Even though Lenovo computers have been sold in the U.S. for some time, most consumers here probably don't realize that the company also makes its own smartphones. Lenovo hopes to change that soon, though, as CEO Yang Yuanqing has revealed that his firm hopes to begin selling its smartphones in the U.S. "within a year."
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Yang said that Lenovo is looking for new methods to grow and that smartphones provide an opportunity for the company to do just that. Lenovo is currently the second-largest smartphone seller in China, following Samsung, but the company's handset business is basically non-existent in the U.S. Yang is aware that marketing will help his company to change that, comparing the smartphone industry to the fashion industry and saying that Lenovo plans to strengthen its marketing efforts.
The exec also said that Lenovo is open to acquisitions, including in the smartphone business, if it will help his firm to grow and gain sales channels. However, Yang wouldn't say whether or not Lenovo has any potential acquisitions in the works.
It's always good to see more competition, and I think it'd be great for Lenovo try its hand at the U.S. smartphone market. As I mentioned before, the company is big in China, and it's been responsible for some high-end smartphones. Its newest handset is the Lenovo K900, an Android device that was recently released in China with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 2GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2580 processor and 13-megapixel camera, all packed into a body that measures 6.9mm thick. We'll just have to wait and see what kind of hardware Lenovo decides to bring stateside, but at least we know that the company is capable of producing some impressive kit. You can check out Aaron's hands-on with the K900 below.