The two companies are in the midst of “preliminary talks” and at present it’s still not clear whether some sort of agreement will be reached or not. We know that Lenovo and NEC are already partners in the PC business, but as we know that’s pretty different market with its own rules.

NEC on its side has already merged its handset unit into a joint venture with Casio (NEC Casio), which also took on the mobile devices unit of Hitachi.

As for Lenovo, it’s growing like crazy thanks to the strong sales in China, with plans to eventually bring its phones to the US market. As I’m writing this, the only Lenovo smartphone worth talking about is the K900, which is powered by Intel’s Atom chip. That could change quickly and merger with (or that’s acquisition of) NEC may prove beneficial for everyone. We’ll be following this story and get back to you as soon as there’s something worth ranting about…

[Via: MobileWorldLive]

With its front-facing speakers and Dolby Digital Plus sound, the Lenovo IdeaTab A1000 goes for the music lovers on a budget. It also has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, VGA front-facing camera and a 3,500mAh battery. The A3000 adds a faster MediaTek’s quad-core processor and dual cameras to the mix.

All said, we can’t really recommend you to buy any of these two tablets. Simply put – they’re too expensive for what they offer. If you are looking for a low-cost 7-inch tablet, your best bet is to pick one of the two Hisense tablets currently selling at Walmart. Both offer a much better value for the money…

[Via: Unwired View]

The first in the batch — Thailand and Malaysia — were blessed with the K900 earlier this week and we guess some other surrounding countries will follow shortly.

Lenovo was also quick to remind us they’ve tapped Kobe Bryant to help promote the device in China and Southeast Asia.

Again, the K900 uses the new Intel Clover Trail+ platform, featuring a dual-core Atom processor with Hyper-Threading clocked at 2GHz. In addition, it also comes with a 5.5-inch full HD screen, 2GB of RAM, HSPA+ and Wi-Fi connectivity, 13-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and 16GB of internal storage that is further expandable with microSD cards.

Earlier we’ve reported that the Chinese company wants to enter the U.S. market though at the moment we’re not sure whether the K900 will come as part of the deal.

According to the company’s CEO Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo’s aim is to sell smartphones in the US market within a year. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Yang talked about the mobile market as Lenovo’s next frontier. He was also quick to point that growing in the US won’t be as easy as it is in China. The company will have to go to bed with mobile operators, and perhaps even acquire a company to help facilitate the process.

There’s also one other problem – the smartphone market is different than PC market with former reflecting the fashion industry, according to Yang. He went on to explain that major players like Apple and Samsung are constantly running glitzy marketing campaigns, and that Lenovo will have to adjust to this reality.

Lenovo has recently started selling its Intel CPU-powered K900 in China and we’re pretty confident that device will also find its way to the West…

[Via: TheVerge]

The K900 is only available in China at the moment, as is the case for most of Lenovo’s smartphones. The company is claiming that they will bring the device to “international markets” this summer, although which markets are still unspecified. The K900 is on sale now in China for around $536.

The official press release follows below.

Lenovo’s New K900 Smartphone Turns Heads in China

Flagship Now Available at Retail and Online

BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (PINK SHEETS: LNVGY) launched its highly-anticipated, new smartphone, the K900, at a gala event in the Chinese capitol yesterday evening. Industry and media luminaries gathered for an exclusive event at the M-Space in Haidian, eager to get a glimpse of the metal-clad flagship that stands out as much for its category-topping performance as its slim, sleek design. The Lenovo K900 goes on sale in China this week, and will roll out to additional international markets throughout the summer.

The unibody design of the K900 makes a bold statement for Lenovo. The sleek-cut, stainless steel frame exudes power and strength, while the unibody chassis maintains a low profile at 6.9mm, ensuring a smooth, elegant look and feel. The attention to detail and focus on design for Lenovo’s latest flagship smartphone makes the K900 an excellent choice for top-end smartphone buyers, while Lenovo’s expanding distribution for smartphones ensures the K900 will compete head-to-head with many of the top smartphones in the market today.

Lenovo has tapped NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant to help promote the K900 in its television and print advertisements and on social media sites in China and Southeast Asia. Bryant is known on the basketball court for a playing style which combines power and grace, similar to the combination of performance and design that makes the Lenovo K900 stand out from the crowd of high-end smartphones. Like a high-profile celebrity, the K900 is instantly recognizable and a magnet for attention.

Liu Jun, senior vice president , and president of the Lenovo Business Group, opened the event stating, “Smartphones are a critical component of Lenovo’s PC+ strategy and the Lenovo K900 is an example of this strategy in action. With its cutting-edge design and intuitive, optimized user experience, K900 offers China’s smartphone users a fresh, new option. At the same time, Lenovo’s smartphone business is growing fast in global markets. In 2013, we will add several new countries to our smartphone footprint, and by year-end we will cover most of the world’s emerging markets.”

Lenovo K900 is the first smartphone in the world to leverage the latest Intel® Atom™ Z2580 processor, a dual core chip, which runs up to 2.0 GHz and utilizes Intel® Hyper-Threading technology to boost performance efficiency. The Intel-powered device also features an Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator engine running a PowerVR SGX 544MP2 GPU, which triples graphics performance over the previous generation.1 This makes the Lenovo K900 very responsive, especially for key functions such as web-browsing, multi-tasking and application-switching.

“Intel and Lenovo have raised the bar for smartphones with the K900. Our teams got together and worked closely to innovate around a number of important features and capabilities that our customers care most about such as power consumption, application switching and camera functionality. Then the Lenovo design team took this powerful platform and wrapped it up in a very attractive package with the K900. We are proud to be teaming with Lenovo to bring these innovations to market,” said Ian Yang, president ,Intel China, at the Beijing event.

