Well, well, well, it looks like that 10.1-inch tablet I suggested a few weeks ago would come from Lenovo has indeed arrived. On Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet was introduced and will arrive with a very appealing $279 price tag.
Unlike prior small Chrome OS tablets, this one has a 400 nit 1920 x 1080 touchscreen, which packs a large number of pixels into a portable package.
And you won’t have to buy a wireless keyboard if you want to pound out text: The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook comes with a detachable keyboard that has a trackpad. I’ll have to see how well this keyboard works because it looks like it may be a bit floppy, similar to the Google Pixel Slate Keyboard.
For media consumption or typing the Chrome OS tablet has a cover with a built-in stand that opens up to 135-degrees. I wish all Chrome OS tablets, regardless of their size, had this feature.
So at $279, you can’t expect high-end Intel hardware inside.
Instead, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is powered by a Mediatek Helio P60T processor paired with up to 4 GB of memory and up to 128 GB of eMMC storage.
For a small Chrome OS tablet that’s unlikely to be your only computing device, that hardware is likely acceptable for most people. Although you might be able to use this tablet as a primary device, it’s really aimed at portability on the go thanks to the size and 0.98-pound weight without the keyboard.
Even for its small size, you still get a USB Type-C port, front and rear webcams, and, according to Lenovo, a whopping 8 years of Chrome OS software updates. I think that’s a record! Here’s a rundown of all of the hardware specifications currently available:
| CPU | Octa-core Mediatek Helio P60T (4xA73 at 2.0GHz) |
| GPU | ARM G72 MP3 |
| Display | 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen, 400-nits, 70% color gamut |
| Memory | Up to 4 GB LPDDR4x |
| Storage | Up to 128 GB eMMC, microSD slot for expansion |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi (Note, I suspect Bluetooth as well) |
| Input | Included keyboard with trackpad, optional stylus, 2 MP front camera, 8 MP webcam |
| Ports | One USB Type-C (2.0 + DisplayPort) |
| Battery | 7180 mAh |
| Weight | 0.94 pounds without keyboard |
| Software | Chrome OS automatic updates for 8 years |
With the updated processor, integrated kickstand cover and included keyboard attachment, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook appears to be a solid choice for those who want a small Chrome OS tablet.
The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 didn’t wow the market, although there are some happy customers, so this package starting at $279 could increase demand for a portable Chromebook slate from a small niche to a larger niche. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until May to find out; that’s when the product becomes available.
