price starts at RMB 3,299 in China.

SOURCE: Lenovo

The Yoga 11S essentially takes the small form factor of the Yoga 11 (which we reviewed), and blends it with the performance of the Yoga 13, offering faster hardware on the inside that makes it a bit speedier than the regular Yoga 11. And of course, it comes with the same 360-degree hinge action that lets you use the device as a tablet of sorts.

Lenovo’s website has the Yoga 11S packing a 1.4GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive for $800, while Best Buy has a bit of a better deal with a 1.5GHz Core i5 chip on the inside at the same price. You probably won’t notice too much of a difference, but if you’re all about specs, it seems the Best Buy deal is the better grab.

As for the display, the Yoga 11S has the same 11.6-inch HD IPS screen that the regular Yoga 11 has, along with 10-finger touch support. Best Buy will have the Yoga 11S available starting on June 23, while Lenovo’s website lists a ship date of “more than 4 weeks,” which will roughly get us to late June for possibly a tandem release with Best Buy.

We ended up getting our hands on with the Yoga 11S during CES 2013 back in January, and we also reviewed the regular Yoga 11. Indeed, there is a slight performance boost with the Yoga 11S, but the Yoga 11 is working with the nifty Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which packs quite a punch for a convertible laptop like this.

VIA: Windows Experience Blog

SOURCE: Lenovo and Best Buy

When you first encounter the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon, you’ll find yourself mystified at how such a device was ever put into production. It’s certainly not a traditional sort of PC. Such is the atmosphere we’re in here in 2013 with Windows 8, touchscreen hype, and Lenovo’s current freedom of creation.

In our past encounters with this machine you’ll find connections to accessories (that do, indeed, come in the box), up and down usability, and Windows apps galore. Today we’re having a look at BlueStacks specifically – down the line we’ll have a full review of this machine for you in SlashGear’s main review hub. It’s all about Android right this minute.

What we’ve done is to side-load the Google Play app store to download some games that certainly aren’t optimized for this device to show right along some that are. This means you’re going to see games that look nice as well as games that work, but just barely. You’ll quite likely find the native Windows apps – some optimized for this device specifically – much more engaging.

The back of the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon has a support bar stronger than any we’ve seen on a tablet or PC, able to hold the entire device up at a variety of angles. Push the device flat and Lenovo brings up a touch interface made for multiple users – more on this in our full review.

That said, it’s important to show the versatility of this device through BlueStacks, an app interface that just this February arrived for Windows 8 and just this May passed 10 million downloads. You’ll find BlueStacks on Mac with a wireless interface app on Android for your smartphones and tablets as well.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon is here with SlashGear for a full review aside from this BlueStacks peek, so make sure to let us know if you’ve got any questions on its inner workings before we get there! Stay tuned to SlashGear’s Lenovo tag portal for more information on this device as we reach that point!

This machine works with a 180-degree open angle on its display, allowing users to work with the keyboard and/or the touchscreen and Windows 8 in a variety of ways. This notebook works with 3rd generation Intel Core processor options and up to 8GB of memory. Also under the hood users will be able to keep 500GB of files, this allowing for students and entertainment users to store media to their content.

Lenovo appears to be moving toward a cross between small business users and budget thinkers this week with the ThinkPad S431. This release marks the first time that a Lenovo ThinkPad notebook is offered at a price point under a thousand dollars. Starting on the 21st of May, this machine will also be the first ThinkPad to be offered under nine hundred dollars and eight hundred dollars as well, coming in at a cool six hundred and ninty-nine dollars MSRP.

This machine will join its cousins in the ThinkPad line revealed earlier this year at CES and between then and the release of Windows 8. Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional insight on the Lenovo path from here into the future. Things are getting bendy, touchy, and ready for Windows 8, that’s for certain.

According to Bloomberg, the deal would see IBM’s low-end x86 server business be bought out by Lenovo, and it could cost as much as $4.5 billion, with $2.5 billion being on the lower end. IBM’s server business hasn’t been doing so well, so a selloff to Lenovo would mostly likely put IBM’s server business in better hands.

For example, Lenovo used the purchase of IBM’s PC business to become the world’s second-largest PC manufacturer, and now the company is dabbling around in the tablet market, as well as the smartphone market for the first time. Lenovo told its investors today they’re “in preliminary negotiations with a third party in connection with a potential acquisition,” but IBM was not mentioned.

IBM’s latest quarterly earnings weren’t terrible, but they also weren’t good. The company reported a 1% drop in profits over the quarter, which missed predictions by $1.3 billion. Furthermore, IBM’s System x server sales dropped by 9%, while mainframe sales increased 7%. However, IBM’s hardware profits experienced a $405 million loss.

[via Bloomberg]

Is this monster worth the monstrous price it comes attached with? The device itself is one massive display that you can mount on your wall or sit flat on a table – or on a carpeted floor if you’re all about the cross-legged way of going about things. When you’ve got it all set up (when you’ve got it turned on, that is), you’ll be playing a collection of uniquely tuned games made specifically for this interface.

You’ll find Monopoly – the real deal! – Draw Race 2, Raiding Company, Air Hockey, and a whole heck of a lot more! Each of these games are either built-in to the PC or will be available for download in their full form for free. Not that you’ll be worrying about the cost of a piece of software after you’ve dropped the $1,700 USD you’re spending on this device, but it’s nice to know how simple it’ll all be.

Inside you’ve got a 27-inch 1920 x 1080 full HD display optimized for not just 10-finger touch, but a collection of accessories that come with the machine as well. Paddles for air hockey, game pieces for board games, and a unique 6-sided die that the computer can read with ease!

The most basic model you’ll be working with has a 3rd-gen Intel Core i5 processor with NVIDIA GeForce GT620M graphics and 2GB of memory. Along with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, you’ll be blowing up the finest of next-generation touch-friendly games. You’ll be given a stand to set the Horizon up if you wish, and higher-powered versions of the machine are in the pipeline – stay tuned for more!

Hardware

Lenovo has these built out with a 23-inch display at 1920 x 1080, running Windows 8 and powered by an Intel Pentium G2020 processor. The model we tested had the processor clocked at 2.9GHz and with Intel HD Graphics 2500, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Hardware specs aside, the system itself has a decent overall look, albeit with a bezel that is a bit on the shiny side. Basically, that is just to say that you can expect to see dust, fingerprints and other smudges. Certainly not a deal breaker, but something to be aware of.

The setup itself is straight forward and easy. Aside from the 23-inch display, the C540 has a webcam sitting front and center on the top along with the power button towards the bottom on the left side of the system. In total there are six USB 2.0 ports — four on the back and two on the left hand side of the system. Also on the left side (above the power button) you will find the headphone and microphone jacks as well as a memory card reader. Rounding out the ports on the back and you have the power jack, HDMI and Ethernet. The system also has Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity.

Basically, just what you need and all in easy to access locations. The system itself is on the thin side and looking from the front, would appear to be nothing more than a regular monitor. The good part here is that as the C540 is an all-in-one — there is no tower needed. Another item worth noting is a DVD drive which can be found on the right-hand side. Otherwise, Lenovo ships the C540 with a USB keyboard and mouse and has the system sitting on a stand that swivels allowing you to adjust the viewing angle a bit.

Software

The Lenovo C540 is running a 64-bit edition of Windows 8, which means it will bring an experience that will be familiar to many. The basics are all included which means when you first get up and running you will find tiles for goodies such as your mail and calendar as well as people, photos and more. There is also a live tile for the weather as well as tiles for SkyDrive, Games, Camera, Music and Video.

