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Cell-laptop hybrid looks good for Lenovo [The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.](News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 14--Lenovo's plan to pioneer a new type of mobile gadget -- a "smart book" that's a hybrid between a smart phone and a stripped-down laptop -- is a promising move for the world's No. 4 computer maker, analysts say. Although the Chinese computer maker is at the forefront of this new category, a flurry of competition is expected to emerge next year because of the market potential. Lenovo has a headquarters in Morrisville, where it employs 1,500. "They want to make sure they're on the front end," said technology analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. "They want to establish themselves as the leader." Lenovo's entry is most likely to appeal to business customers, which is where its strength lies, said analyst Charles King of Pund-IT Inc. "With its ThinkPad, Lenovo owns one of the truly great brands in business computing," King said. Lenovo acquired the ThinkPad brand when it purchased IBM's PC business in 2005. Lenovo isn't talking about its smart book plans just yet. But the CEO of Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of computer chips for mobile phones, offered analysts a peek at Lenovo's smart book at an investor conference Thursday in New York. It will be powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon chip and will be positioned as an alternative for consumers who rely on smart phones for e-mail, Bloomberg News reported. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said Lenovo's new gadget will be officially introduced in January at the giant Consumer Electronics Show. The name and price weren't disclosed. Lenovo seeks to gain traction in the U.S. market. Its worldwide market share hit its highest point ever in the third quarter -- 8.9 percent -- but its U.S. shipments slipped 1 percent from a year ago. The company's strength is selling to U.S. corporations, which have cut back on purchases in reaction to the economy's ills. Its consumer sales have been hindered by a limited product lineup and because its PCs aren't sold in as many stores as its top rivals'. Slumping computer sales are pushing other computer makers to seek new sources of revenue as well. Dell ended more than two years of speculation that it would enter the smart phone market with the announcement Friday that it was teaming up with China's biggest wireless carrier. The Dell Mini 3 will be sold in China and Brazil by the end of the year, but the company would not say when the phone will hit the U.S. market. The enormous popularity of netbooks -- devices that are smaller, lighter and cheaper than your typical laptop -- have demonstrated that consumers are ready for new categories of mobile computing devices, King said. "You certainly have tons of consumers that have moved their traditional notebook computing behavior -- exchanging e-mail, instant messaging and so on -- onto their smart phone," he said. "But they are still relatively frustrated by the small [size] and the relatively low storage capacity that smart phones offer." Enderle sees a large market for smart phones like Lenovo's, but he doesn't expect them to reach their full potential until the monthly cost of high-speed wireless connections comes down significantly in a few years. Lenovo's smart phone will link to AT&T's network and will be sold in AT&T stores, according to news reports of the presentation Thursday by Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs. King sees the partnership with AT&T as potentially raising Lenovo's visibility in the marketplace. But one wild card is whether Apple's long-rumored tablet device, which is expected to compete in the same space, becomes a reality. Apple and AT&T already have teamed up on the hugely successful iPhone. "If Lenovo signs up with AT&T and then Apple comes out with a competing product, I think Lenovo is on the losing side of that deal," he said. To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |