Lenovo has announced that the ThinkPad Tablet, the company’s first business-class Android-based tablet, is now available for sale through Lenovo’s network of U.S. business partners and online. Additionally, Seton Hall University will be the first educational institution to deploy the ThinkPad Tablet when 350 students begin using it this fall.

Unlike other tablets on the market, the 10.1-inch, Android 3.1 ThinkPad Tablet (starting at $499) lets business users do more right out of the box, from working productively and securely to enjoying first-class entertainment features during downtime, according to the company.

“The ThinkPad Tablet gives mobile professionals the most intuitive user experience available on a tablet today, thanks to its unique pen-based handwriting recognition technology,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager, ThinkPad Business Unit, Lenovo. “We wanted to replicate the way people work naturally with pen and paper by allowing them to digitally write, draw, and create content while also optimizing the ThinkPad Tablet for business with a layered security solution and full IT management.”

Meanwhile, Nuance Communications announced this week that its successful FlexT9 keypad is shipping on Lenovo's new ThinkPad Tablet. Customized for the Android-based tablet, FlexT9’s unique multimodal design lets users choose how they input text to stay connected–whether they trace it, tap it or write it.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet allows on-the-go business professionals to remain productive wherever work takes them, the company says. With FlexT9, Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet users now have the ability to take advantage of Nuance’s renowned predictive input portfolio that features T9 Trace continuous touch, T9 Write handwriting, and XT9 predictive text.

Android for Business and Academics

As the first true business-friendly tablet, users can expect the same reliable and productive experience for which the ThinkPad brand is known, the company says. The ThinkPad Tablet caters to the extremely busy, mobile user with convenient features unlike competitor tablets for on the run computing, including an:

• Optional digitizer pen
• Full-size USB port
• Full-size SD card slot
• Mini-HDMI for connecting to external displays
• Keyboard folio case with optical TrackPoint

This fall, 350 students and faculty at Seton Hall University (South Orange, N.J.) will put the ThinkPad Tablet to the test by using it inside and outside the classroom, taking advantage of the "true" pen experience, ActiveSync, IPS display and Gorilla Glass construction.

“As a longtime partner with Lenovo as a ThinkPad University campus, we’re delighted to bring the ThinkPad Tablet to our students and faculty in the Sciences, Honors and the School of Business Leadership Program,” said Stephen G. Landry, chief information officer, Seton Hall University. “This new technology represents the next evolution in Seton Hall University’s Mobile Computing Program to use technology effectively to support teaching, learning and institutional effectiveness while keeping pace with technology that appeals to our students.”

Supported by Business Tablet Ecosystem

The ThinkPad Tablet goes beyond delivering differentiated hardware features. It extends the business-class experience with productivity, security and manageability technologies and apps from more than a dozen partners, according to the company. The ThinkPad Tablet provides access to more than 250,000 apps in the Android Market as well as the curated Lenovo App Shop, a fast track to the leading apps that are certified to work on Lenovo products and are malware free.

Productivity: With Documents to Go by DataViz, users can easily view and edit Microsoft Office documents while synchronizing with their desktops via USB or Bluetooth. The tablet’s pen and virtual desktop support via Citrix Receiver allows users to leverage their corporate tools without being in the office. Lenovo’s SocialTouch app keeps track of email, calendar notices and more, and OoVoo makes video conferences easy by using the Tablet’s front-facing camera.

Security: Users and their data rest easy with the tablet’s layered security solutions, which include full encryption (including SD card), remote wipe and disable via Computrace to combat theft, and full VPN support.

Manageability: Good for Enterprise delivers secure corporate email, and IT managers can easily configure security and device settings with custom corporate preloads from Lenovo’s Imaging Technology Center. The open API set allows for zero-touch deployment and management though LANDesk.

“"CSC sees a rapidly growing market opportunity for an enterprise tablet device that will enrich our clients' experience with the cloud and provide the quality and highly secure standards that are required by today's dynamic businesses," said Nick Wilkinson, president, Market & Product Strategy, Managed Services Sector, CSC. "Lenovo has a proven track record of launching enterprise quality devices and we are excited to be working with the ThinkPad Tablet and expect to drive towards integration with our vertical specific services in the near future."

Nuance’s FlexT9 Onboard

At the same time, Nuance Communications reports its successful FlexT9 keypad is shipping on the new Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet. FlexT9’s unique multimodal design lets users choose how they input text to stay connected–whether they trace it, tap it or write it.

With FlexT9, ThinkPad Tablet users now have the ability to take advantage of Nuance’s renowned predictive input portfolio that features T9 Trace continuous touch, T9 Write handwriting, and XT9 predictive text.

Trace: Nuance’s T9 Trace lets Android tablet users enter text with amazing speed by simply gliding their finger from one letter to another on the virtual keypad – no spacing or punctuation required.

Write: With T9 Write, users can simply use their finger to draw words and phrases, numbers, symbols, accented characters, and more on the touch screen, and instantly see results.

Tap: At the core of FlexT9 is Nuance’s pervasive XT9 predictive text input technology, featuring next word prediction, word completion, Sloppy-Type word error correction, spell correction, and much more across the entire input experience, including T9 Write and T9 Trace.

Users can seamlessly change back and forth among any of FlexT9’s input modalities with a simple tap.

Additionally, Nuance’s FlexT9 will be supported by Lenovo’s compatible USB physical keyboard, providing users with the same word prediction and completion available as part of the FlexT9 integration on the virtual keypad.

“The ThinkPad Tablet is a business-enabled Android tablet with features and applications that keep our enterprise customers connected and productive no matter where they are,” says Tom Butler, director, ThinkPad Marketing, Lenovo. “By offering FlexT9 as a preloaded application, we are giving our customers more control and more choice in how they input text, and ultimately giving them the power to do more.”

“FlexT9 has proven to be an incredibly powerful interface for tablets as it gives users the ability to overcome the challenges of the traditional virtual keypad, while choosing the input that works best for them,” said Mike Thompson, senior vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. “And with FlexT9’s customizability, Lenovo is able to provide its users with a multimodal solution that lets them take full advantage of all the ThinkPad Tablet has to offer.”

Pricing and Availability

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet preloaded with Nuance’s FlexT9 will be available online at www.lenovo.com/tablets or through business partners nationwide within a couple of weeks if not already available. The product is slated for release in the U.S. as of the end of August 2011 and generally available worldwide during the third quarter 2011. Pricing for the 16 GB model is $499 without the digitizer pen or $529 including the pen. Pricing for the 32 GB model with the digitizer pen is $599, and pricing for the 64 GB version with the pen is $699. Pricing for the optional keyboard portfolio case is $100.¹FlexT9 will support over 20 languages on the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet, including US and UK English, French, Portuguese, Danish, Hebrew, Spanish, Czech, German, Russian, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Turkish, Swedish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Arabic.

Nuance Communications

T9 Trace, T9 Write and XT9 are a part of Nuance’s pervasive and broad voice and predictive input portfolio that are changing the dynamics of how consumers engage mobile devices, consumer electronics and automobiles. To learn more, visit http://www.nuance.com/for-business/by-industry/mobile-oems/index.htm. Nuance is a leading provider of voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit: nuance.com.

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¹Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.