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Lenovo not worried that 7-inch tablets will wreck its PC business

Published Nov 11th, 2012 10:00AM EST
7-Inch Tablets PC Market

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With a variety of smaller Android tablets already available, along with the iPad mini and the possibility of an Xbox Surface, 2013 is shaping up to be the year of the 7-inch tablet. In fact, worldwide sales of 7-inch tablets are expected to double from 34 million units in 2012 to 67 million in 2013. Smaller tablets already account for 28% of all projected tablet sales in 2012 and are on pace to increase to 33% by 2013. Despite these numbers, however, the world’s largest PC vendor isn’t worried. Lenovo (0992), which also offers a variety of 7-inch devices, expects the growing 7-inch tablet market to compete with large-screen smartphones, rather than PCs. The Chinese company knows a thing or two about the PC market, while sales within the industry as a whole have declined, Lenovo has managed to consistently grow and continues to post impressive financial results.

Lenovo Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday said that after reading a report on Apple’s (AAPL) iPad mini, he was optimistic about the trend in the tablet market.

“The market accepts the 7-inch [tablet] better than the 10-inch. That’s a very strong signal, the tablet will not replace the traditional PC,” he said, according to CNET. “Probably, the tablet will compete with the large-screen smartphone rather than the PC.”

The executive did note, however, that convertible laptops and the use of touch screens will become more prevalent thanks to Windows 8.

“Touch will become a very popular feature on the traditional PC,” he said, adding that Lenovo is ramping up its supply of the screens. “We can’t guarantee we’ll get 100 percent of what we want to get [but] we are definitely trying our best to get enough supply.”

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.