Lenovo's first Android tablet, the LePad, has started shipping in China today. The move marks the company's entrance into one of the hottest emerging areas of the computing industry as it looks to diversify its product line and fuel growth by offering high-end mobile devices to compete with Apple, Motorola, Samsung and the like.
As previously reported the tablet has a 10.1-inch screen, a 1.3Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1GB of RAM. It also features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 2MP front-facing camera, and runs Google Android 2.2 with Lenovo's "LeOS" software riding on top. Four configurations will be made available: the Wi-Fi only version with 16GB and 32GB of storage capacity priced at 3,499 yuan (US$534) and 3,999 yuan (US$609), respectively, while the 3G and Wi-Fi variant with 16GB of memory will be priced at 4,599 yuan (US$700) and the 32GB version at 5,299 yuan (US$807).
Lenovo has said the tablet will also go on sale worldwide in June. Although it didn't specify exactly which markets, a device with similar characteristics is now going through the FCC approval process for a launch in the U.S. under a new name: Skylight Slate. The device will apparently launch with Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" but other than that there are not many details regarding a specific release date, pricing, or carrier support.