Lenovo’s New Table PC

In a world where personal computers are getting smaller and more people are using smartphones and tablets, Lenovo has decided to come up with something drastically different: a large 27” PC.

The Interpersonal Computer

This idea is so different that it even calls for a different name, the interpersonal computer because it responds to multiple people at once.   This PC is the size of a small television and can stand alone on a table.  You can also lay it flat for family games with up to four people playing at once.  The screen can respond at up to ten fingers on it at once.

Included with the PC are plastic strikers for air hockey and joysticks that can be attached for other games.   The price for this big item will start at $1,699 and will be released this summer.  It runs Windows 8 along with a new operating system called Aura.  The official name for this giant is the IdeaCenter Horizon Table PC and it showed up in the introductory event for the CES – Consumer Electronics Show.

This is not the first of its kind.  Microsoft designed the idea back in 2008 with a touchscreen display at 30 inches for use in stores and other commercial uses.  Sony also released a similar device with the Tap 20, but it is only 20 inches and lacks the software of the Table PC.

This computer is not easily portable at 17 pounds but it could make for some great family fun.  However, it does have two hours of battery power if you want to use it while disconnected from a power supply.  It’s also versatile with the option to stand up or lie flat, but one has to wonder just how functional this PC will be.  There is a lot of potential for use with it, but is it practical?

[Image via gadgets.ndtv]