Aside from the basics that you will find on just about an Windows 8 system, Lenovo has also added a few goodies of their own. We will leave the bloatware argument aside and instead simply note how these include some Lenovo specifics such as PowerDVD 10 and the slightly more important items such as the Lenovo System Recovery. Rounding out the software are some third party apps such as an Amazon app as well as a Kindle, Evernote and cloud storage app. The cloud storage app is SugarSync and it gets you started with 5GB for free.

Performance

Speaking in terms of performance, the system was able to handle our day to day needs with ease. Granted, quite a bit of that involved little more than a web browser, text editor and some basic image work. Of course, the key here is who the Lenovo C540 is aimed at — the average home user. In that respect, we have to say the C540 should be able to live up to your needs.

Taking this a step further and the play time experience was just as solid. That is to say we found no issues with some light gaming along with music and video streaming. Shifting over to the technical side, lets get into what the benchmarks look like for the Lenovo C540. These were done using Geekbench and the results are sitting below.

Wrap-Up

Bottom line here, the Lenovo C540 all-in-one seems to be well suited for the intended audience. That is to say the average home user that wants something powerful enough for day to day use. Of course, the good looks and relatively slim design only go to further that thought. The model as configured is priced from $500 and can be found with a variety of online retailers with prices through the $500 range. Also, as one would expect with desktop computers there is always the option to upgrade. In this case, Lenovo has options for faster processors, more RAM and even additional storage. Needless to say, based on what we have tested — we think this ‘as tested’ model will be just fine for the majority of users.

As this most recent IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker report shows, the first quarter of 2013 was not extremely kind to the likes of HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, ASUS, and the rest of the bunch. With a total average drop in PC shipments of 13.9%, it’s not appearing too positive for the near future in next-level PC production. That 13.9% drop is compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, while year-on-year the decline was a rather similar -12.7%.

“At this point, unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market.” – Bob O’Donnell, IDC Program Vice President, Clients and Displays

You’ll find that Lenovo – good ol’ Lenovo – was the only vendor to have stayed flat from the quarter before this one to the one we’ve just completed. Their market share also went up a couple of percentage points while each of the other top-5 groups decreased by at least .2 points of a percentage – that’s Dell hanging in there as well. HP remains on top of the stack with a 15.7% share of the market but was hit hard with a 23.7% drop over the past year.

“While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the UI, removal of the familiar Start button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices. Microsoft will have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if it wants to help reinvigorate the PC market.” – Bob O’Donnell, IDC Program Vice President, Clients and Displays

According to the top 5 vendors chart of United States PC Shipments, Apple reaches in for a piece of the pie – as does Toshiba. Here we’ve still got HP up on top, Dell not far behind, and Apple butting heads with Toshiba and Lenovo. Here you’ll find Lenovo once again the only brand of the top five to not have lost market share over the past year with a 13% gain from Q1 of 2012 to Q1 of 2013.

Of course when you average the collection of the top 5 vendors of PCs in the United States, you still get a cool 11% drop this quarter compared to 2012′s Q1. Apple on its own also lost 7.5 points year-on-year in this market, still running strong with an estimated 1,418 units shipped in Q1 2013.

Have a peek at the timeline below for other recent IDC reports to see how the mobile and desktop PC universes are making their time here as we roll into the spring of 2013.

[via IDC]

Hardware

This machine’s screen is an 11.6-inch TFT LCD with 1136 x 768 pixel resolution working with LED Backlit technology and 350 nits of brightness. This display has a 170 degree viewing angle both vertical and horizontal, and its certainly good enough to work long hours worth during the day. If you’re thinking about working with this device in the dark, you might want to take a test-drive in the store first.

With blacks this dark and a keyboard that’s not backlit, you’ll want a bright lamp over your shoulder at least. If you want to bring this device to the coffee shop, you’re looking at a winner. This machine is 11.7 x 8 x 0.61 inches small, and save the MacBook Air itself, we’ve never experienced a more portable system. With just 2.73 lbs to its name, this machine is ready to be tossed in your backpack or large purse without effort.

Because this machine is made by Lenovo, it’s extremely rugged. While when we’re working with essentially any other notebook this size, there’s always a thought of “ah, gotta make sure I’m not dropping it.” With the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11, we’ve got a machine that we’re as close to “lemme toss this to you across the room” as we’ve ever gotten with a computer. With soft-touch plastic around magnesium aluminum alloy both on the top and on the bottom – in a lovely set of colors, might I add – you’ve got what feels like a top-notch complete package.

Inside you’ve got a few more specifications you might want to hear about if you’re planning on using this device for anything other than word processing, internet browsing, and some basic gameplay. Have a peek:

• 2 GB std / 2GB max / PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3L*, soldered to system board, no sockets *System automatically clocks down to 1500MHz for NVIDIA Tegra3 T30 processor
• Audio: High Definition (HD) Audio, Realtek® ALC5642 codec / stereo speakers (0.5 watt x 2), microphone, microphone input and headphone combo jack (3.5 mm)
• 64 GB / eMMC (embedded Multi Media Card) flash memory onboard
• 2 x USB 2.0, HDMI, SD card reader, 3.5mm Mic/Headphone Combo
• Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, Digital Compass
• OGS Panel – Single piece of glass as both cover lens and sensor substrate

The hardware is solid and really, really high quality. You’ll be considering the software it’s paired with next – and more than likely last, too. Make sure you know what you’re working with here and follow the Windows RT news before you jump in, feet first.

Software

It’s not easy reconciling the fact that this beautiful machine is working with Windows RT. Having a touchscreen up front that’s able to be used in several different modes is awesome, but when you’re crippled by an operating system that looks and feels like Windows 8 but isn’t – that’s confusing.

Using Windows RT is almost like eating an off-brand cereal without seeing the box: it certainly looks like the real deal, but once you taste it, you get wise. You’ll be unable to run Google Chrome, Valve’s Steam for games, or Geekbench for benchmarking your system. With Windows RT, you’re getting what’s closer to what seems to be intended as a tablet system rather than a full-fledged notebook setup.

That said, you do get the option of ordering this system with the full Microsoft Office suite running right out of the box. Microsoft has been pretty good about making sure their own basic set of apps works on Windows RT, and you do have access to the NVIDIA TegraZone Windows RT Edition as well – however limited that may still be. If Judge Dredd VS Zombies and Hydro Thunder are enough to wet your whistle, then by all means go for it – NVIDIA is also growing this collection too as the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor (found inside this device) stays strong through 2013.

Up against the Competition

Your big question might be at this point what the benefit is in having this device over any other – especially one so inexpensive as, say, a Chromebook. When it comes down to it, this device has that same acceptance curve as a Chromebook has – you just can’t run everything you run on your full-powered PC. We’d even thought about trying to work with this device as a sort of top-tier Chromebook too to test how it’d be, but again, Chrome doesn’t work on Windows RT.

If you’re comparing this device to a full Windows 8 Lenovo notebook, you’ll be in for a trick – working with Windows 8 on the IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a good enough to feel a bit left out with the Yoga 11′s relative lack of oomph – and it’s certainly not a device you’re going to want to compare to a MacBook Air unless you only need it for word processing and browsing the web (on Internet Explorer). The price for this machine does remain enticing: anywhere from $599 to $849 USD and you’ve got a real draw. Compare it to the relative greatness of the Yoga 13, on the other hand, and you might as well drop the extra few bucks to work with full Windows 8 and the larger display.

