Lenovo as part of record results for its fall quarter clinched the top spots in key parts of the PC business. While it wouldn't give exact numbers, it mostly sided with IDC rankings that saw it claim 14 percent of the computer market worldwide, or second place. It was now large enough that it was the leader for shipments in work PCs of any kind as well as in home desktops.
New Gartner data breaking down European computer market share has shown poor results for almost every computer builder outside of Apple. Continent-wide, both market leader HP as well as Acer, Dell, and Toshiba were all dropping market share. Only ASUS (up 1.5 points) increased share based solely on its own merits among the top five; Lenovo's gain was inflated by its acquiring Medion last June.
Acer was reported Tuesday as having sued its ousted former CEO Gianfranco Lanci. The Taiwan PC builder claimed in an Italian court that Lanci broke a non-compete clause by signing with Lenovo and working for a direct rival. Neither Lanci nor Lenovo had responded to the accusations.
Lenovo has confirmed that its ThinkPad Tablet will receive an Android 4.0 upgrade sometime in the second quarter of the year. The company already promised an Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Tegra 2-equipped device, however until now the release timing was unclear.
NEC late this past week said it would drop 10,000 jobs in a bid to turn around a souring business. The drops, which would equate to about 8.6 percent of its entire workforce, were meant to mitigate the sudden estimate that it would lose about 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in the fiscal year that ends with March. It had previously predicted that it would make a profit of 15 billion yen ($195.4 million), a reversal from losses over all but one of the past four years.
Lenovo has stepped up its gaming credentials by quietly taking orders for the IdeaPad Y470p. The 14-inch notebook swaps out NVIDIA's low-end GeForce GT 520M video of the regular Y470 for a mid-range AMD Radeon HD 7690M, giving it an edge in 3D games. The 2.2GHz quad Core i7 and 8GB of RAM help keep the system running at full pace.
The delayed Lenovo ThinkPad X130e notebook is now available for pre-order on the company's website. Due to ship on February 9, the notebooks will start at $429. That price includes an 11.6-inch, 1366x768 display and AMD's dual-core, 1.3GHz E-300 Fusion processor.
Apple has become the biggest semiconductor buyer in the world, having spent $17 billion on chips in 2011, says Gartner. The research group notes that Apple spent 34.6 percent more last year than it did in 2010, leapfrogging out of third place to beat Samsung, which managed $16.7 billion for 2011. HP sits at third in the new results, having paid out $16.6 billion. Apple saw the fastest growth of any party in the top 10.
Toshiba and Lenovo have reportedly signed deals with contractor Quanta Computer for production of new tablets based on the Windows 8 on ARM architecture. Unnamed sources within the industry have told DigiTimes Quanta will handle the tablet production for both companies, with the first models expected to arrive on the market early next year.
An insistence on earlier pricing policies from Intel and Microsoft may put Windows 8 tablets out of contention, notebook PC builders getting into the field claimed Monday. Intel was reported by Digitimes contacts as unwilling to cut profit margins on its Clover Trail-based Atom chips, while Microsoft wasn't planning on trimming its Windows 8 price. As such, Intel-based Windows 8 tablets might start at a minimum $599 and scale up to $899, all well over the benchmark $499 price of the iPad.
Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing in an interview late Wednesday made the unusual comment that Apple had effectively locked up the tablet market in the near term. While Android had 32 percent of tablets, according to IDC, the executive told Bloomberg the iPad was the "leader" and that he didn't see Google changing this yet. Implying that even Lenovo's own IdeaTab S2 wasn't enough, he saw Android needing to find a breakthrough, although he wasn't clear what that was.
Fall 2011 was the worst season for PC growth in the US in a decade, IDC found in preliminary results. The overall PC field shrank 6.7 percent compared to what it had in late 2010, based partly on hard drive shortages triggered by Thailand flooding. However, the iPad and other tablets like it, combined with a tough economy, meant many didn't want PCs, particularly in the "difficult competitive landscape" of the US as well as Western Europe.
In spite of two previous quarters of gains, computer industry shipments slipped 1.4 percent in Q4 2011 to 92.2 million units, according to preliminary Gartner estimates. The research firm had been forecasting a 1 percent drop. "Continuously low consumer PC demand resulted in weak holiday PC shipments," analyst Mikako Kitagawa is quoted as saying. "While economic uncertainty in Western Europe had an effect on consumer PC shipments, expectations of a healthier economic outlook in North America could not stimulate consumer PC demand in that region. The healthy professional PC market as well as growth in emerging markets could not compensate for the weaknesses in mature markets, with overall growth still negative."
