After sales of smartphones overtook computers for the first time, Lenovo can now be considered a major smartphone player – and it’s casting its eyes west.
The Chinese company is well known as the biggest computer maker in the world. But Lenovo’s recently announced quarterly results show that it’s now selling more smartphones than computers.
Lenovo sold 15.8 million smartphone handsets in the quarter ending in June. That’s represents a massive jump of 39 percent over last year.
More pertinently, the company sold 14.5 million computers during the same period.
If that comes as something of a surprise to you, that’s because the vast majority of Lenovo’s smartphone business comes from its home territory. Of those 15.8 million handsets sold, 13 million were in China.
This has seen the company displace Samsung as the biggest smartphone seller in the country.
Of course, similar claims are being made by Xiaomi, another Chinese smartphone success story.
What should frighten Samsung, LG, Apple and the rest is that Lenovo is not looking to such domestic competition as its future. “China is still one of the most important markets for Lenovo, but actually we have more potential opportunity outside of China,” Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing told Reuters.
The company has already seen recent growth of 300 percent in South East Asia and 500 percent in Eastern Europe, so the spread has certainly begun.
There’s also the small matter of Lenovo’s Motorola acquisition earlier in the year, which was clearly made in a bid to target western markets.
Read More: Xiaomi and OnePlus show that Samsung’s biggest threat may not be iPhone 6
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