Wrap-up

You’ll have to think this one through – unlike the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, you’ve not got a full-powered PC on your hands here. This device is made to be a traveler, and certainly not your one single machine if you’ve got a computer-based job. Should you want to use your PC for nothing but social networking and play, this is a good choice – it’s relatively inexpensive and it’s good for travel.

Lenovo has created a bit of a bitter winner here. While many devices in this category are pretty awesome from top to bottom save their end product, the IdeaPad Yoga 11 is rough and tough and is something I’d put in my backpack for a trip. If I were going on a business trip with my SlashGear compatriots, I’d have to leave it at home.

What you’re seeing above and below are several examples of the software and hardware you’ll be using when you team up with LenovoEMC. The hardware you’ll be picking up will be using the fabulous Milestone Arcus software you’re getting a glimpse of here. You’ll be able to roll out with a one-year software update plan for prices starting at $1,100 USD.

With your brand new network-connected video surveillance system you’ll be working with both automated configuration and setup. You’ll also have motion detection in each of the cameras that you’re picking up as well as mobile live viewing, alerts and playback, and evidence exporting. You can go as mobile as you like!

Several setups are being prepared for you right this minute:

• Double-drive px2-300d with 4TB of storage and four camera licenses (starting at $1,100)
• Four-drive px4-300d with 4TB and eight camera licenses.
• Four-drive px4-300d with 8TB and 16 camera license.

Have a peek at another update from LenovoEMC for more network storage from Iomega – they’re working hand-in-hand to keep you up-to-date no matter what you’re storing!

The Lenovo ThinkVision LT3053p comes equipped with an AH-IPS Panel with a 2560 x 1600 resolution and an aspect ratio of 16:10. The contrast ratio is 1,000:1 static and 3,000,000:1 dynamic. It offers life-like colors with its 1.07 billion color depth. It has viewing angles of 178 degrees from any direction of the screen. The brightness of the ThinkVision LT3053p can go as high as 300 cd/m2, of course you can adjust it to the brightness you need.

The ThinkVision has an HDMI 1.4, VGA, DVI-D, and a DisplayPort connector to offer you a variety of options to connect the display. It has a 5-slot USB-hub, 2 slots being USB 2.0 and 3 slots being USB 3.0, integrated into it allowing you to connect more peripherals if need be. The display also has a protective hood designed to block sunlight. It has picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture capabilities so you can work without needing a second monitor.

The Lenovo ThinkVision LT3053p is an impressive monitor that should be a great addition to any creative professional’s arsenal, however, its price-tag may be deterring to many. The ThinkVision LT3053p isn’t the only interesting product Lenovo has planned for this year. It is also planning on releasing a 13.3-inch mobile monitor, the Lenovo ThinkVision LT1423p, this year to act as a portable second monitor. Check out our hands-on with the ThinkVision LT1423p here!

With LenovoEMC LifeLine 4.0, you’ll be working with several improved feature categories: Snapshots, SSD Caching (Cache Pools), IVX (Integrated Virtualization Technology), NFS v4, Active Directory Hybrid Authentication, Active Directory High Availability, iSCSI Security, the ability to work with 4TB HDDs, Twonky Media Server version 7, and Increased emphasis on network security features designed to protect data. At 4TB, this system offers the highest capacity server class HDDs available today (this is with px series products only at the moment).

With Twonky Media Server version 7 you’ve got DLNA / UPnP compliant media server action running with Twonky Media Beam from mobile devices – connect anywhere! With iSCSI security you’ll have secure connections with Mutual CHAP authentication.

With IVX you’ll be able to run multiple virtualized machines on your Iomega px12-300r and px12-450r rackmount arrays – good times! This ability is being suggested by LenovoEMC as being great for lightweight Windows Services or dedicated Linux Web Servers, while you’re able to have your own private virtualized hardware all around – network cards, drives, and graphics adapters alike.

Snapshots are one of the most fabulous added features in the whole upgrade. With Snapshots your able to work with a point in time of a backup of any storage volume. You can take the snapshot at any time, even when the storage device is actively writing, and you’ll be able to restore to this source volume and revert this source volume to its former state, too! Welcome to the Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) provider way to fly!

If you’d like to download this update for yourself, you’ll need to go to either http://support.lenovoemc.com or www.iomega.com/support and make it so! You’ll have to have an Iomega ix or px series network storage device to do so, while future devices with this system onboard will be coming closer to May all around the world!

According to Reuters, several sources familiar with the Lenovo/NEC discussion said that NEC is looking to sell off its mobile phone unit, and they’ve been in several talks with Lenovo to make that happen. However, it’s also said that NEC is talking with other Japanese companies to sell their mobile phone business to.

This comes after multiple reports have surfaced claiming that Lenovo is considering acquiring BlackBarry. Lenovo’s CFO Yang Yuanqing even said himself that a BlackBerry acquisition “could possibly make sense.” However, those rumors have somewhat died down lately, and we haven’t heard much about it since.

If the name “NEC” sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because you bought one of their optical drives from Newegg or Tiger Direct for your custom-built PC, but the company also makes mobile phones. However, they haven’t been making many strides in the mobile phone market, which is probably why they’re looking to sell it off to a company who could utilize it better.

[via Reuters]

This machine is not the kind of beast you’re going to be gaming on. Nor is it the computer you’re going to want to give to your niece so she can impress her friends. Instead this is the computer you’ll get for your school library or one you’ll have at the workplace for word processing and office display action.

The ThinkCentre Edge 62z’s display is able to be mounted to the wall or sat on a desk – with included attached stand, of course. You’ll find this machine packed with 3rd Gen Intel Core i3 processors for the low end of high power – this is the most recent generation of Intel processors, but there are also Core i5 and Core i7 models that ramp up by a considerable amount with each step. You’ll also find six USB 2.0 ports for plugging in so many keyboards, mice, and external hard-drives that you won’t know what to do with them all.

Each of these units is ENERGY STAR 5 compliant and works with the EuP 2013 energy efficiency requirement “by consuming less than 0.5 Watts of electricity when turned off.” How about that? This machine will be available starting in May 2013 wherever fine Lenovo products are sold.

As you can see from the Chinese advertisement above, the Lenovo S920 looks nearly identical to the HTC One X from the back, so much so that the logo is the biggest distinguishing factor. The uniqueness comes into play when you look at the front of the handset, however, which doesn’t look like the One X. This ultra-sized phablet smartphone runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

As far as specs go, inside the Lenovo S920 users will find a quad-core 1.2GHz MediaTek processor and 1GB of RAM, as well as 16GB of internal storage space. There’s a microSD card for storage expansion, as well as a 2-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera. The screen is its most alluring feature, however, at an atypical 5.3-inches with a 720p HD resolution.

Powering a screen of the size will take a decent amount of juice, which is supplied by the S920′s 2250mAh battery, a disappointing capacity that will likely leave users recharging more often than they like. As for the body of the smartphone, it has smooth rounded edges and measures in at just under 8mm thick. The handset is now up for pre-order in China with an April 8th release date. Price: $350 USD.

[via Android Community]

In the UK, meanwhile, the T431s will start at £1,119; it’s unclear why there’s such a significant price disparity between US and UK pricing, but one possibility is that Lenovo won’t offer the more entry-level spec variants in every country. Either way, the core specs are the same: up to 12GB of memory, a choice of HDD or SSD storage, and a 1600 x 900 display with useful anti-glare finish.

