Lenovo Jumps Into the Smartphone Fray With the S2

Yes, you read that right. Lenovo has thrown its hat into the smartphone war with the newly introduced S2. This is the first time that Lenovo, the worlds second largest PC maker, has developed a smartphone for consumers. The S2, announced at a press conference in Las Vegas, features security systems to protect personal data, prevent phishing attacks, and to secure network and SMS traffic.

Under the hood, the S2 has a dual-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, as well as an 8-megapixel camera. Out of the box, the phone will sync photos, music and video across mobile devices and Lenovo’s laptop lineup.

The S2 comes with either 8GB or 16GB of storage, depending on the configuration. Other specs include a 3.8-inch screen with 800 by 480-pixel resolution, a front-facing 0.3-megapixel (VGA) camera for video-conferencing, and either 512MB or 1GB of RAM (depending on the version you get).

One thing to note: The S2 comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), not the brand new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). We haven’t heard as of this writing whether or not Lenovo will release an Ice Cream Sandwich update for the S2.

Lenovo has yet to announce an international shipping date, or price information to the press. They have, however, mentioned that the S2 will be available immediately in China.

For more blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation’s largest consumer electronics show, check out PCWorld’s complete coverage of CES 2012.