I got a chance to check out the new Windows 7 tablet that Lenovo is showing off this week, and it looks pretty nice. The only problem is it’s not a real product yet. Don’t get me wrong. It has a decent screen, runs Windows nicely, and even gets halfway decent battery life — but you can’t buy one yet, and you may never be able to buy one with the same components that Lenovo is showing off today. The company hasn’t even bothered to name this tablet yet.
Right now it has an Intel Atom Oak Trail processor, but that could change. It gets around 4 to 6 hours of battery life, but that could change. It has a custom software interface running on top of Windows which makes it easier to launch applications with your fingertips. That could change. There’s no word on a release date or pricing, for somewhat obvious reasons.
Unfortunately, this feels a lot like last year, when Lenovo unveiled the Skylight smartbook and IdeaPad U1 Hybrid. The Skylight was never released, and the U1 Hybrid is back at CES again this year, with tweaked hardware and software. But it’s still not clear when it will be available. In other words, I wouldn’t hold my breathe waiting for this Windows 7 tablet to materialize.
You can check out a few more photos and a hands-on video after the break.