Connectivity includes two USB 3.0 ports and a docking port, for dropping the ThinkPad into one of Lenovo’s desktop hubs. There’s also a 720p HD webcam, optional integrated WWAN with mobile hotspot feature, and Bluetooth 4.0, together with up to 9hrs of battery life.

However, it’s in the general design that the notebook has seen the most departure from ThinkPads of before. Lenovo says the refreshed aesthetic – which features a “streamlined” keyboard, thinner display bezel, and larger, smoother trackpad – are the result of thousands of hours of customer research spread over nine months.

Inside the ThinkPad T431s you’ll find a third-generation Intel Core i7 processor (with options for other i-family architecture if you wish, i5 if you’re feeling like you’d like less than the top amount of power to back you up). You’ll be working with Windows 7 right out of the box (with option for Windows 8 if you wish), and you’ll have Intel HD Graphics as well as Dolby Home Theater v4 for boosted graphics performance and improved video and audio performance top to bottom.

With this machine you’ll have the option of booting up 40% faster with Lenovo RapidBoot 2.0, you’ll have USB 3.0 ports galore for your 10x faster than USB 2.0, and you’ve got your very own built-in Fingerprint Reader that can be used to turn on the machine and log in with just one swipe. Inside you’ll have self-encrypting drives for protecting data in case of theft or loss. This protection comes as part of the Hardware Password Manager suite in the machine for full-fledged “security at your finger tips.”

This machine has Lenovo Mobile Access with WWAN support, always-on USB port for powering up your mobile devices without needing to power up the laptop itself, and Mobile Hotspot for sharing your wifi, WWAN, or ethernet wirelessly. Up front you’ve also got a 720 HD camera with Face tracking, Polycom Ready for voice clarity and video communication, and a full build meeting Mil-SPEC 8 standards for ruggedness, durability, and high quality hardware.

This machine will be out soon and we’ll have pricing information real soon – stick around for the full push!

According to Bloomberg, Yuanqing told French newspaper Les Echos that buying BlackBerry would be possible, but Lenovo would first “need to analyze the market and understand what exactly the importance of this company is.” These remarks are of similar timbre to Wong’s comments back in January, although Lenovo downplayed the significance of Wong’s comments.

Thanks to Yuanqing’s comments, though, BlackBerry shares rose 9.7% to $14.32 today, which was the company’s biggest midday gain since early last month. Shares closed at $14.87 for the day. When BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins was asked about the acquisition rumors, he slyly denied the claims and wasn’t sure why Lenovo would make such comments.

Of course, all acquisitions have to be approved by regulators first, especially any foreign acquisition. An acquisition of Canadian-based BlackBerry would have to be automatically reviewed by the Canadian government, since the company value is over $335 million. The approval process would be to determine whether the transactions are of “net benefit” to the country.

[via Bloomberg]

Yonhap News states that Samsung currently has a 17.7% market share in China, a 5.3% boost from 2011. This also supports China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s belief that Android is too dominant in its country. Samsung has beaten out China’s mobile manufacturers Lenovo, and Huawei for the top spot. Lenovo came in 2nd place with a market share of 13.2%, Apple came in 3rd with 11%, and Huawei came in 4th with 9.9%. Nokia, who held the top position in China’s smartphone market in 2011 fell all the way down to 3.7% from the 29.9% it used to be at.

It’s very interesting to see Huawei in 4th place, especially since the company has high hopes of one day taking the top spot in the global smartphone market place someday. The company believes that it can take on the likes of Samsung and Apple by releasing a variety of mid-tier smartphones that vary from region to region, and also by releasing a universal flagship smartphone each year. It is dedicating a lot of resources to its mobile sector, and believes that since its experienced in both the hardware side and network side of mobile technology, it has the upper hand against the two current mobile juggernauts.

Samsung’s dominance in the Chinese smartphone market is very impressive, seeing how it has yet to release it’s next flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S IV. The company is set to announce the device on Thursday, March 14th, and there’s no doubt that it will be a major success like its predecessors. It’ll be very interesting to see how much Samsung’s smartphone sales and market share increase by next year.

[via Android Community]

The device above is also being tipped as coming with a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor, a lovely 5.3-inch touchscreen up front, and an impressive looking camera on its back with a single LED flash. You’ll also notice the resemblance to the HTC One X on the back with the raised lens and the flash partially interrupting the ring. It’s almost as if Lenovo took an HTC One X and slapped their name on it.

Next you’ll see a device that, if you didn’t know better, you might mistake for the HTC One S or one of the HTC Windows Phone 8 devices revealed over the past few months, complete with the brightly-colored back panel. This is what’s being tipped as the Lenvovo S820 and, according to Unwired View, will be “primarily aimed at women.” This device will also be coming with the quad-core MediaTek MT6589 SoC.

Have a peek at the timeline below and see if you can follow Lenovo’s thought process through to this point in the smartphones they’ve had leaked above. They’ll likely be coming to China first, with a possible (though not guaranteed) launch in the USA afterward. In a much more likely situation that we’ve seen happen before, we’ll be seeing more Lenovo devices here in the USA a little less than one year from now – shown at CES 2014 with another China-only market release.

[via MyDrivers]

The A1000 uses a 1024 x 600 TN panel, which is fair but not great; viewing angles suffer because of the cheaper LCD technology. Inside, there’s a 1.2GHz dualcore processor and 16GB of storage, expandable by up to 32GB microSD cards. OS is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and Lenovo is positioning the A1000 as a “Pocket Studio” thanks to the Dolby branding. In the hand, it’s reminiscent of the Nexus 7, and similarly plasticky, though Lenovo tells us that it will almost undoubtedly be cheaper than the Google/ASUS slate. Helping keep costs down is the absence of a rear camera, with the A1000 only getting a front-facing webcam.

Far more successful, though, is the A3000, running a 1.2GHz quadcore MTK processor. It too has a 1024 x 600 display, but it uses an IPS panel and the viewing angles, color quality, and brightness are far improved over its cheaper sibling. 11mm thick and under 340g, it’s easy to hold and slip into a jacket pocket; Lenovo has also stepped up its memory card support, with the A3000 capable of handling 64GB chips. There’s a proper camera on the back for photography, too.

Unlike the A1000, the A3000 will be offered in both WiFi-only and WiFi/3G variants, using an HSPA+ chip for connectivity on the go. OS, as per the A1000, is Jelly Bean, though it’ll still be Android 4.1 – not 4.2 – at launch, Lenovo confirmed.

As for the Lenovo S6000, that packs a 10.1-inch display running at 1280 x 800 resolution. It’s not the very best panel we’ve seen, though it’s IPS and has 178-degree viewing angles; the Nexus 10, for instance, puts the resolution to shame, though the Lenovo is a solid mainstream slate (and will be priced to suit). Inside, there’s an MTK 8389/8125 1.2GHz quadcore processor and optional HSPA+.

However, it’s the slimline form-factor that really tips things in the S6000′s favor. Lenovo has taken a leaf from Samsung’s early Android tablets and targeted a waifish profile: the S6000 is just 8.6mm thick, as well as tipping the scales at 560g. That makes for a 10-inch tablet that can be comfortably held in one hand, even in landscape orientation, something which would soon lead to tired wrists with most similarly-sized slates. Lenovo claims battery life hasn’t suffered, however, with the S6000 rated for more than 8hrs of browsing on a single charge, albeit over WiFi not 3G.

