Kutcher's first project at Lenovo is media tablet

SAN FRANCISCO — Days after Ashton Kutcher became a first-time father, his imagination has helped birth something else.

On Thursday, Lenovo Group announced Yoga Tablet 2 Pro, a 13-inch media tablet the actor had a hand in developing as a product engineer. It is Kutcher's first project -- he calls it his "new baby" -- at the Chinese computing giant after it hired him a year ago.

"I went into this extremely naive. I hadn't built a consumer-tech product before," Kutcher said in a phone interview.

The months-long process began with a trip to Lenovo headquarters in China, where Kutcher met with engineers, executives and others to map out the tablet, which helps consumers create a home theater with a built-in projector.

After hashing out ideas, parsing big data and deciding on what made the technological cut, the product team assembled focus groups. "We really looked at how people use tablets and what they needed for a better experience," Kutcher said. "This tablet has the best sound, a brilliant display and camera, and top processor. I think we created the best tablet available."

The process, which took place in China and the USA, wasn't easy, admitted Kutcher, a self-described "forceful, confident" guy.

"I had a couple of things I wanted to add, but they didn't make the cut," said Kutcher, who studied biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa (he did not graduate) and has a proven track record in tech investments. "That hurt, I confess. I won some battles and lost some. But that is the process."

Kutcher, who played the title character in a biopic of Steve Jobs last year, said he looks forward to his next project.

"I love building things," he said. "This was a magical, wonderful experience."

"(Kutcher) is working on more products," said David Roman, chief marketing officer at Lenovo. The end results will go a long way toward extending Lenovo's lead in the markets for PCs and notebooks, Roman says.

Lenovo is also taking advantage of Kutcher's star power with four humorous TV ads that promote the versatility of the new tablet. "We will continue to use him in a multitude of ways," said Jeff Meredith, marketing vice president for Lenovo Business Group. "He's part of the (product) team now. He's here to be part of the product -- not the show."

As of late, Lenovo has put on quite a show in the PC market. Last year, it displaced HP as the largest PC maker by shipments, according to industry research firm IDC. Its ascendance has been aided in large part by the emerging category of so-called convertible devices like Yoga, which can be used in a number of ways.

"Computers are like escalators," Kutcher said, referring to the heightened hopes of consumers who want more on their devices but at an affordable price. "You have to continue to climb that escalator."

"It's kind of like making a movie" but with one major difference, Kutcher said at a press conference announcing the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro on Thursday. "Once you release a movie, you can't improve on it. You can do that with products, and we will."

The tablet has a "Pico"-style projector tucked in at the end of a cylindrical compartment where the battery is housed. So in addition to watching a movie or viewing other content on the display you can project the images onto a flat surface up to 50 inches.

It costs $499.99 and becomes available this month.