As promised, Lenovo's ThinkPad Tablet is now available in the U.S. sporting Android 3.1 and prices starting at $499 – $20 more than we heard last month. The business-oriented device is powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2 dual-core processor operating at 1GHz and 1GB of system memory, while its 10.1-inch IPS display features a resolution of 1280 x 800 coated with Corning Gorilla glass.
In terms of features it includes the now standard front- and rear-facing cameras, Wi-Fi, a mini-HDMI output, a full-sized SD card slot for removable media, and a full-sized USB port for storage and other peripherals. What sets the ThinkPad apart, however, are the enterprise-oriented tools like remote administration, including the ability to wipe the device in case it gets lost, support for Cisco VPN, and full device encryption that extends to the SD card. There's also an optional $30 'digitizer pen', and for an extra $100, you can get a keyboard folio case that has an optical Trackpoint.
Lenovo is preloading the tablet with 25 applications meant to provide a well-rounded out-of-the-box experience. Some of them include Documents to Go, Oovoo for video conferencing, Netflix, and Kindle for Android.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet is available in 16GB ($499), 32GB ($569), and 64GB ($669) configurations and should begin shipping on Monday. No 3G mobile broadband options will be available until October.