Pricing for all three of the slates hasn’t been confirmed, though Lenovo says they’ll all hit the market in a Q2 worldwide launch.

Lenovo wants to dive into the mobile market, and is gearing up to invest $800 million into a new facility whose prime focus will be producing mobile products. The company feels that having someone as influential as Jerry Yang on board will help give Lenovo’s reputation the boost it needs. Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo’s Chief Executive said, “Jerry’s perspective, experience, and proven entrepreneurial spirit will help us continue to drive growth and expand our business.”

Jerry Yang left Yahoo last year in January. He was under pressure from his many positions, including being the co-founder, direct, former chief executive, and a large shareholder of the company. Many of Yahoo’s investors were pressuring Yang to improve the company’s performance. Before Yang left, he hired Scott Thompson, former president of PayPal, to be the new CEO of Yahoo. Yang left by saying, “the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo.”

Lenovo wants to be a major competitor in the global technology world. While it has much influence in China, it wants more influence internationally. With the help of Jerry Yang, it hopes to drive innovation in all sectors of its business. Lenovo also has plans of bringing in more directors from Western technology companies, because currently 7 out of its 11 board members are foreign.

These groups include the FIDO Alliance and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). The FIDO Alliance has been formed with Lenovo and PayPal as well as Nok Nok Labs, Agnito and Validity. DARPA on the other hand is the research and development arm of the Defense Department. Regardless of where these two groups are coming from or who they are made up of, they are looking to do something different with the standard password method of security.

DARPA is working on the Active Authentication program which is currently described as being in its second phase. In this phase they are said to be looking for research that “sets out to establish behavioral biometrics based on discernible cognitive processes and the observable ways that users naturally interact with their environment while using their computing devices.” More to the point here, research that will allow them to develop a solution that uses multiple points including physical aspects such as fingerprints, how you interact with technology such as a keystroke pattern or mouse movement and even data to include how you use language and how you construct sentences.

Looking at the FIDO Alliance and we see where things may come into play for the more average user. Things appear to still be shaping up here though. In fact, it was said that as the FIDO Alliance attracts new member-organizations they will include new solutions. Some of the ideas mentioned at this point include USB tokens, one time passwords and the use of Near Field Communications (NFC). With that, while it seems like we still have some time before we can stop worrying about regular passwords, it is nice to see these issues being discussed and worked on.

[via The Verge]

Hardware and Design

At first glance you could easily mistake the new Tablet 2 for just another Windows tablet, but its whats at the core that separates this from the others. Running on Intel silicon it is powered by a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 processor, 2GB of RAM, and has 64GB of storage under the hood all enjoying the full Windows 8 Pro experience. No arm-based processor here, yet not the full Core i5 of the Surface Pro.

Everything about this slate that doubles as a PC is perfectly in line with the traditional Lenovo design. Right down to the ThinkPad soft touch matte black rubber, red accents (on the stylus and optional keyboard) and a simplistic yet elegant design. The usual “ThinkPad” logo with a glowing red i is present, and the optional Bluetooth keyboard has the all too familiar red Lenovo trackpoint. More on the keyboard below. While this helps with Windows 8, you’ll be swiping and using the touch sensitive display most of the time, then if you opt for the stylus supported Tablet 2 that option is also available.

Now lets talk look and feel. Of course this looks like a Lenovo and it even feels like one. Add in the fact that they managed to squeeze an Intel Atom inside, an 8 megapixel camera, 64GB of storage, stylus, 3G/4G connectivity and more yet deliver something lighter than the original — we were happy to say the least. Weighing just 1.3 lbs this is lighter than the original, and certainly lighter than the Surface Pro coming in at just under 2 lbs. Daily use as far as a “tablet” goes was extremely comfortable here. The soft touch design, rounded edges and more all made for a ergonomic design that was complimented by the light weight yet durable build quality. There’s still a little flex in the rear using softer materials, but nothing worth docking points for.

We have the 30 pin port down on bottom accompanied by a mini HDMI-out option for streaming and screen sharing. The right side employes the screen rotate lock, volume up/down, and the 3.5mm headphone jack. Wrap around to the top left and you have the power/wake button follow by a door accessing the micro-SD slot for extra storage (which will be needed) and the optional 3G/4G SIM slot for those paying extra for connectivity. Then there’s the stylus, and the left bezel happily has a full-sized USB 2.0 port as well as micro-USB. The back has two small stereo speakers that get relatively loud, but are in odd places and not uniform, then you’ll enjoy an 8 megapixel camera with flash, but results were average at best. More on that below. Check out the video below for an idea of the hardware we’ll be working with.

In the end the hardware is a toss up in terms of comfort, design, and quality. The lightweight plastic makes it easy to hold, comfortable, and lightweight compared to the Surface Pro, yet obviously doesn’t feel as durable. In the end any previous Lenovo or ThinkPad owner will find it a joy to use.

Specs and Options

The ThinkPad Tablet 2 comes to market with an entry level price of $579, then from there the options are fully customizable. Ranging from 32 and 64GB of storage, stylus support, 3G/4G LTE connectivity and more. Then their mediocre bluetooth keyboard will run you $120 which was great, but is only a keyboard and offers no extension to battery life. You’ll enjoy a 10-inch 1366 x 768 HD resolution display, the next gen Intel Atom 1.8 GHz processor but it only comes with 2GB of RAM as a top option. Full size chart is 10.1” x 6.9” x 0.34” and it weighs in at just 1.25 lbs.

One thing you might want to consider is if you opt for the Stylus and digitizer model with 3G/4G support it will increase to 1.3 lbs, and you’ll also lose NFC which is available on the WiFi model. A fair trade off for business professionals needing the best of both worlds. This option runs you $679 instead, but is well worth it. The rest includes an 8 megapixel rear camera with flash, 1080p video support, 2 megapixel front camera for video conferences, full-size USB 2.0, micro-USB, and HDMI out as mentioned above. You’ll enjoy 10 hours of battery life according to Lenovo.

Display, Keyboard and Stylus

The Tablet 2 rocks some impressive specs, but we’d love a higher resolution display. Offering 10-inches with a 768p resolution it’s still HD, but we’d enjoy seeing 1080p these days. Lenovo’s equipped it with a beautiful IPS panel with wide viewing angles, inky blacks, and vivid colors that really enhances the beautiful tiles in Windows 8. The screen glare was minimal, but there’s no anti-glare option available either.

Now with a 5-point multitouch display you’ll be gesturing and enjoying Windows with ease, but they also offer the stylus for those opting to pay $50 more. While the experience didn’t seem as fluid or polished as the Surface Pro, it was enjoyable. The stylus is pressure sensitive but was a little hit and miss for us. It offers a unique experience some other Windows 8 tablets can’t provide, has shortcuts for screen capture and snippets, but is it worth it? In the end the feature is here, and great for those who need it, but personally we’d go without.

The optional keyboard dock from Lenovo is actually pretty nice, although it doesn’t enhance battery life in any ways. Being built of cheap plastic you’ll lack that premium feel, but it’s the usability that makes it worth the $120 price. This makes it a real ThinkPad — in a sense. Using Bluetooth you’ll be paired in seconds, enjoying the trackpoint for a full Windows Mouse-like experience, and the chicklet style layout is actually extremely comfortable. Cramming all those keys and 6 rows on a 10-inch slate size space we were worried, but this is one of the better ones we’ve tried as of late.

