But they’re not just the same tablet with different labels. The IdeaPad K1 includes a microSD slot, while the ThinkPad Tablet has a full size SD slot. The ThinkPad also has a full size USB port, like the Toshiba Thrive, as well as a microUSB port. The ThinkPad Tablet also includes a pressure sensitive stylus for pen-based input, and there is an available keyboard dock which includes the Lenovo TrackPoint device. While the IdeaPad K1 has a single button on the front, the ThinkPad Tablet has four – home, back, browser, and a screen orientation lock. The ThinkPad Tablet is also more angular and ‘serious’ looking than the more curved IdeaPad K1, I’m sure that’s intentional styling for the different markets.

The pre-loaded apps are also different, with the IdeaPad focused on games, music, and entertainment apps, while the ThinkPad gets down to business with more business oriented apps like Citrix Receiver and the FlexT9 advanced virtual keyboard. Both do include Documents To Go, Angry Birds HD, and Netflix however, so you can take a break from fun to work, or take a break from work for some fun.

The IdeaPad K1 is 10.4” x 7.4” x .5” and 1.65 pounds, while the ThinkPad Tablet is 10.3″ x 7.2″ x .57″ and weighs 1.64 pounds with WiFi or 1.67 pounds with 3G. So they’re very similar in size and weight.

How things can change in a year.

For the second quarter of 2011 the iPad’s share of the market dropped to 61.3%, while Android tablets had clawed their way up to claim 30% of tablet sales. You might’ve noticed that, jointly, they claimed 91.3% this year – but 96.9% last year. So where did the rest go? Well, coming in at number three, Windows tablets claimed 4.6%. Yes, Windows tablets. What about RIM’s PlayBook, which launched during the quarter? It managed a measly 3.3%. These figures are according to a study by market research firm Strategy Analytics.

We’ll have to see how they all fair this quarter, and we have a new entrant in the fight, the HP WebOS Touchpad. But the wave of Android tablets also continues to build. The best selling Android tablet, and second best selling tablet overall, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer could’ve sold even more if not for supply issues. Asus seems to have ironed out the issues, and the supply of Transformers has already begun ramping up and will continue to do so. The T-Mobile G-Slate (aka LG Optimus Pad) shipped just before the end of the last quarter. The Toshiba Thrive has just launched.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is slated to launch next month, sliding in between the 7 and 10.1 inch models, giving consumers more choice. Lenovo has just announced the IdeaPad K1, aimed at consumers, and the ThinkPad Tablet, which is aimed more toward business users – right at the RIM PlayBook. The delayed Cisco Cius, also aimed at businesses, will ship at the end of the month. Archos has a couple of models pending, Vizio has their tablet, etc.

The reality seems very different from the impression you’d get reading articles about the tablet market. From the articles you’d think that everyone wants an iPad and no one is buying anything else. Sales of Android tablets have been weak, makers are even considering pulling out of the market, it is all doom and gloom. Android Honeycomb, the first version of Android optimized for tablets, only released in late February with the Motorola Xoom. That’s when the Android tablet market kicked off for real.

Remember how dismissive articles about Android phones were in 2009 – right up until the Motorola Droid hit the streets with Android 2.0? In the year and a half since then which mobile OS has taken the top spot in sales? It’s been less than five months since Honeycomb hit the streets. 30% of the global tablet market. Let’s see what things look like at the end of the year, by which time Ice Cream Sandwich will be out too.

Report figures via Boy Genius Report.