Intel has released its next generation of Learning Series platform for the educational market. The Learning Series is a collection of hardware, software, content, infrastructure, and training programs for which Intel provides the Product Reference Designs and development requirements to local vendors to use to produce PCs and related collateral. Lenovo, one of Intel's partners in the program, has said at the same time that it will soon begin shipping its latest iterations of these devices, the Classmate+ Clamshell and Classmate+ Convertible laptops.
Lenovo brought its new Atom-powered smartphone, the K800, to a special event following Intel's keynote at CES. Electronista had a chance to try out the unique device, which is expected to be the first Android handset to arrive on the market equipped with Intel's mobile processor.
Qualcomm at its CES keynote unveiled several new advances it plans for the new year. Device builders can now use its first Wi-Fi Display-capable chips. The component, which is using Wi-Fi Direct, lets users quickly share visual content on the local network without having to have an Internet connection. Qualcomm envisions it being used to share a web page or a photo from a phone to a TV or tablet.
Lenovo brought two last devices out for CES that Electronista had the opportunity to see first-hand. The IdeaPad Yoga is intended to take on the ultrabook (MacBook Air) and tablet (iPad) spaces at once through a unique folding design. Although it measures just 0.67 inches thick and 3.1 pounds, the 13-inch, 1600x900 screen has a unique 360-degree hinge that folds the display back completely to turn it into a heavier tablet, or partway to form a stand.
Apple shipped about 1.2 million MacBook Airs during the December quarter, claims Digitimes. The company is said to have been the only vendor to maintain notebook shipments between the third and fourth quarters, and Air shipments in fact increased. Other companies like ASUS and Lenovo reportedly suffered as a result of flooding in Thailand, which shut down many hard drive manufacturers in addition to taking a human toll.
Lenovo had a surprise in store after it confirmed the IdeaTab S2 by giving a preview of its K2 cousin: the second model will run on a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and carry the same 1080p screen concept as the Iconia Tab A700. Both, however, are part of a Lenovo strategy to make up for the rough start from the K1. We tried both ahead of CES and got to see if it will be much of a threat to the iPad.
Lenovo as part of its wide-scale introductions brought out its first TV with an unusual approach to Android that we saw for ourselves. The K91 Smart TV is based on Android 4.0, not Google TV, and uses a completely new Sandwich UI that focuses on traditional TV, VOD with a viewing history, and Internet-aware apps.
Lenovo has led off CES Unveiled by revealing the IdeaTab S2, the sequel to its very first Android tablet. The new 10-inch tablet is one of the first mainstream slates to ship with Android 4.0 and is also a major leap in performance. It ships with a new, 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon MSM8960 that takes advantage of both a higher clock speed and a new cooler, more efficient chip design.
Lenovo has introduced a range of new notebooks, including U-series ultrabooks, S-series mini notebooks, Y-series performance offerings, and midrange Z-series models. The U310 and U410 feature 0.7-inch thick housings and weigh in at 3.74 lbs., falling close to the 13-inch MacBook Air's external specs.
Lenovo will bring six desktop computers to CES this week, including four IdeaCentre all-in-ones from the B-series, the easily upgreadable H520s and the slim IdeaCentre K430. The IdeaCentre B540 uses a 23-inch frameless touchscreen with 1080p resolution and an integrated VESA mount that can be equipped with 3D capabilities. It can be equipped with NVIDIA's GeForce GT 650M graphics card with 2GB of RAM and DirectX 11 support.
Dell finished the week by consolidating its customer-facing groups under one leader. Its former Consumer, Small, and Medium Business president Steve Felice will as of February 4 handle every segment, including both the groups he managed before as well as enterprise and public sector groups. The step, coming earlier than expected because of the retirement of enterprise and public group head Paul Bell, was "further simplifying" Dell's actions.
Former Acer CEO has been tapped by Lenovo to lead its new Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division. Following Lanci’s sacking at Acer, Lenovo had hired him as consultant on different ways in which the Chinese computing giant could bolster its retail operations. According to the Wall Street Journal, Lanci had established strong relationships with distributors in Europe while at Acer, which Lenovo is keen to leverage.
