Lenovo enters the e-ink battle with Lenovo Smart Paper
Lenovo Smart Paper is a 10.3-inch e-ink tablet aimed primarily at students.
Special Feature
While e-ink tablets have been around for a while, there has been renewed interest in them from hardware makers recently, for example with Amazon announcing its Kindle Scribe late last year. And now Lenovo is getting into the game too, with its Smart Paper tablet.
Aimed primarily at students, Lenovo's Smart Paper is a 10.3-inch e-ink tablet, complete with a stylus and a folio case, that's designed for note-taking, document creation and e-book reading. You can record audio -- a teacher or lecturer, for example -- while taking notes, and use your notes to recall audio clips.
Also: The best e-ink tablet I've tested was not made by Amazon or ReMarkable
Lenovo's Smart Paper app also allows you to transcribe audio recordings. The Smart Paper pen has a felt tip, and with 23ms latency, 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt detection you get a natural writing experience on the e-ink screen. There are nine pen settings and 74 document templates to choose from and Lenovo says you can create up to 170 pages of notes in one battery charge.
Lenovo Smart Paper specifications
| Processor | RockChip RK3566 |
| OS | Android AOSP 11.0 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Display | 10.3-inch E Ink Display, 1872 x 1404 (227ppi) |
| Front light | dual color, 24 brightness levels (automatic screen adjustment), 24 adjustable temperature tones |
| Microphones | 2 |
| Sensors | accelerometer, ambient light sensor, Hall sensor |
| Battery | 3550mAh |
| Battery life | reading: 7000+ pages in one charge • Note-taking: 170 pages in one charge |
| Dimensions | 195mm x 226mm x 5.5mm |
| Weight | ~408g (~0.9 lbs.) |
| Color | Storm Grey |
| Ports | USB-C 2.0 |
| Wireless | Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi |
| Software | Email, Calendar, Clock, Calculator, eBooks.com app |
| Accessories | Lenovo Smart Paper pen, Lenovo Smart Paper folio case |
Pricing and availability for the Lenovo Smart Paper have yet to be announced. However, Lenovo also gave some details of another piece of hardware it is working on at CES 2023.
Lenovo Project Chronos
Lenovo is already active in the metaverse space with its ThinkReality AR/VR headsets, and is now exploring a different approach in the shape of Project Chronos.
Currently at the concept/prototype stage, the goal of Project Chronos is to create "virtual and hybrid experiences by vividly capturing full body motion, and even clearly visible facial expressions, in near real time" without the need for any wearable device. Instead of visors, glasses or other sensors, Project Chronos uses an advanced depth camera that captures your actions and displays them in avatar form on a TV or large monitor.
The Windows-based control unit can be wall-mounted or placed on a shelf beneath the display, and the RGB depth camera can be rotated to allay privacy fears when the system is not in use. Lenovo envisages use cases including fitness instruction, immersive gaming, and content creation in virtual environments.
Lenovo Project Chronos specifications
| Processor | 13th-generation Intel Core |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| RAM | up to 32GB |
| Storage | up to 512GB |
| Audio | 2 x 6W speakers |
| Camera | RGB camera with ToF |
| Dimensions | 284mm x 275mm x 60.6mm |
| Weight | 3.54kg |
| Color | Cloud Grey |
| Ports | 2x USB 3.2, 2x RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet, DC jack, 3x DisplayPort, 4x Mini-DP |
| Wireless | Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 6E |
| Software | Chronos (developed by Lenovo) |
Lenovo says the formal product name for Project Chronos will be announced along with the 'full hardware and capabilities' at an as-yet unspecified date.