Lenovo gives update on LePad 2 plans

Lenovo has given word of a successor to its LePad Android tablet.

Chief executive Yang Yuanqing told Chinese newspaper China Daily that the company would be releasing the LePad 2 model sometime this year and targeting the device at the Apple iPad 2.

"We have confidence to compete with Apple's iPad 2 in the Chinese market," the Lenovo chief was quoted as saying.

The report gave no indications as to release dates or any specifics as to the features the LePad2 would offer.

The LePad2 would be the second tablet release of the year for Lenovo. In January, the company used the CES conference in Las Vegas to introduce its first LePad model.

The 10.1in tablet sports a Snapdragon processor, 1GB of memory and 3G wireless broadband connectivity. The device features a full Qwerty keyboard that allows the LePad to function as a hybrid tablet-netbook.

Analysts believe that, in order to be successful, the tablet will have to beat the Apple iPad 2 on price.

"Lenovo's devices fit in with a number of iPad competitors that tend to look and feel very similar. Their challenge is to differentiate themselves," IDC research director for mobile connected devices Susan Kevorkian told V3.co.uk.

"We think that for Lenovo, as with any competitor, what is really important is to be priced competitively versus the iPad."