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Topic: Laptops

Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

Summary: Looking for a tablet and aren't interested in the Kindle Fire or the Nook? This could be worth a look.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Looking for a good tablet deal? Here's one ... the Lenovo IdeaPad A1 for $199.

For the price, the spec is top-notch:

  • 7.0? SD LED 10-point multi-touch screen, 1024 x 600
  • Android 2.3 Gingerbread
  • CPU: Texas Instruments OMAP 3622 (1GHz)
  • Storage: 16GB [UPDATE: Lenovo now offering the 16GB model for $199.]
  • 512MB RAM
  • MicroSD card slot
  • Wireless: Wi-Fi ; Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
  • Mini USB port
  • 0.3MP front-facing camera
  • 3.0MP rear-facing camera
  • Android Market and Lenovo App Shop
  • Flash support
  • GPS
  • Battery life: 5 hours
  • Four different colors: black, white, pink, and blue (black only available for $199)
  • Dimensions: 7.68? x 4.9? 0.49?
  • Weight: 14.08 ounces

It doesn't have a dual-core CPU like the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, but other than that, this is an awesome deal.

If you're looking for a tablet and aren't interested in the Kindle Fire or the Nook, this is well worth a look.

Topics: Laptops, Hardware, Lenovo, Mobility, Tablets

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29 comments
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  • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

    Another iPad clone with inferior specs at half the price!
    vahnx
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

      @vahnx

      It is funny that you bring up iPad and there was no mention of it in the article. It was about a good deal and it only really compared to the Fire and Nook Tablet.

      It is hard to compare since the market for this and the other 2 mentioned are different audience.
      ddanbear
      Reply Vote

      • Not really a different audience, since, after a person gets this tablet,

        the iPad will not enter into further consideration by that customer. Thus, the number of potential iPad customers (in the same audience) will have been diminished by one, every time someone purchases a different brand or different tablet.
        adornoe
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

      @vahnx iPad WAS NOT THE FIRST TABLET! I view it as a competitor for my $2000 Toshiba tablet that I had back in 2004.
      pupkin_z
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

      @vahnx With a single-core and a processor that is 2yrs old, you must be joking. This is not a deal at all. Forget about it.
      PWsY
      Reply Vote

    • The $199 price does not exist

      Author: Check your sources again. The price is shown as $249.
      Win8AnUglyDisaster
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

        @johndow1

        check your sources
        evilcart
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

    Does the A1 really have Netflix? Now that Amazon confirm Netflix on the Fire ......
    rob_rowlands
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

    Shame the pink one is $50 more. It'd be nice to get one of these for my daughters.
    dsf3g
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

    Great deal not sure if nook color 2 at $50 more is a better deal or not since it has updated screen and dual core. $199 is now the sweet spot for 7" tablets.
    jacjar1
    Reply Vote

  • Flash Support? Not really a feature anymore!

    Adobe has canned mobile Flash...
    GoPower
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

      @GoPower

      Yeah, Poof, all the flash content on the web is now gone.
      John Hanks
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

        @John Hanks

        So is this question: what App Market does it support? Does it have the Google Experience suite of apps? Android 2.x tablets selling for less than $200 is nothing new (Coby, Craig, Archos, Velocity Micro, eLocity, Viewsonic... just to name a few) but the blessing from Google always seem to elude them.
        CyberGuerilla
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

        @John Hanks
        Right!

        80% of all web browsers (ie, up to and incl MS IE8) do not support HTML5 in any form. Flash is still here for a while.
        KeviNJZD
        Reply Vote

  • Upgradable To Ice-Cream Sandwich?

    Will this be upgradable to Android 4? That's the question that must be asked about all tablets from now on.
    ldo17
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

      I agree, I consider a device that would be stuck at Gingerbread a dead-end device not worth spending any money on.

      Some other questions to ponder too:
      What App Market does it support? Android market? AppsLib? App Brain? SlideMe? Amazon? If Android market is not available, am I missing much?

      Does the device have the Google Experience suite of apps? Android 2.x tablets selling for less than $200 is nothing new (Coby, Craig, Archos, Velocity Micro, eLocity, Viewsonic... just to name a few) but the blessing from Google always seem to elude them. If they're not available, what are the alternatives? What are users missing?
      CyberGuerilla
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

      @ldo17
      We can be so demanding.

      What we have is a Toyota Corolla, and you want to put flashy mag wheels and a four barrel carb on it. Buy a beefier tab (Tosh, Sam) if you want ICS - Samsung has promised it for the 7 Plus by March of 2012.

      For $199, you get a Corolla ... does what it's supposed to do.
      KeviNJZD
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

    Nice to see Lenono aren't robbing people blind for the hike to 16Gb memory, like Apple.

    Further versions at 32Gb and 64Gb weould be suggested, though with the MicroSDHC slot, less of an issue.

    Battery life sucks @ 5 hours though.
    neil.postlethwaite@...
    Reply Vote

  • Black Rectangle

    Oops. It's a black rectangle. I smell a lawsuit coming.
    daengbo
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Android tablet for $199

      @daengbo not to mention that silver, squarish edge with silver buttons. expect it not to be sold outside the U.S. as pictured I'd suspect? Apple = absurd.
      bri719
      Reply Vote
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