Their layout and ease of use replicates many of their previous laptops, even though they are obviously saving space. I managed to miss the backspace button often due to the smaller than usual size, but all the top keys for shortcuts sure are nice. Overall the keyboard has a familiar and comfortable feel, and should handle daily abuse with ease. Our only complaint would be the lack of angles, as well as it simply resting in place. Be careful while moving from the couch to your desk as it could fall out with ease. We’d love a magnetic latch, or even a Transformer-like option to extend battery life. For now this is just an expensive Bluetooth keyboard that gives it that Lenovo look and feel we know many love.

Windows 8 and Performance

Running the full version of Windows 8 Pro here you’ll be able to enjoy all those Windows 8 app store apps, as well as the full array of programs we’re used to. That aside, the Tablet 2 is essentially just another Windows PC — which there’s nothing wrong with — so feel free to check out our in-depth Windows 8 Review. The tile-based UI is a breeze with the touchscreen, and using the stylus was quite pleasant as well.

Running on the Intel Atom things certainly were speedy, but not quite Surface Pro speed since it rocks the Core i5. Prime example: installing Google Chrome (which we did immediately) took about 4-5 minutes on this machine. Flipping through pages of apps from the store, flowing over tiles and more was all extremely smooth and buttery. The multi-tasking worked like a charm and in general there was no noticeable slowdown. We did have a hiccup or two while using the front facing camera, but that was a one time event. Coming with 64GB of flash storage things were quick, but then you’ll only get around 33 GB or so left out of the box due to some bloatware.

Lenovo didn’t go Acer crazy, but we still have all those Lenovo companion apps and bundles. Lenovo apps, Norton Anti-virus trial (please opt for something else) Kindle, Skitch, Evernote, as well as Accuweather and Skype for video conferences. Overall they weren’t too bad on bloatware, so we give them a thumbs up for that.

We gave it a thorough rundown over the past few weeks, enjoyed some casual games from the Xbox list, did a Skype video call or two, and the usual daily activities all without a hitch. While we didn’t get into anything extremely processor intensive any hard video or photo editing might prove to be a big task for the Atom under the hood. However, for the average user this should suffice. Being a hybrid many other devices run on the same Intel Atom Z2760 CPU, so the performance should already be known for most. Here’s a quick Geekbench test.

Overall using Windows 8 Pro on a full fledged device was a nice change of pace compared to some of the others. While regular PC programs struggled on occasion to grasp the touchscreen and stylus uses, it’s something you’ll need to get use to that’s for sure. While we’d love a Core i5 here, in the end the Lenovo Tablet 2 handles the majority of Windows 8 with ease, and was quite pleasant for day to day tasks.

Camera and Sound

Lenovo equipped this slate with a mediocre 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, it’s capable of 1080p video as you’d expect but was stuttered and blurry at times. Essentially it was on-par with other tablets with a camera of this caliber, and their 2 megapixel front shooter worked great for Skype calls. Again we have an odd glitch or two of freezing in Skype the first few tries, but that eventually went away. As far as regular camera shots the low light performance was terrible and grainy, and the shutter speed was a bit too fast. Usually we like a fast shutter, but it was hard getting clear images without some noticeable grain.

The device is a tablet, so sound will only be as good as the little speakers, but here the stereo speaker output was quite decent. Obviously not as loud as we’d like, but on par with most tablets. We’d love to see front facing speakers like the Galaxy Tab 10 from Samsung, but no other tablets have been taking that route quite yet. It got loud enough for a YouTube video or a small conference room, but with any talking or things going on the audio will be overwhelmed in most circumstances.

Battery Life

Lenovo quotes this Atom-powered Windows 8 PC tablet as having roughly 10 hours of battery life, and they were dead on. Most manufacturers are a little generous on their suggestions, but we averaged over 9 hours on a seriously heavy day of almost continues use and looping video. However, using the Tablet 2 occasionally throughout the weekend I’ve not put it on the charger once in 3 days and I’m still sitting with about 36% remaining.

For those that may be doing some light photo editing or even downloading a few torrents (Linux distros of course) while streaming video or the full experience to a larger screen and playing Netflix the results may differ. It’s safe to say this had some of the best battery life of all the Windows 8 tablets we’ve tested as of late.

Wrap-Up

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 starts at $579 with the Atom processor, 32GB of storage, and no stylus but is probably sold out in most places like Lenovo’s online store. Then the 64GB model bumps up to $679 but you also get that stylus, and lastly you’ll be entering the $900 range for 3G/4G connectivity — something we feel should be much cheaper to integrate.

With the 128GB iPad available, a 64 and 128GB Microsoft Surface Pro, and many other Windows 8 tablets on the scene the choice might not be clear. Previously we haven’t been too happy with many of the Atom-powered Windows 8 machines, but this time Lenovo delivers an all around solid and usable product. The Samsung ATIV Smart PC comes with AT&T connectivity out of the gate and similar specs, so you could venture that route for $750. We still would rather go with the 64GB Tablet 2 for the stylus support and elegant yet simple design. In the end the Lenovo Tablet 2 is obviously geared at business professionals with the stylus and 3G connectivity, but we’d go as far as to suggest this to anyone looking for a Windows 8 slate.

For those comfortable with Windows 8 who needs the full PC experience without compromise, yet still in a sleek and lightweight portable option the Tablet 2 should be near the top of the list. Add the usual ThinkPad elegance and this is aimed to please. If you were looking for a good alternative to the Surface Pro, this certainly is it. Get it today and enjoy the rest of the photos below.

The Helix was shown off at CES 2013 last month, where we got a hands-on look at the device, which you can check out here. The convertible laptop is a mix between tablet and laptop, with it easily switching from one to the other and back again. Not surprisingly, it runs Windows 8, and has an attractive, distinctly Lenovo design.

Inside the Helix, users will find an Intel 3rd generation Core i7 CPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 256GB SSD. The IPS display is 11.6-inches offering full HD resolution at 1920 x 1080 with pen input support. One of the hybrid’s best features is its battery, which is reported to last up to 10 hours, depending on the user’s activities.

The Helix features a digitizer pen, which can be used like any other stylus on a tablet – to swipe, write, and everything in between. Depending on which model you’re looking at, it will feature either 3G connectivity, or 4G and NFC, with 4G LTE being available for North America only. We’ll be keeping an eye out for those coming details, so stay tuned.

[via Facebook]

Lenovo ended the quarter – as of December 31 2012 – with 15.9-percent of the PC market share worldwide, and was the fastest growing “major PC company.” Profit was up 15-percent year-on-year, to $1.1bn, while the contribution from smartphones, tablets, and smart TV rose 77-percent year-on-year.

However, it’s not all good news. Lenovo’s desktop PC business showed signs of the malaise across the industry, sales only climbing 1-percent, though shipments were up 5.8-percent worldwide. Lenovo is keen to point out that the PC industry as a whole saw a 6.8-percent decrease in shipments overall.

Lenovo now claims 12.3-percent of the Chinese smartphone market, while its smartphone, tablet, and smart TV group made $998m – 11-percent of the total quarterly sales. But it’s notebooks which are the real winners, with 15.8-percent market share and contributing over half of Lenovo’s total sales revenue. Sales in fact rose 8-percent year-on-year, to $4.8bn.

So, it turns out that Lenovo may not actually be seeking a RIM acquisition, but Lenovo didn’t provide a straight “no” either, simply just saying that the company does “not comment on M&A rumors or speculation,” and that they’re “very focused on growing its business, both organically and through M&A.”

