News

PC maker Lenovo to become #1 Chinese smartphone company in 2013

Move over Samsung, there's local competition

PC maker Lenovo to become #1 Chinese smartphone company in 2013
The Chinese mobile market is enormous and growing ever larger.

But when it comes to the key hardware brands, they're not Chinese are they?

Well, you might be surprised that while Samsung (the #1 smartphone OEM with 16.7 percent of the Chinese market) and Apple (#3, with 6.9 percent), have the premier brand recognition, it's not the likes of ZTE or Huawei who are leading the domestic charge.

Instead, it's the world's largest PC maker, Lenovo, which has leapfrogged into second position, with 14.8 percent of the market.

It shipped 5 million smartphones last quarter.

LeSuccess

That's partly due to its Android-based LePhone brand (IdeaPhone outside China), with analysts Gartner predicting that the company will become China's top smartphone vendor in 2013.

"The brand is positioned at the mid-to-lower end which will drive much of its future growth, and this is where global brands are less competitive," it notes.

It's certainly news to further depress HP and Dell shareholders, as the western PC makers have failed to successfully operate in the phone business.

Think smart

And more good news for Lenovo is that Gartner predicts that by 2016, the number of tablets shipped in China will have matched the laptop market - around 58 million devices annually.

This rise will be price based as it's expected the average price of a Chinese tablet will drop from $262 in 2011 to $176 by 2016.

Lenovo currently offers several tablets including its ThinkPad and IdeaTab ranges.

[source: Gartner]

Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.