When all eyes are too focused on high-profile slates from the top manufacturers, other devices ought to bring something unique or else be labeled as just another generic Android tablet in the market. That’s what the Lenovo S5000 tablet just did, by being lighter than the iPad Mini, the new Nexus 7, and just about any other 7-inch slates available.
The Lenovo S5000 only weighs 236 grams (0.54 pound) and measures just 7.9mm (0.3 inch) thick, with the latter aspect also making the tablet as one of the thinnest devices out there. The chrome bezels, defining curves, and soft-touch back cover complete the device’s futuristic look. It remains to be seen if the build quality is negatively affected by all these trimmings in weight and thickness, but the tablet should hold just fine under normal wear and tear.
Other features of the Lenovo S5000 tablet include a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek 8389 processor, an IPS LCD display at a rather standard 1280×800 resolution, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera, 16GB onboard storage, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The 3G version of the tablet allows 3G HSPA+ connectivity. A 3450mAh battery should allow Wi-Fi usage to last up to eight hours.
The aforementioned hardware specs make the Lenovo S5000 unable to compete with the premium competition in terms of raw power. Indeed, this new tablet is just targeting the mid-range market. On the plus side, early hands-on reviews describe performance and responsiveness as relatively swift and decent enough to handle all but the most demanding tablet uses.
As per Lenovo’s press release, the S5000 tablet is slated for a Q4 2013 release. No exact pricing and availability information has been announced so far for the Philippines. However, the tablet is expected to be priced aggressively and undercut the new Nexus 7.