Lenovo debuts world’s first ARM-based smartbook


6 Jan 2010

Lenovo’s newly announced Skylight – a hybrid of the smart phone and netbook – aims to mix the ARM-based computing power and screen size of a netbook with the lightweight always-on longer battery life of the smart phone.

The Skylight, with a launch date of April in the US and later this year for Europe, has Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor along with 20GB of storage and a further 2GB online.

Weighing 2lbs and almost as thin as the average high smart phone, the Skylight has built-in Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity and a 10-inch high-definition screen.

What’s so special about Skylight

What sets Lenovo’s new smartbook apart from the netbook is not just its slimline design and weight – it will not be running on Windows or Unix but rather has Lenovo’s own operating system with a widget-like interface.

The Skylight’s web interface comes pre-loaded with 18 widgets or web gadgets, including Facebook, Twitter, Amazon.com and other apps for downloading movies and music.

While it has a compact 10-inch screen, the chassis itself extends up past this to fit the roomy keyboard and mousepad.

With up to 10 hours of battery life, the Skylight is designed to be powered up overnight like a smart phone and then carried about and used free of a power cord during the day.

The look of Skylight

The Skylight comes in bright glossy red and blue with a silver strip around the chassis and will be sold through AT&T in the US with data plans as well as through Lenovo itself (starting at US$499).

“The web has become the window to the world for more and more people, helping them connect with friends and family across town or thousands of miles away,” said Peter Gaucher, executive director, mobile internet product management, Lenovo.

“Skylight combines the long battery life and connectivity of a smart phone with the full web browsing and multimedia experience of a netbook to create one of the first devices in this developing smartbook category. Consumers want choices.”

By Marie Boran

Photo: The Lenovo Skylight.