Lenovo stepped up its focus on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and restructured its operations accordingly. The game plan for Lenovo: Become a major mobile player and even “become the Apple of China.”
The PC maker on Tuesday created a new business group to focus on mobile devices, cloud computing appliances and smart TVs. The group aims to put Lenovo in front of the pack as devices converge.
Liu Jun, formerly president of Lenovo’s product group, will lead the effort from Beijing. Peter Hortensius, formerly head of its Think Product Group, took Jun’s post. Hortensius is based in Raleigh, NC.
In a statement, Lenovo touted products like the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, which is a cross between a tablet and a laptop as well as its LePad. Lenovo has been focused on the smartphone market in China, its home turf.
Jiong Shao, an analyst at Macquarie Research, said Lenovo “has been aggressively spending on R&D and on marketing” to broaden its focus beyond PCs. Shao added Lenovo is on track to deliver its LePad “around the Lunar New Year.” Meanwhile, Lephone sales have been solid in Lenovo’s fiscal third quarter.