PC giant Lenovo introduces 6 smartphones in UAE

Lonovo, a strong player in the PC sector has entered the UAE smartphone sector with a bang. It has just introduced six new smartphone models in the GCC with prices starting as low as Dh499 and including power-packed features such as dual SIM, Dolby Digital sound and USB connect among others.

“Yes we are serious about the smartphone business. We aim to reach the number three position in the UAE and the region within the next few years,” said Gianfranco Lanci, President of Lenovo Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The company already has about 24 per cent market share in the Chinese smartphone industry, making it second in the list following Samsung.

Speaking during the launch ceremony in Dubai on Monday, Oliver Ebel, Vice-President Lenovo, Middle East and Africa, said, "The UAE currently has about 62 per cent smartphone penetration - the highest in the world. Add to this Saudi Arabia, which has an install base of about 40 million smartphones and we are looking at a serious fast growing customer base here.”

IDC forecasts smartphone shipments worldwide to reach 958.8 million units in 2013, topping last year's total by 32.7 per cent. By 2017 IDC forecasts that 1.5 billion smartphones will be sold globally.

In the UAE alone there are about 2 million smartphones at present and the numbers are expected to increase significantly both here and in the rest of the GCC, Our idea is to target this growing market, said Ebel.

The K900 with its polycarbonate aluminum back cover and a 13 mega pixel camera and an intel processor is aimed at the tech savvy customer, while the

P780 is aimed at professional users who demand a long battery life. The smartphone has a 43 hour talk time, USB on-the-go and various business applications. Lenovo also launched a more stylish S920 and S820 aimed mainly at the young crowd with multi colour options and heavy multimedia use. Although the A Series with two models the A706 and A390 is aimed at entry level users, it comes with packed features including a Dolby digital sound.

Most of the phones in the portfolio run on quad-core processors.

As Lanci pointed out smartphones are fast becoming a primary platform for work, entertainment and social networking for consumers.

According to him within the next three years there will be no more keyboards. At Lenovo we have been focusing on adopting the PC and coming up with PC plus solutions, he said

The Yoga pad, a PC that bends into a tablet is the perfect example of this evolution.

Earlier this month it launched a new 10.1” Windows 8 tablet called the Miix, that when docked with a keyboard case can be used as an ultrabook.

There are plans to introduce more such products. There will be more tablets. We plan to come up with two smartphone releases every year with a six months gap in between. We even plan to come up with a smart TV, sometime next year, said Lanci.

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