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Lenovo’s decision to buy Motorola is actually starting to make sense

Published Feb 3rd, 2015 6:20PM EST
Lenovo Motorola Merger Sales
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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There was a lot of head scratching when Lenovo decided to take Motorola off Google’s hands, especially since the iconic phone manufacturer had become a complete financial albatross. However, one year later the deal is starting to look much better and Lenovo because its newest smartphones have sold much better than expected in China.

RELATED: Why Google was smart to dump Motorola for just $3 billion

The Wall Street Journal reports that Lenovo this week revealed that Motorola smartphone sales topped 10 million last quarter, which roughly double the amount it sold over the same quarter last year. The company also expects Motorola to account for 30% of its smartphone revenue by this time next year, up from 24% this year.

G for Games also points out that the second-generation Moto X has already recorded more than 1 million preorders in China. Those obviously aren’t iPhone 6 numbers but they’re still not too shabby, especially since Lenovo just reintroduced the Motorola brand to China last month.

All told, Motorola is looking like Lenovo’s ticket for further expanding its smartphone presence and it can market Motorola’s devices more aggressively than Google ever could since Google always had to worry about upsetting other Android vendors if it showed favoritism toward the company it owned.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.