Broadcom claimed the distinction of being the first to make chipsets with 802.11ac, being nicknamed 5G Wi-Fi, on Thursday. The BCM43516, BCM43526, BCM4352, and BCM4360 all have twice as much bandwidth per channel as the current-fastest 802.11n and can stack multiple streams together to get very high speeds. The flagship chip, the BCM4360, can unite three streams and hit 1.3Gbps.
Tobii, known for its partnership with Lenovo on an eye-controlled notebook, has now introduced its Gaze interface for Windows 8 Metro. The technology combines touchpad inputs and looking at an app to interact with it, and allows seven primary touch commands of Windows 8, including select, zoom, scroll and more. Eye-tracking hardware will determine at which area of the screen a user is looking and will place the cursor in that area when a user places his finger on the touchpad.
Lenovo trotted out the first wave of its CES introductions Wednesday with a renewed push on the ultrabook space currently defined by Apple. The ThinkPad X1 Hybrid has dual-booting into an instant-on mode like some notebooks but adds a full-fledged, dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chip to power its Instant Media Mode. The combination of the ARM chip and the lightweight Linux-based OS lets users not only double battery life to 10 hours for basic use but switch to the OS post-boot and lets users keep the Snapdragon side always on, like a smartphone.
Lenovo's lead-in to CES has included three new ThinkPad Edge models. Fronting the pack, the S430 has an 0.8-inch thickness bordering on ultrabooks but still keeps to regular notebooks: it uses Ivy Bridge-era Intel Core processors and is one of the first Windows PCs with Thunderbotl, giving it very high speed storage and displays on one cable.
As IBM head Samuel Palmisano prepares to step down from his position and hand the reins to Virginia Rometty, the chief executive has reflected on the company's recent strategy. In an interview with the New York Times, Palmisano suggests he faced strong disagreement within the company over the decision to sell of IBM's PC division, however he credits the decision with helping the company stay innovative and maintain profits.
Acer and Lenovo are putting their faith in Intel-based Windows 8 tablets for the summer, part suppliers claimed Monday. The two, according to Digitimes, would depend on Intel's tablet-oriented Clover Trail Atom platform. No details existed for the tablets, although Clover Trail would help get thinness and battery life closer to ARM tablets like the iPad and some future Windows 8 models.
Chinese smartphone designers are quietly forming a pact to fend off patent lawsuits from Apple, Microsoft, and Nokia, a rumor maintained Friday. Lenovo and ZTE, as well as smaller firms like Coolpad, Konka, and TCL, were said by Digitimes to be forming a collective. The details weren't given, although a patent defense would most likely involve pooling patent resources together and sharing resources on how to work around other companies' patents.
Lenovo has quietly chosen to show a netbook without waiting for CES. Both an official teaser video (below) and a listing at ProVantage point to the 10-inch mini PC being Lenovo's first with Cedar Trail-based Atom chips that should give a big lift to graphics and 64-bit OS support. It would carry a 98 percent of full-size keyboard and get relatively advanced extras such as USB 3.0 and a two-megapixel webcam.
Intel ushered in what might be the swansong for netbooks on Wednesday by finally shipping Atom processors based on its Cedar Trail platform. Confirming rumors of another delay, it was shipping the 1.6GHz N2600 and 1.83GHz N2800 with the expectation that they would be available in early 2012. Familiar netbook supporters Acer, ASUS, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Toshiba had pledged new systems using the chips.
Lenovo gave a preview of its Las Vegas plans with word of an Internet-aware TV and its own cloud service. To be called the LeTV in its Chinese version, it would ship sometime in the first quarter of 2012. Most details aren't public, although more of these should be coming in January.
Lenovo has reportedly delayed its launch plans for the ThinkPad X130e, the upgraded flagship X-series mini notebook that was first introduced several weeks ago. The supply hiccup appears to be limited to individual purchases, suggesting the device, which is geared for schools, may have been met with strong demand from educational institutions.
Lenovo has finally begun taking pre-orders for its IdeaPad U300s ultrabook, which was initially expected to arrive in the US several months ago. The 13-inch MacBook Air rival features a 0.6-inch thick housing constructed from aluminum, with a breathable keyboard that takes advantage of Intel's laminar cooling technology.
Lenovo is now offering the LePad S2005 hybrid tablet and phone for pre-sale in China. The S2005 centers a five-inch display with integrated smartphone capabilities and caters to a local crowd that can't necessarily justify separate devices. The device uses Android 2.3.
