Lenovo’s latest Android tablets featuring MediaTek dual-core processors are now available in the US for $149 and up.
The Lenovo IdeaTab A1000 and A3000 both feature 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel displays and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean software, but Lenovo has a list price of $189 for the A1000 and $229 for the A3000.
But right now the IdeaTab A1000 is on sale for $40 off. You can pick one up for $149 when you use the coupon “IDEADEAL” at checkout.
Lenovo’s cheapest 7 inch Android tablet has a 1.2 GHz MediaTek MTK8317 ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core processor, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and a microSD card slot.
It features 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The tablet supports 802.11n WIFi and Bluetooth 4.0 and has a front-facing 0.3MP camera. There’s no rear camera.
The tablet has a 3500mAh battery, which Lenovo says should be good for up to 8 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaTab A1000 measures 7.83″ x 4.76″ x 0.42″ and weighs just over 12 ounces.
One reason this tablet is cheaper than the A3000 is the display: while the A1000 has a capacitive touchscreen, it’s a TN display which means it won’t have very good viewing angles.
On the bright side, the tablet has front-facing speakers, and Lenovo is positioning it as a low-cost tablet for listening to music.
Lenovo’s $229 tablet isn’t available for purchase just yet, but the company has listed the specs for this model. It’s about the same size and shape as the Lenovo IdeaTab A1000, but it has a 5 megapixel rear camera and an IPS display with wide viewing angles
I’m a little less clear on what processor this model has: Lenovo’s “tech specs” page says it’s a 1.2 GHz MediaTek 6575 single-core CPU, but the company’s “features” suggests the tablet has a quad-core chip.
Like the cheaper model, it has a 3500mAh battery, a microSD card slot, and 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage.
This model measures 7.63″ x 4.72″ x 0.43″ and weighs about 12 ounces. It also has a 3500mAh battery which Lenovo says should enable up to 7 hours of web surfing over WiFi.
Lenovo first announced these tablets a few months ago. But it looks like the company’s made at least one change since then. Originally Lenovo said the tablets would ship with Android 4.1, but they’re loaded with Android 4.2 instead.
“TN display” first time I have picked up on that abbreviation.
Twisted nematic (TN)
I’m not blown away by the specs, but the front facing speakers are fantastic…looking.
I don’t know what they sound like, but they are so nicely placed!
You said that the other day and I couldn´t see it mentioned in the article or even see them on the tablet, and today they are mentioned in the article. I guess the groove on the top is the speaker.
The speakers are on either side of the A1000 screen unless it’s just trim and I’m wrong.