Exclusive: Lenovo Skylight Smartbook Launch Slips to July

It was one of the best-looking products at this year’s CES, but you won’t be able to buy one anytime soon. Today we learned from Lenovo sources that the Skylight is getting pushed back to July from the original April time frame. However, the company’s first smartbook will start selling in China this May and show up in other markets in June. Here’s what the company told us: “With any new product that we introduce, we owe it to our customers to get it right and we would rather take the little extra time that sometimes takes to finalize a product.”

We’d argue that three months is more than a little extra time, but we can certainly understand Lenovo and AT&T wanting to make sure the product is fully baked. After all, the Skylight will likely be the first smartbook on the market when it hits (unless the Mobinova Beam beats it to the punch). If you’re wondering if the U1 Hybrid will also be pushed back, fret not. Lenovo says that product remains on track for a June launch.

What I’m wondering, though, is whether AT&T  is still committed to the smartbook category at a time tablets like the iPad are taking off. The carrier also announced the OpenPeak tablet at CTIA but didn’t say a word about smartbooks. Do people want a clamshell instant-on device, or would they just prefer a slate? We’ll have to see what happens come July.