A new prediction from Digitimes Research has made the claim that Apple will cede the top spot in all-in-one desktops to Lenovo in 2012. The iMac would drop from an estimated 30 percent of the field in 2011 to 24.1 percent in 2012, just being overtaken as Lenovo hit 25 percent. The Taiwan firm editorialized and claimed that Apple only had "limited room" for hardware variety while Lenovo had more choices and prices, particularly for its home country of China.
Lenovo early Tuesday upgraded its most inexpensive ThinkPad X-series with a mind to help students and the public at large. The 11.6-inch X130e has a stronger bezel, hinge system and even 33 percent stronger edges, all meant to let them survive casual bumps. Performance is now much better as well, with the option of a 1.65GHz AMD E-450 chip versus the earlier E-350 as well as a new Intel Core i3 2367U.
Microsoft is taking the unusual step of letting ARM processor designers choose their own partners for Windows 8 systems, part suppliers stated Monday. NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments were each being told to pick one major and one minor partner, Digitimes understood. Among the major partners, NVIDIA had picked Lenovo, Qualcomm had chosen Samsung, and TI had selected Toshiba.
Just days after Lenovo unveiled several new Android-based smartphones, the company has reportedly confirmed plans to expand its lineup with Windows Phone handsets. One of the company's product managers, Chen Yue, acknowledged that images showing the S2 handset running Windows Phone 7 are genuine, as the company is already developing devices that take advantage of Microsoft's mobile platform.
Lenovo has introduced yet another Android-based handset, the LePhone S760, which was unveiled today alongside the LePhone S2. The device integrates a single-core 1GHz processor, stepping down from the S2's 1.4GHz chip, though the 3.7-inch display is an AMOLED panel rather than a standard LCD. Both phones share a similar form, aside from the glossy backside featured on the S760.
Lenovo is reportedly preparing to launch a 'smart' television, which will be designed to work in conjunction with smartphones, tablets and computers. The company has yet to disclose full details, though the new TVs are said to take advantage of Internet connections and capable of sharing content between the company's range of devices.
A new rumor from the portable industry has Acer, Lenovo, and Samsung lining up their quad-core Tegra 3 tablets for the first quarter of 2012 for what may be a repeat of the conflict with Apple. While not specific on which models were coming, the Digitimes tips suggested Acer's Iconia Tab A510 and A700, the upcoming Lenovo tablet, and a future Samsung Galaxy Tab variant would all be unveiled at CES or Mobile World Congress. Prices wouldn't dip significantly below the high end at between $459 to $599.
Windows 8 might not be running on any ARM-based devices besides tablets until 2013. Notebook builder sources claimed to Digitimes Tuesday that the systems themselves might not be shown until the end of 2012 and wouldn't ship until June 2013, just as Microsoft's OS would be near its expected first anniversary. ASUS and Lenovo were some of the first lining up, and they would "test the water" with full growth expected in 2014.
The Lenovo LePad S2 smartphone leaked exactly a month ago has now shown up as a product launch again in Beijing, with Engadget on-hand. This time, however, a customized Android 2.3.4 is onboard rather than Windows Phone 7.5. Hardware specs include a 3.8-inch, 800x480 touchscreen and a single-core, 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor.
Lenovo has added new 7-inch and 10-inch tablets to the 5-inch LePad S2005 Android 'phablet' launched earlier today. The new tablets run Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), but are said to be inline for an update to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) in the near future. Unlike the planned US launch of the IdeaTab K2 variant, which will sport Ice Cream Sandwich and the new NVIDIA 3 quad-core processor, the new tablets incorporate dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processors clocked at 1.5GHz.
Lenovo has introduced the LePad S2005 5-inch Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) at a Chinese launch. The device joins the Samsung Galaxy Note in a market niche that combines the display size approaching a tablet with a device that can also function as an oversize phone. However, Lenovo has chosen to market the device as a compact tablet in the first instance, with its LePad branding evidence of this.
A Samsung message reportedly going out to business partners has the company quitting the netbook business. In line with a "new 2012 strategy," Blogeee read that Samsung would quit all its 10-inch netbooks, instead leaving just 11.6- and 12-inch ultrabooks and other notebooks. The strategy wouldn't preclude netbook-class processors, but it would see the company exit the traditional category and raise the baseline for its notebook prices.
