It has been old news that Lenovo has had a wind-fall when it got its paws on the smartphone division of Motorola Mobility from Google, and that too for a measly $3 billion. This aspect forms the basis of the latest news coming out of Taiwan, which states that Taiwanese equipment and logistics makers expect Lenovo to reach all the way up to becoming the second largest Android smartphone manufacturer. If the latest figures are anything to go by, the Android landscape is ruled by a benevolent monarch – Samsung, who rules the roost with a 65% market share, followed by LG at 7%, HTC at 6%, Sony at 5% and Motorola at a measly 4%. It isn’t surprising that Lenovo as of yet, does not figure in this list at all.
In the current scenario, Lenovo is poised at the cusp, from where the Chinese manufacturer stands to gain a substantial market share. In this endeavor, the acquisition of Motorola Mobility will play a decisive role, however much would depend on how Lenovo goes about leveraging most of Motorola’s patents and design principles. Under the aegis of Google, Motorola has regained market popularity with the launch of the Motorola Moto X and its cheaper sibling the Motorola Moto G. In fact, the Moto X has been called as the best device of 2013 while the Moto G has helped Motorola gain traction in markets from which the company had withdrawn – especially in the South Asian regions and India. Lenovo’s products have so far been popular in Asian countries, but they have not attained the popularity of the established brands.
If Lenovo continues to let Motorola bring out handsets in the footsteps of the Moto X and Moto G, focuses on innovation and delivering quality products, the chances for the organization to succeed would be greatly improved. Samsung has been a market leader mostly because it churns out devices in all possible specifications and screen sizes. For an incumbent like Lenovo, it would make more sense to stick with two or three releases a year, and keep its effort focused on product design, highest standards of quality and value for money. However, whether Lenovo reaches the number two slot or not, is something which only time will tell. What do you think, would Lenovo become a market leader this year, or will it take more time? Do let us know in the comments below.