Lenovo LePad 10 Inch Android Tablet to Launch in China

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Lenovo has been adamant about not releasing any tablet PC in the US, particularly without Android Honeycomb being released yet. Lenovo says a 10 inch tablet is coming this month, but looks like the Chinese market is getting first dibs.

The Lenovo LePad slate computer will launch in the Chinese market this month (that’s only a few weeks left until year end!). The LePad will be based on the concept computer called the U1 Hybrid, which is essentially a laptop or netbook with a removable display, which independently acts as a tablet PC.

Lenovo earlier supposedly axed the U1 project, but apparently the U1 hybrid is back on track.

The first release of the LePad won’t be the hybrid originally intended by Lenovo, but they plan to do an update early 2011. If the LePad slate is indeed a netbook plus tablet, then it will come with the benefit of a built-in keyboard when you need it, and the touchscreen UI of a tablet when you don’t need a keyboard or keypad.

Lenovo is quite late in the market, though, with manufacturers like Samsung taking the lead in releasing their Android tablets to the western market. Still, with a hybrid tablet and netbook concept, Lenovo’s LePad could make for an interesting device.