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Lenovo making serious push into the smartphone market

Published Jun 4th, 2013 10:45PM EDT
Lenovo Smartphone Joint Venture

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Lenovo has never made a serious push into the realm of mobile devices but that may be about to change. The Wall Street Journal reports that Lenovo “is in preliminary talks with ‘multiple parties’ about a possible joint venture in smartphones” as a way to offset the global decline in PC sales. What makes Lenovo particularly interesting is that it’s been the only major Windows OEM to weather the collapse of the PC industry so far, as IDC earlier this year estimated that the company’s overall year-over-year PC shipments remained steady even as rival vendors’ sales plummeted by more than 20%.

The reason Lenovo’s PC business has stayed afloat has been that it’s concentrated on selling PCs in emerging markets such as Brazil and in its native China, where many consumers are still buying PCs at a fairly healthy pace. If Lenovo can use the brand recognition it’s generated in these markets to boost interest in its smartphones then it could conceivably pose a challenge to rival vendors such as Samsung, Huawei and ZTE.

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.