Lenovo reveals mid-range S5000 tablet, high-end Vibe X phone, but will they ever leave Asia?
Lenovo had a bit of news to make at IFA Berlin this week, with the announcement of two new devices for those who might be looking for something a little differently. We’re talking about the Lenovo S5000 and the Lenovo Vibe X, with the former being a budget-priced 7-inch tablet, and the latter being a phone on the high end of the spectrum.
Lenovo S5000
Starting with the S5000, this 7-inch device will have 1280 x 800 resolution, and does its bidding with MediaTek’s 1.2GHz quad-core 8389 processor underneath. It’ll also sport 1GB of RAM, a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 1.6 megapixel front camera. The thing will launch with Android 4.2, and we’d be awfully surprised if Lenovo didn’t get folks to at least 4.3 sometime after it launches this December.
We imagine Lenovo’s aim is to get its price point right around that of the Nexus 7’s, though it’s hard to imagine anyone springing for an S5000 when they can get something much more capable. To be fair, Google’s willingness to sacrifice profit margins to move Nexus devices is hard to deal with, but perhaps this will still be a viable option in markets where buying a Nexus 7 just isn’t possible.
Lenovo Vibe X
Lenovo also announced the Vibe X, a high-end 5-inch 1080p Android smartphone that is also donning a quad-core MediaTek processor clocked at 1.5GHz. We’re not sure what made Lenovo fall out of love with Intel and get into bed with MediaTek as of late, but that’s where we stand. That will come with 2GB of RAM to help performance along, a 13 megapixel front camera, a 5 megapixel front camera, and more. China is poised to get this thing in October, with other markets not getting the device until September.
Chances of seeing them: nil
It’s always tough to get excited about Lenovo smartphones and tablets as they don’t seem to like North American and European markets when it comes to those spaces. We long for the day Lenovo spreads its wings and brings their business to more of the globe like they have with their PC business, but for now we’ll just look on and wonder about what could have been.
While Lenovo is certainly right for wanting to take care of their home turf first, it will be hard for the company to find success in the Android range when their products are limited to one tiny corner of a vast globe. Folks like Huawei, ZTE and Kyocera at least try, and while they may not always fare well up against the stiff competition from the Samsungs, Motorolas, and HTCs of the world, they’re doing more to get their name and image out than it seems Lenovo ever has.