We first got our hands on Lenovo’s latest smartphone model, the K900, this past January at the annual CES show in Las Vegas. While we were impressed with the phone – you can read our full, K900 hands-on impressions here – particularly because it’s the first phone to be powered by the new dual-core Clover Trail+ Intel Atom processor, we remain skeptical that the device will ever make its way to the United States. The previous Lenovo model rocking a brand new Intel processor never made it here.
Five months later, and the phone has finally made its debut in China’s mobile market. The launch took place in front of a gathering of top mobile and media leaders in Beijing’s M-Space. With this launch, we’ve learned a bit more about the phone’s specs. In addition to being run on Intel’s new processor, it also boasts Intel GMA graphics that runs on a PowerVR SGX 544MP2, which Lenovo says will triple graphic performance above the last model.
Though we knew that the rear-facing camera would be 13 megapixel, the launch revealed that it would also have an F1.8 focal length lens; it has the widest aperture of any smartphone camera, and will help to improve the quality of low-light, flashless photos.
We know that it will roll out in a select handful of countries outside of China throughout the summer, but based on Lenovo’s marketing plans, America doesn’t seem to be on that list. The company has recruited NBA’s Kobe Bryant to be a spokesperson for the device, but these ads are only set to run in China and throughout Southeast Asia. On top of that, Senior Vice President Liu Jun said, “In 2013, we will add 10 more countries to our smartphone footprint, and by year-end we will cover most of the world’s emerging markets.”
So for now, it looks like we’re going to have to continue admiring this attractive device from afar.
