Remember way back when (about one year ago)… Lenovo revealed a funky and intriguing laptop/tablet hybrid design called the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid.  Much like the Dell Inspiron Duo, it promised to double as a tablet running Lenovo’s custom Linux OS called Skylight and a standard notebook running Windows 7 when the tablet’s docked as a display.  Since then, Lenovo has dumped Skylight for Android and beefed up the processing power. The detachable tablet is now called LePad and it’s powered by a 1.3GHz Snapdragon processor and runs a custom Lenovo skin called LeOS that’s build on top of Android 2.2.  The LePad features a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) capacitive multitouch display and it works in both landscape and portrait modes.  An eight hour battery life is promised.   Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is expected to play nice when the product ships.  The notebook, or U1 Base, packs a 1.2GHz Intel Core and runs Windows 7.  Switching from Android to Windows is a snap, literally.  Once the tablet is locked into place in the notebook base, a couples seconds later Windows is fully loaded.  When you detach the screen the switch to Android is instantaneous.

Unfortunately for those living in the U.S. the LePad and U1 Base will not ship until Google releases Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb).  The first market Lenovo will hit is China this quarter.  The IdeaPad U1 with LePad will go for $1300 and the LePad will be available as a standalone product with an asking price of $520.

With a refreshed look and Android integration the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid is leaps and bounds superior to its original incarnation unveiled one year ago.  Here’s to hoping that Gingerbread arrives sooner rather than later so that Lenovo can work on an updated tablet skin and ship this puppy Stateside stat!  Product images below, PR after the break.

[Via Engadget]