Lenovo unveils multi-user 'table PC'
New device can lie flatfor playing digital board games or be used upright as desktop computer
Lenovo yesterday took the wraps off a coffee table-sized personal computer designed for multiple users at the world's largest consumer technology trade show, as it embarks on a major corporate reorganisation.
Lenovo said the new IdeaCentre Horizon, which features a 27-inch multitouch display and Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, marked the company's entry into the nascent "table computer" market segment.
Launched on the eve of this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Horizon supports touch-screen game-play among several users when used flat on a surface to play digital board games such as Monopoly.
The device can also be adjusted upright at a 90-degree angle for use as an all-in-one desktop computer, with separate keyboard and mouse, at an individual's home or office.
"We've seen technology shifts across the four screens, from the desktop to the laptop, tablet and smartphone, and yet … there is still room for technologies like Horizon that bring people together," said Peter Hortensius, the president of Lenovo's product group.
Horizon, which will sell from early this summer for US$1,699, comes with a set of accessories, including four joysticks and so-called e-dice and strikers, to enable a gaming experience that combines the physical accessory with on-screen action.
Analysts, however, expect the new Lenovo table computer to remain a niche product that will see little demand this year.
