Lenovo recently showcased its newest tablet designed for professionals and IT managers—the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet–at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA 2011) in Berlin.

Unlike most other tablets designed for general-purpose or gaming use, the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet is optimized to help and support on-the-go professionals and IT managers.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet runs Android 3.1 Honeycomb and bears the following hardware specs:

• 10.1-inch screen
• support for ThinkPad Tablet Pen input
• dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
• 1280×800 display resolution
• 1 GB of RAM
• 16 GB internal storage (32-GB and 64-GB models are also available)
• 5-megapixel rear camera
• 2-megapixel front-facing camera
• full-size connectivity ports (mini HDMI, USB 2.0, microUSB, and a dock connector)
• Wireless LAN, Bluetooth 2.0, and 3G on some models
• 8.7 hours of battery life

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet allows you to view and edit Microsoft Office documents on the go with the help of DataViz.

An optional accessory, the Keyboard Folio with built-in optical TrackPoint, allows you to write long e-mails, create documents, and enter data in forms or spreadsheets easily.

The tablet also provides easy and secure e-mail access with Good Technologies and Cisco VPN Support.

Also, the tablet is built and carved in a solid and sturdy design that projects professionalism.

Lenovo also provides its own curated apps store where ThinkPad Tablet users can purchase and deploy corporate applications.

Compared to the smaller (7-inch) Lenovo IdeaPad A1, also showcased at IFA 2011, the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet is said to be more efficient. Lenovo is positioning the IdeaPad A1 as a price-competitive mid-range tablet.

The 16-gigabyte model of the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet costs about US$500 (ThinkPad Tablet Pen not included, but can be bought separately for US$30).

If you’re a professional or an IT manager, does the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet have what it takes to be your new best friend?

Video credit: AndroidPIT