Design

As smartphones have become ubiquitous, customer demands on “top-of-the-line” devices have increased, with design and usability growing in importance. The Lenovo K900 resets the bar on these aspects. At 6.9mm, the K900 is the thinnest phone in its class by a wide margin and weighs in at a mere 162g, making it a device that unobtrusively slips into a jacket pocket or handbag. Made from a composite of stainless steel alloy and polycarbonate in a Unibody mold, the K900 manages to stay strong and look sharp while maintaining its slim profile.

However, the material alone is not the only aspect that has allowed Lenovo to achieve a design milestone with the K900. The rear camera array has been optimized for size with a new sensor and layout that does not protrude from the case, leaving a clean, smooth rear face that doesn’t snag on clothing. The design team tweaked the PCB and battery layout to reduce the space used by internal components. And the K900 is topped off by a unique “stripe” ID language that reinforces the thin body and integrates the external components.

While the K900 is certainly sleek, it does not ignore the emerging trend toward larger and clearer displays on smartphones. The K900 is one of the first smartphones in the world to combine a 5.5″ IPS display with 1080p full high-definition resolution performance at 400+ pixels-per-inch, all under the latest, touch-capacitive Gorilla Glass 2. This gives the K900 supreme clarity and crispness along with plenty of space to capture the nuances of high-definition photos and video, as well as for viewing standard-size web pages.

Performance

The Lenovo K900′s camera stands out as one of the smartphone’s most distinguished features. As with other functions on the K900, Lenovo has completely overhauled the camera, and delivered a package that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Megapixels is the first specification that many users recognize for digital cameras, and with 13MP, the K900 ranks at the top of its class in this aspect and combines this with an industry-leading, Sony® Exmor BSI sensor for what would already be considered outstanding performance.

Recognizing that customers often need to take clear, flash-less photos in low-light, Lenovo has equipped the K900 with an F1.8 focal length lens, making it the first smartphone to offer such a wide aperture on its camera. In addition to these improvements to the rear camera, the front camera has also been widened to an 88? viewing angle, the widest available on a smartphone front camera for convenient self-photos and video calls.

Pricing and Availability2

The K900 smartphone is now available in China and will hit select international markets this summer. Retail price for the K900 in China will start at RMB 3,299.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.

[Via: Engadget]

Lenovo, however, aims to be the biggest smartphone supplier in China within two years and according to Gartner’s figures they stand a chance to emerge on top perhaps even by the end of 2013.

The research firm quotes Lenovo’s rapidly growing market share, which jumped from 1.7% in Q3 2011 to 14.8% in Q3 2012, putting it somewhere between Samsung (16.7%) and Apple (6.9%).

At the time the report was published, Gartner claimed that Lenovo is the only local smartphone player that can compete with global top brands in China thanks to its “household brand recognition, nationwide distribution, strong portfolio and reasonable pricing.”

Lenovo’s international smartphone ambitions are at the moment mostly limited to several countries, including Russia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Nigeria.

[Via: MobileWorldLive]

And that’s all we have at the moment. No word on pricing nor whether this bad boy will ever be released outside of China. We tend to doubt that will happen but just in case, we’ll keep scattering for news containing the “Lenovo” keyword… and of course, get back to you as soon as we hear something new. Stay tuned in the meantime, k?

[Via: Engadget]

Announced at this year’s CES, the K900 gets its power from Intel’s dual-core Atom Z2580 Clover Trail+ processor clocked at 2GHz. In addition, it also packs a huge 5.5-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) screen and 13-megapixel camera with Sony Exmor RS lens a la Xperia Z.

Price is still a mystery, but if we had to guess, we would say Lenovo will ask at least $500 for the K900. It’s a high-end device by any stretch of imagination with its aluminum body making for a premium look and feel.

Still not convinced you want one of these? Check out our hands-on post for few more photos.

[Via: GSMinsider]

The Japanese company has been losing money on its phone sales for two years and now it wants to do something about it. And since it already has a partnership with Lenovo in a joint venture to produce computers in Japan, the high-level contacts are already there so I guess now it’s all about finding the right conditions (read: price).

Needless to say, NEC and its partner Casio, didn’t comment on rumors, though they did say that they haven’t “discounted any partners in negotiations, including domestic firms.” Not sure which Japanese company is ready to add NEC’s products to its portfolio, but what do we know – perhaps Sony could jump-in, perhaps not. In any case, we do hope that NEC’s two-faced Medias W won’t be lost as part of any deal. We do need novel form factors and NEC has shown us it can deliver on that front. We’ll let you know when we hear something new on this…

[Via: TheVerge]

Price wise, we’re hearing that the K900 will go for 2,999 Yuan, which translates into roughly $483 (or 371 EUR). The figure, however, isn’t firmly set in stone, and according to MyDrivers – it could change prior to the launch date (as well as vary across markets).

Again, Lenovo’s baby is a 6.9mm-thin smartphone that packs a 5.5-inch full HD screen, Intel’s Atom Z2580 Clover Trail+ chipset, 13-megapixel rear camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, microSD memory card slot, while Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is running the show out of box.

[Via: Unwired View]

The other device, Lenovo S820, is aimed at women, and it somehow reminds us on certain HTC phones released during last year. Just like the S920, this model will also rock MediaTek’s MT6589 quad-core CPU, while rest of S820′s specs are still a mystery.

It is said that both the Lenovo S820 and S920 are targeting buyers in the mid-end of the spectrum, sporting HD 720p — rather than 1080p full HD — screens. No word whether any of these two will ever leave the shores of China and be introduced in other parts of the world…

[Via: Unwired View]