In the “better late than never” category, Lenovo has created a division to focus on smartphones and tablets.
The new division shows that the company can read the writing on the wall. The future of computing is not going to be ThinkPads or desktops, rather, it will be smartphones, tablets and other connected devices. Yes, full-fledged computing systems will still have its place in the world (particularly in enterprises and for content creators), but ignoring the importance of mobile is how companies become irrelevant.
“Lenovo recognizes the tremendous growth potential of the mobile internet, as well as that of new categories like cloud computing and smart TV, and so we are putting the focus and investments in place to fully capitalize on these opportunities to drive growth in our business today and for many years to come,” said Yang Yuanqing, chief executive officer said in a prepared statement. “The Mobile Internet and Digital Home Business Group will help us leverage our leadership in the PC arena to create a rich portfolio of Internet-centric devices. At the same time, we’ll use our creativity, innovation and technical prowess to help our customers navigate the future of personal technology worldwide.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Lenovo be interested in the mobile space, as it was hotly rumored to be the buyer of Palm. That move would have enabled it to hit the ground running in the mobile space with a well-established brand and a mobile-first operating system to call its own.
Palm, of course, was eventually purchased by Hewlett-Packard for about $1.2 billion last year. HP is also trying to transition to this mobile-first computing world and the Palm deal gives the company its own mobile platform to build around. We should see the fruits of that purchase at the Feb. 9 event where we’re expecting to see the first webOS tablet and maybe even some smartphones and netbooks.
[Via Lenovo]