CES brought forth some interesting information from Lenovo’s Jay Parker, president for Lenovo’s North American operations, as he spoke with CNet at this year’s show. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that Lenovo was interest in expanding their Chromebook lineup and that they will “release multiple Chromebook models” in 2014 and would offer multiple configurations and price ranges. Parker said, “I think Chromebooks can be very impactful in the market really quickly. We believe the market will accelerate greatly in the next 12 months.”
The current Chromebook offerings by Lenovo are mostly in the educational market, but he believes they will be able to grow in the public market as well – and they should, as they make excellent equipment, although, normally more expensive than their competitors. He gave no specific date, but said they should be in the U.S. by Summer 2014.
Known mostly in the U.S. for the famed industrial “work horse,” the ThinkPad series of mostly business laptops, which they purchase from IBM approximately ten years ago – and have proudly upheld their tradition and heritage. They also have an IdeaPad line geared more for the home consumer and priced accordingly, however, they have been expanding their line into touchscreen/laptop combinations, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks, and tablets.
Lenovo of China is the world’s largest maker of PC’s with about 17-percent of the market share according to IDC. Like their Korean neighbor, Samsung, Lenovo has much bigger ambitions – they want to be the largest seller of PCs, smartphones, tablets, and Smart TVs. Lenovo already sells these products, but ones such as smartphones and Smart TVs, they only sell outside the U.S…but Parker says all of that will start to change very soon, although he would not give any specifics. It does seem clear that he believes that Android will help Lenovo expand their sales of both smartphones and Chromebooks, especially in the U.S.
Please let us know on our Google+ Page if a Chromebook is in your future – will 2014 be the year you purchase one, and would Lenovo be a brand that you would consider…we would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.