Furthermore, RIM has also issued a statement about the miscommunication, and they too, didn’t give a strict “no” concerning the acquisition rumors, saying that they “continue to examine all available options,” but the company currently doesn’t “have anything new to report on our Strategic Review at this time.”

Essentially, this doesn’t add any more to the rumors, but it also doesn’t take anything away. Sure, both companies were quick to downplay the quotes made by CFO Ming, but neither company flat out said “no” to the rumors. Both Lenovo and RIM say that they’re always evaluating different opportunities for growth and making decisions that best benefit the two companies.

[via The Next Web]

One of the companies that Lenovo is eyeing is RIM, which reviewed its strategic options last year after they started losing more and more market share to Apple and Android. Ever since, the company has been the target for acquisition rumors. Currently, though, Lenovo is considering all options, and have looked into RIM, as well as others, according to Lenovo’s Chief Financial Officer Wong Wai Ming.

Ming says that Lenovo has dedicated team working on possible acquisitions, and that they have spoken to RIM about possible partnerships or other strategic ventures. However, Ming left it at that, and declined to say much more, and RIM also declined to comment on the possible acquisition by Lenovo.

RIM is just about to launch its all new platform, BlackBerry 10, and while some critics have already thrown in the towel for RIM, hopefuls are waiting patiently to see if the new operating system and new smartphones from the Canadian-based company will move mountains. Come January 30, we’ll officially see what RIM is up to.

[via Bloomberg]

Specifics as to what’s under the hood are unavailable, but Lenovo confirms that the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook uses an Intel processor, rather than the ARM chip Samsung used in its Series 3 Chromebook. The laptop will have a 1366 x 768 antiglare display, as well as a webcam and three USB ports.

The 3.92-pound notebook won’t, seemingly, be targeted at individual users, however, but rather at schools themselves. Lenovo will offer multiple customizations of the Chromebook – exact details are unknown at this stage – from February 26.

Lenovo’s entrance of the Chromebook market follows Google’s own moves to push Chrome OS in education settings. The search giant announced a $99 Chromebook for Schools project late last year, and it appears that the two companies may well work together to offer the X131e Chromebook as part of that scheme.

“Lenovo has a great reputation in schools for making durable and reliable laptops,” Caesar Sengupta, director of Chrome OS product management, said of the new model, “so we’re excited to partner with them to introduce the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook.”

The new Lenovo Chromebook will be priced from $429 with volume pricing.

[via ZDNet]

Of course, the news and rumors never stop, and with one show behind us, it’s time to begin looking toward the next one, with new whispers claiming that Huawei will unveil a new 8-core processor and a new P-Series phone at MWC 2013. The HTC M7 and Sense 5 UI suffered another leak today, and we heard that Facebook is testing a new $100 charge to message strangers. The CST-01 watch hit its Kickstarter funding goal in just 48 hours, with HP and Lenovo facing a tough battle in the PC sales space in Q4 2012.

The Lenovo IdeaTab A2107 has landed at AT&T for $199, and iOS hacker Pod2g has launched PodDJ for iPad. Nokia has confirmed that HTTPS traffic is temporarily decrypted on its servers, and a new Windows RT jailbreak is getting some potential Surface homebrewers excited. There’s also new hack that could turn Cisco desk phones into a way to secretly listen in on conversations you probably shouldn’t be hearing, which is very unsettling news indeed.

The Nexus 4 is getting updates to Jelly Bean 4.2.2 in some countries, and Mojang said today that Minecraft sold more than 15 million copies across all platforms in 2012. Black Ops II was unsurprisingly declared the best-selling game of 2012, while the Xbox 360 has the distinction of being the best-selling console for two years running. Of course, we have plenty of hands-on posts from CES 2013 that went up today, including looks at the Pentax MX-1 digital camera, the Moen MotionSense Touch-Free Faucet, a pair of Galaxy S III cases from Pelican, Ion Scratch 2, Vizio’s new Windows 8 Tablet, and finally, the company’s upcoming Windows 8 all-in-ones and notebooks. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the weekend everyone!

However, while the growth of Lenovo seems significant, outpacing everyone else in the PC industry, it still wasn’t a good as the growth the company had earlier in 2012. Q3 saw Lenovo’s shipment growth up a whopping 30%. According to IDC, that didn’t give Lenovo quite enough momentum to pass HP, which held a slim third quarter lead, holding 15.9% of the PC market, while Lenovo held 15.7%.

However, if Lenovo keeps up the effort, they could easily see themselves blasting past HP before long. It seems many are questioning HP’s commitment to the PC business in the first place. After deciding to stay in the PC business after announcing that they would possibly sell it off, many potential customers remained skeptical.

Finishing out the top five PC makers on the list, according to IDC, include third-place Dell, whose shipments declined by 20.8% in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, Acer, whose PC shipments declined by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, and ASUS, whose shipments grew by 5.6%, making them the only company besides Lenovo to see a gain in sales.

[via Computerworld]

We saw and got our hands on the original version of this 7.68 x 4.92 x 0.47 inch, 14.11 oz machine back in August of 2012. Back then our impressions were that Lenovo was taking on the Google Nexus 7, though not exactly directly due to the underpowered nature of the slate. Though the form factor had us impressed, what with its soft-touch rear cover and its friendly size and shape, the innards did not make for a perfectly pleasant software experience.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is also a bit of a surprise as the bulk of the Android universe is now releasing devices with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean or higher with new hardware across the board. We’ll expect some software updates rather rapidly after the release, but won’t be betting too much cash on that possibility. Lenovo’s Android experience is unique one way or the other though, bringing widgets and cloud connections galore to the game. You’ll be able to pick up the Lenovo IdeaTab A2107 from AT&T for $199.99 with a two-year contract starting right this minute (if not very, very soon).

Have a peek at our Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 review from this past October to see how the software experience treats you. Then head down the Lenovo rabbit hole to see everything you may have missed from this hardware-heavy company over the past week at CES 2013!

One of the more interesting things we’ve learned in this new look at the machine is the fact that you get a couple of relatively hidden cooling fans under the hood in the back. Have a peek at this sequence of photos to see the spoiler (our term, not theirs) coming up as you life up the hood of this beast. Under that spoiler is a couple of fans that’ll keep this machine cool no matter what you’re processing or indulging in.

The Lenovo Helix is solid, made with the same level of attention to detail that the full ThinkPad line always is. When we took a few minutes to literally carry the device around for a while, we noticed it was relatively light and felt solid above all else. The connection between the tablet and the keyboard is strong and ready for everyday work and play action.

Have a peek at the photos and video above and below and make sure you tune in throughout the week to our CES portal for every bit of CES 2013. We’ll be getting much more hands-on and up to the minute updates as we see the best of the season appearing right here, live from Las Vegas.

You can get the full details of the Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 in our original hands-on from just a bit earlier tonight, but the key bits appear to be this: a solid thought-out bit of hardware surrounding Lenovo’s unique brand of Android and an Intel Atom Z2580 (Clover Trail) processor. The iPhone 5, compared in those aspects, is of course also a solid thought-out bit of hardware surrounding Apple’s own entire mobile OS (iOS) and an Apple A6 chip.

At the moment there’s really not a whole lot we can compare between the two because of the prototype stage of the Lenovo device, but the approach appears to be very similar. Of course Lenovo’s device runs Google’s mobile OS instead of their own in-house software, but they seem to want to move forward with a single device as a hero. We’ll see this year if they stick to their guns.

