Lenovo ThinkPad Gets Gobi 3000 Upgrade

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Lenovo has really been picking up by way of the tablet form factor these days. And as such, it’s only something of a surprise to hear they’ve also shot some new life into their ThinkPad line of tablets, thanks to the addition of the Gobi 3000 chipset from Qualcomm. Adding this on gives the ThinkPad a familiar function you’d think might already be there, but moreover, it gives us something to consider by way of Lenovo’s future plans.

Adding the Qualcomm Gobi 3000 chipset to the ThinkPad gives it 3G connectivity, which by itself doesn’t mean so much, but makes for an interesting picture when you consider that the Gobi 3000 allows for EV-DO and GSM / HSPA support, meaning that you’ll likely be able to get this in on somebody’s network, no matter whose network happens to be around you. You will, of course, have to live with whatever service options you can get, but at last report, most of the majors–Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T–offer tablet data plans without contract. The tablet itself, however, is largely unchanged from its original Tegra 2 processor and variety of business-based apps, and some are wondering why Lenovo didn’t just hold out for a couple months so it could install the Gobi 4000, which would have added LTE connectivity capability and thus really upped its utility, especially with 4G networks really starting to take hold.

And like I said in the lead paragraph, this gives you something to consider. See, Lenovo’s hawking this improvement to the business sector, saying that their tablets can be bulk-purchased and assigned as needed, and no matter where in the world your users go, they’ll be able to get connected, at least for the most part. And considering that, in the last two weeks, we’ve heard about a new five inch tablet from Lenovo, as well as the very real possibility of an Ice Cream Sandwich tablet from them as well, it’s pretty safe to say that Lenovo’s really looking to get in on the tablet PC game. A variety of flavors and functionality levels will certainly help their cause, but I find myself wondering if this will be sufficient. Worse yet is that Lenovo’s not yet talking about how much the extra 3G will cost, when it hits later this month.

And what do you guys think here? Do you figure that Lenovo’s recent expansions into the tablet field will provide the necessary impetus to make them a player in the field? Or do you think that these will quickly be swallowed up by the legion of competitors in the field? No matter what you think, we want to hear from you, and the comments section below is just the place to do just that!