iPad 3 vs Lenovo IdeaTab S2: Tablet Features Compared

Apple once again didn't show up to International CES this year, but Lenovo debuted dozens of products, and their new IdeaTab S2 is the kind of tablet meant to cut into iPad 3 sales later this year. It's a 10-inch tablet with 1280x800p resolution, 3G radio, micro-HDMI port and front and rear-facing cameras. Lenovo said it runs for nine hours on a single charge, but there is a companion keyboard dock (sold separately) that adds nine more hours. This is the same kind of feature as seen on the Asus Transformer Prime tablet. That device's keyboard dock costs $150, so imagine that as a ballpark figure for the Lenovo IdeaTab S2 keyboard dock. The keyboard turns the IdeaTab S2 into a notebook computer and adds two USB ports, trackpad and SD card reader.

iPad 3 is also a 10-inch tablet, but it doesn't have a keyboard dock or micro-HDMI port like the IdeaTab. Rumor has it, iPad 3 will have a QXGA 2048x1536p resolution display, 4G and Siri the voice recognition software currently only found on the iPhone 4S. Neither device has a solid release date or even a price right now, but iPad 3 could debut at $500 for a 16 gigabyte version. Apple does have a Jan. 19 press conference scheduled in New York, so an iPad 3 related announcement could come there, but these two devices are not too far out from release.

iPad runs Apple's iOS software and the IdeaTab will ship with Android 4.0, but Lenovo may opt to add their own software on top of Android. There's no official word on if Lenovo will do that, but if you are looking for a pure Google experience, make sure to double check when the IdeaTab comes out. Tell us in the comments if you've used any Lenovo products (ThinkPad laptops, for example) and if you think they are high enough quality to compete with the iPad.