Have a peek at the couple of real simple photos we’ve got of the two of these devices side-by-side and let us know if you feel like the two are going to be hitting the same person’s pocket any time soon. Be sure to see our CES portal as well as the ShowStoppers 2013 tag to see more action throughout the night and forward through the rest of the week, and keep an eye tuned for more sweetness from all angles!

The thing about the IdeaPhone K900 right this minute is that it’s still in its prototype phase, not actually coming out until somewhere around April of this year – and the initial plan is to release it in China alone. The Samsung Galaxy Note II is already out in quite a few countries around the world, including the USA and Europe. The prospect of the IdeaPhone K900 is great though, regardless of its release range, simply because it’s working with the relatively rare Intel Atom Z2580 Clover Trail SoC.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II works with the Samsung Exynos quad-core processor we know works to great effect even across its massive face. The IdeaPhone K900 has a display that’s 5.5-inches and 1080p resolution with IPS technology while the Galaxy Note II’s face is a 5.5-inch 720p display working with Super AMOLED – bright as can be.

Some of the items we’re really not able to compare at the moment are the Android OS versions, as though the Note is up to Android 4.2 in some places, the Lenovo offering has not yet been shown with a full working version of Android as of yet. We’ll be sure to see a whole lot more in the very near future from the company as the device hits the market. Have a peek at our hands-on comparison images above and below and let us know which one you’d choose if given the chance!

Also be sure to check out our giant CES portal to see all the CES 2013 content your heart can handle, and check our ShowStoppers 2013 tag to see everything we’ve seen today!

The Lenovo K900 is the company’s new hero phone, working with a composite of stainless steel alloy and polycarbonate in a Unibody mold – sleek and robust. The phone remains thin due to work Lenovo’s done on optimizing both the thinness of the camera setup and the layout of the internal battery. The front of this device is covered with top of the line Corning Gorilla Glass 2 for scratch protection as well – their newest solution.

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 hands-on with Chris Davies:

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 interview with Lenovo’s Mark Pinner:

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 hands-on with 1080p display:

Though as Lenovo mentions, Intel has not released full specifications on the chipset as such, Lenovo will be bursting forth with this SoC sooner than later – April in China, in fact. Pricing, if you’re wondering, has not been announced at the moment. Then there’s the camera technology behind this machine’s lovely 13 megapixel shooter.

You’ll be working with a Sony Exmor BSI sensor as well as an F1.8 focal length lens. This camera has the widest aperture of any smartphone-based camera in the field today, and the front-facing camera has been given a boost as well. With a fabulous 88 degree viewing angle on the front-facing camera on this smartphone you’ll once again be working with the best of the best – no front-facing camera on a smartphone has a wider angle than that.

Have a peek at the hands-on look we’ve got above and below to get a handle on what this phone will mean for you in the very near future. At the moment it is, in fact, only announced for China – but we can dream! Stick around our CES 2013 portal all week long as well to make sure you’re into the fold with all of our up to the minute news bits and hands-on adventures.

Lenovo has outfitted the IdeaPad U310 with a touch panel for navigating through windows 8′s start screen. If you’ve read nearly any Windows 8 post penned by me, you’ll probably know that I think Windows 8 is perfect for touchscreens, so bringing touch functionality to the IdeaPad U310 is a great move for Lenovo.

We’re talking 10-point touch to be specific, which is a feature we’ve seen on a number of Lenovo’s Windows 8 machines lately. The addition of touch is pretty much the only difference though, with Lenovo offering up to an Intel Core i7 in the IdeaPad U310 Touch. You’ll also have NVIDIA GeForce graphics, so despite the fact that the IdeaPad U310 is an ultrabook, you might be able to get some reasonable graphics power out of the machine.

Indeed, the U310 is definitely an ultrabook, as it’s quite slim when it’s closed and it’s really light. If the smaller form factor of the U310 isn’t quite your cup of tea, Lenovo will also be offering the U410 with a 14-inch screen. The new U Touch series will be shipping out in Q1 2013, and Lenovo says that the U310 will start at $799.

OneLink is essentially Lenovo’s way to cut down on wires and cords in the immediate vicinity of your ThinkPad Edge. By using the OneLink cable to connect your ThinkPad Edge to the OneLink dock, you’ll not only begin charging your computer, but you’ll also gain access to the USB and HDMI ports on the front and backside of the dock. Here you can connect all of your peripherals while only dealing with one cable in your immediate work area.

Both ThinkPad Edge computers can be powerhouses too, should you so choose. Lenovo will let you go all the way up to the third-gen Intel Core i7, along with an impressive 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage space. Be warned though: at 14-inches for the E431 and 15.6-inches for the E531, these bad boys aren’t exactly small. They both come in right around the 5 pound mark as well, which is certainly quite a bit heavier than the other Lenovo products I had a look at today.

If don’t mind the relatively hefty size, though, then you probably won’t have any problem loving these new ThinkPads, which are running Windows 8. Couple Microsoft’s newest operating system with Lenovo’s new five-button ClickPad – which was specifically designed for making Windows 8 navigation a breeze – and you’ve got one laptop that’s definitely worthy of consideration. Keep it right here at SlashGear for much more from CES 2013!

In fact, at first glance, the only noticeable difference between the Yoga 13 and the Yoga 11S is size. The 11S is quite a bit smaller thaan the Yoga 13, but both are running Windows 8 (remember that – this isn’t Windows RT you’ll be dealing with. The fact that the Yoga series is running Windows 8 is definitely appreciated, and I’m sure it might just end up convincing a few people who are on the fence.

One thing I want to point out is that I think the Yoga 11S might make a better tablet. That isn’t to say that the Yoga 13 didn’t make a good tablet (it did), it was just a little on the large side as far as slates go. The Yoga 11S fits very well in your hand, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see many people opting for tablet mode over the other configurations.

Featuring an 11.6-inch touchscreen and you choice of up to a 3rd-gen Intel Core i5, the IdeaPad Yoga 11S should make a pretty capable ultrabook for a lot of different people. Despite the smaller screen, resolution hasn’t taken a hit, with the IdeaPad Yoga 11S sporting 1600×900, just like its predecessor. It’ll be available in Silver or Clementine like the Yoga 13 is, but unfortunately, Lenovo won’t start offering it until sometime in June 2013. When it finally does arrive, it will have a starting price of $799.

Back in our original ThinkVision LT1423p details post you find that this machine doesn’t yet have a release date other than a basic Q2 2013 window, nor a price, but what we’ve seen thus far makes us want it right this minute – full touch for any machine running Windows 8. This beast is able to work wirelessly via wi-fi direct or wired with a relatively new USB to micro-USB B connection – have a peek at that plug in the gallery for a double-take.

This machine is extremely light for its size, is able to work with or without a connected rechargeable battery, and is presented with Lenovo drivers that work with what the company notes is essentially any PC working with Windows 8. The front is covered with Gorilla Glass, the display is a decent 1600×900 pixels, and the whole package will be another rather unique addition to the Windows 8 environment come this Spring/Summer.

Have a peek at the Lenovo tag to see the rest of the magic the company has revealed this week and be sure to stick around SlashGear’s full CES portal for more CES 2013 than you can possible handle. Also be sure to let us know if you’re planning on working with a mobile touch monitor some time in the future – seem like a real prospect to you?