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Lenovo to make 55-inch, Android 4.0 TV

PC maker Lenovo is getting into the television business, planning a 55-inch "smart TV" that will use Android's 4.0 operating system to unite three functions: Video On Demand, Internet apps and traditional TV programs.

With that news — shared in Las Vegas, ahead of the start of the Consumer Electronics Show — the company is pulling a reverse Vizio: the budget TV brand just announced it's going to make computers. Lenovo recently passed Dell to become the world's No. 2 PC maker, behind HP.

The TV — with the rather inartful name of the "K91" (right now, anyway) — will use Qualcomm's 8060 Snapdragon dual-core CPU, and the newest version of Android, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. A built-in 5-megapixel webcam will integrate face recognition technology for "security benefits and advanced parental control," Lenovo said.

There's no word on when the TV will be out, or what it will cost.

But who knows — maybe you'll have a Vizio laptop and a Lenovo TV at some point, instead of the other way around.

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