China's Lenovo creates unit for tablets, mobiles

Chinese computer giant Lenovo said Tuesday it will create a special unit to create mobile and other Internet-connected devices, as it seeks to grab a bigger slice of the fast-growing market.

The new business will be based in Beijing and devoted to developing tablets, smart mobile phones and televisions as well as devices for cloud computing, Lenovo said in a statement.

There is "tremendous growth potential of the mobile Internet" and the company wants to "capitalise on these opportunities to drive growth," Lenovo chief executive Yang Yuanqing said.

Liu Jun, president of Lenovo's Product Group, will head the new unit.

Lenovo, the world's fourth largest computer maker by shipments, has been pushing to diversify its business into new product types amid huge global demand for smartphones and tablet computers.

The company last year unveiled the LePhone -- its first signature product in its push into smartphone market.

And at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, it launched the IdeaPad U1 computer -- a laptop that can be converted into a touch-screen tablet. It also rolled out the LePad tablet.

Lenovo, which bought IBM's personal computer business in 2005, said IdeaPad U1 with LePad would be available in China by the end of March.

It will not be available in the United States until next-generation Android mobile software is available for use in the tablets.

(c) 2011 AFP