Computer maker Lenovo has had to eat some humble pie, with the firm’s president admitting mobile Internet products would likely make up a significant 10%-20% of revenues within five years, despite the company originally dumping its mobile unit back in 2008.
Speaking at a launch for Lenovo’s new Chinese Android based “LePhone” smartphone, ReadWriteWeb reports that Rory Read, the firm’s president and COO, made his prediction for growing mobile revenues noting that it was “just the beginning,” especially in terms of the emerging Chinese smartphone market.
Fellow computer maker, Dell Inc., apparently agrees with Lenovo, making a similar assault on the Chinese market with its Google Inc. Android-based Dell Mini 3, also on sale in Brazil. And top computer manufacturer, Acer, is also selling both its Microsoft Corp. Windows Mobile OS and Android smartphone wares these days, not only in Asia, but in Europe too.
PC, it would appear, is simply not the place to be anymore, especially after the devastating financial crisis caused many firms to freeze PC refresh cycles. Even Lenovo’s CEO, Yang Yuanqing, admits mobile Internet devices will overtake traditional PCs in the next five years.
Unluckily for Lenovo, the firm realized this a little too late, costing the firm a cool $200 million to buy back the mobile business it carelessly tossed aside back in 2008.
But now that mobile is back in fashion at Lenovo, it will certainly be interesting to see whether the firm also decides to pursue the tablet route, like rival Dell appears to be doing with its rumored Streak tablets.
Who knows, it may even be another big win for Nvidia’s Tegra.
