Lenovo ThinkPad X1 hybrid

Lenovo is reportedly planning to launch a high-end business laptop later this month which will be able to run Windows and Android. The Verge caught wind of a new notebook called the ThinkPad X1 Hybrid.

On the outside, the laptop looks just like the existing ThinkPad X1 ultraportable notebook. But the new hybrid model will also have an “instant media mode” which appears to be based on Google Android.

The idea is that you’ll be able to boot the laptop into a full Windows desktop to run productivity apps — but you can also tap a button and start working right away if you opt for the instant media mode, likely by using the Android web browser, media players, and other light-weight apps.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen companies load laptops with some sort of “instant on” software designed to let you use the computer without waiting 45 seconds or longer for Windows to load… but honestly, if you put your computer to sleep instead of shutting it down most of the time, there’s not much advantage to most instant on software.

Lenovo’s version might be different though. The Verge reports that the ThinkPad X1 Hybrid will get up to 10 hours of battery life when running Android, compared with just 5 hours of run time under Windows. If you can get by with Android apps instead of Windows apps, that provides a pretty good incentive for running in media mode.

There’s no word yet on how much the new X1 Hybrid will cost, but the current Lenovo ThinkPad X1 laptop runs about $1200 and up and features a 13.3 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, Intel Core i-series processor, 4GB of RAM, and a choice of a solid state disk or a hard drive. The laptop has a spill-resistant, back-lit keyboard, an IPS display for wide viewing angles and a sturdy case design. It measures less than an inch thick and weighs less than four pounds.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers

4 replies on “Lenovo to slap Android onto upcoming ThinkPad notebooks?”

  1. @01bd1c0217c7f67514f4f9b620bd535a:disqus LOL, you’re so right. I love using Linux Mint and it’s free! I’m sure Lenovo is getting a check from Google to test this out.

  2. It it too bad that nobody at Lenovo has heard of Linux, many distributions of which are capable of running more efficiently and powerfully than Android, not to mention the improved driver support for this type of hardware or the vast selection of stable, feature-rich software.

    Never mind, I forgot that there are only two reasons to embrace “technology” these days: brand and price.  Yay Android!  Why have something good when you can have something bad that you think is good?

    1. well aftermath they needed something capable enough for basic tasks while increasing battery life. I think android is a good alternate.

    2. The problem with Linux is it’s a desktop OS, which conflicts with the main point for them adding a secondary OS just to provide something for basic use and for boosting run time when running Windows isn’t needed.

      Really, the point isn’t to add another desktop OS when there already is one.

      We can also add that all previous attempts at using Linux for this purpose has pretty much failed because companies have never been good at implementing Linux as a secondary solution and the gains on run time have been minimal. While Android should provide more noticeable boost to run time and the companies don’t have to do as much to provide support for it.

      Also people tend to install their own favorite distro anyway.  So not much point for many of these companies to install Linux unless that’s going to be the primary OS instead of Windows.

      Remember also Android is becoming a lot less fragmented with ICS and Google is finally optimizing for x86 hardware. Along with more people that are also already familiar with Android makes the learning curve much less than most Linux distros.

      There are also secondary factors like Intel is investing in technology that will allow instant switching between Windows and Android, along with other improvements in next gen Intel hardware that Android is better optimized for than any desktop OS is right now.  So goes with the emphasis on providing longer run times that’s the main goal.

Comments are closed.