No Lenovo LePad Until 2011

Initially expected by the end of 2010, Lenovo’s LePad won’t ship until 2011. This according to CEO Yang Yuanqing, who told The Wall Street Journal that the company expects the Android-based tablet to go on sale in China early next year.

The cause of the delay isn’t clear, though its result most certainly is. When LePad finally arrives at market, it will be competing with a group of rivals that extends well beyond Apple’s iPad–Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, Reasearch in Motion’s PlayBook and the like. As Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston said in a research note earlier this month, “The tablet wars are up and running. Apple has quickly leveraged its famous brand, an extensive retail presence and user-friendly design to develop the tablet market into a multi-billion-dollar business. Android, Microsoft, MeeGo, WebOS, BlackBerry and other platforms are trailing in Apple’s wake, and they already have much ground to make up.”

’Course Mawston also said, “Apple’s huge lead will be shortlived.” We’ll see, I guess.