Lenovo has just released details of its $200 tablet which should be in the shops by Christmas. The IdeaPad Tablet A1 is a 7-inch Android unit which was first shown off in July.

It is as cheap as chips and runs Gingerbread. While it is not exactly a Galaxy Tab 7.7, early reviews say that it is not bad.

What is significant about the A1 is that it does not have a bad construction and it will run on the Android App Market. This means that it can run Gmail, maps and all the usual Android stuff.

It has a single-core Cortex A8 processor. It has front- and rear-facing cameras and a 7-inch, 1,024 x 600 display.

The beast ships with  8GB of storage, but a 16GB model will go for $249, 32GB for $299. Since the machine has both microSD and SD expansion it'll be fairly easy to add more memory. Connectivity is limited to WiFi, but it does have a GPS so it can be used for navigation.

According to Lenovo it has the same sort of magnesium alloy rollcage inside as used on ThinkPads making it more durable. It also has different colours including, pink, blue and white, to go with the usual black.