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The Lenovo IdeaPad K1 tablet is launching this Thursday we know that since yesterday but the pricing wasn’t revealed, until today.

The 10.1 dual-core IdeaPad K1 will retail for RM1,499 outright (as comparison, the WiFi-only 16GB Asus Eee Pad Transformer retails for RM1498). On launch day, Lenovo is offering a RM300 discount for one day only. The discount is limited to the first 50 units sold. Also the offer is only valid at the Lenovo Exclusive Store at Mid Valley from 11.30am to 1.30pm.

While Lenovo earlier indicated that that both the WiFi and 3G versions of the K1 will be available, only the WiFi version is available on launch day. Lenovo says the 3G version will be “available soon”. Will there be a telco tie-up for the 3G K1? Perhaps.

Full details on where you can purchase the IdeaPad K1 is listed here.

So with the K1 launching a couple of days earlier than the Galaxy Tab 10.1, will it change the buying decision for those who have been waiting for the Galaxy Tab?

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While Samsung and Celcom are still deciding what day they will be launching the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Lenovo pulled a fast one and announced the launch of its IdeaPad K1 tablet happening this Thursday, Aug 18, ahead of the Galaxy Tab’s launch.

Lenovo will offer the K1 with over RM200 worth of apps pre-loaded and there is a special one-day special offer on Thursday but the price of the device has not been revealed as of yet. Lenovo says it will reveal full details tomorrow. Both 3G and WiFi models will be available at launch with a selection of colours — Red & White (Wi-Fi version) and Black & Brown (3G version).

The K1 runs Honeycomb Android 3.1 and is powered an Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor. The 10.1-inch screen that puts out 1280×800 pixels. There’s a 2MP front camera and a 5MP rear-facing camera. Other amenities include a MicroSD reader and a mini-HDMI connector.

On paper, the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 has a fighting chance against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and other Honeycomb tablets out there. The problem is, Lenovo is a relative unknown in this fiercely competitive segment. They will need to pull out all the stops in terms of marketing and advertising to get people interested.

This special one day special offer is a move in the right direction, launching the device ahead of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will give the K1 an advantage as well but Lenovo will need to do a lot more advertising to sustain the buzz once the Tab hits stores.

What do you think?

[Lenovo's FB page]

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Update 2: Here are links to the official press pictures of the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet (link) and the IdeaPad K1 (link).

Update: Looks like the IdeaPad K1 and the ThinkPad Tablet has been officially announced in the US. US pricing for the ThinkPad Tablet is US$499 or about RM1,500 and the IdeaPad K1 is US$449 or about RM1,346. The ThinkPad Tablet will be available in the US from August while the IdeaPad K1 is on sale there starting today. Full specs of both devices here (ThinkPad Tablet) and here (IdeaPad K1). The ThinkPad Tablet looks really good.

Lenovo Malaysia via its Facebook page has just clued us in on its upcoming product launch and if the pictures are what we think they are, you’re looking at two brand-spanking new Honeycomb tablets from Lenovo coming to Malaysia.

Lenovo has two Honeycomb tablets in its range of devices. One is the 10.1-inch (1280 x 800 pixel) IdeaPad K1 Android tablet. As the name suggests the IdeaPad K1 is more of a media/entertainment-centric device complete with a keyboard or media dock option. Specs-wise the K1 features custom Honeycomb interface along with a Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 32GB of storage, dual cameras (5 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front-facing), a microSD card slot, a micro HDMI out, and a SIM card slot.

The other is ThinkPad Android tablet which, true to the ThinkPad brand, is more catered to business professionals. The ThinkPad tablet also includes a stylus and a storage silo, four physical buttons, an SD card slot as well as USB and HDMI. Processing power is via a dual-core Tegra 2 CPU with 1GB RAM.

No official details yet but pricing on the IdeaPad K1 is expected to hover around the RM1,400 while the ThinkPad tablet should retail for around a few hundred ringgit more, not expecting anything over RM2,500

Lenovo Malaysia FB page here and here

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