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  • Lenovo Could be Ramping Up Tablet Production

    Lenovo Could be Ramping Up Tablet Production

    The PC market is dwindling, with PC shipments now consistently falling quarter after quarter. Market watchers blame this decline on the rise of mobile devices, specifically tablets that can fulfill the basic web browsing needs of many consumers. PC manufacturers are now scrambling to find other sources of revenue.

    While HP and other manufacturers are now looking toward their enterprise solutions for the future, one PC manufacturer has actually managed to thrive throughout the decline. Lenovo earlier this year overtook HP for PC shipments and has been increasing its sales while others falter. Winning in a declining market isn’t enough for the Chinese company, though, and it now appears that Lenovo is squarely targeting the tablet market.

    A new DigiTimes report today states that Lenovo is now increasing its tablet component orders for the fourth quarter 2013. Component manufacturers are cited as stating most of the orders are for 8-inch tablets that Lenovo is expected to release sometime this holiday season. The tablet market is reportedly to become the focus of Lenovo’s future efforts.

    In addition to the PC market, Lenovo has been making strides in both the tablet and smartphone sectors.

    Though Lenovo does not own a large portion of the tablet market, it did come in a distant fourth in tablet shipments during the third quarter of 2013. It come in behind Apple, Samsung, and Asus’ Nexus 7.

    In the smartphone market, Lenovo is one of a number of Chinese manufacturers that are beginning to make up a large block of smartphone shipments. Lenovo and Huawei in particular are becoming major smartphone brands. Even without a BlackBerry acquisition Lenovo may be able to leverage its position in emerging markets to rise in the smartphone market the way it now has for PCs.

    (Image courtesy Lenovo)

  • Lenovo Bid For BlackBerry Reportedly Nixed By Canadian Government

    The Globe and Mail this week reported that a proposed buyout of struggling Canadian tech firm BlackBerry was rejected by the Canadian government. The offer was from Lenovo, a Chinese tech manufacturer that recently topped HP in notebook shipments during the second quarter of this year.

    The Mail report cites unnamed “sources familiar with the situation” as saying the offer was rejected specifically over national security concerns posed by Lenovo. With BlackBerry providing much of the enterprise security software backing up several large government institutions in North America, the prospect of a Chinese company owning the business was a no-go for Canada.

    The news comes just as BlackBerry yesterday revealed that its proposed $4.7 billion buyout by an investor group led by Fairfax Financial has failed to materialize. Instead, Fairfax and other investors will pump $1 billion into BlackBerry in the form of a debenture.

    The company’s current CEO, Thorsten Heins, has also been ousted from the company along with board member David Kerr. Heins will be replaced in the coming weeks with John Chen, the former CEO of Sybase, as interim CEO of BlackBerry.

    The Fairfax consortium had over one month to raise the cash for a BlackBerry buyout. In the meantime, BlackBerry had been open to other offers for it or its various divisions. No further deals materialized during that time, and the Mail report states that Lenovo’s rumored offer was turned down by BlackBerry before the Canadian government had a chance to reject it.

  • Ashton Kutcher: Lenovo Product Engineer?

    Ashton Kutcher: Lenovo Product Engineer?

    Although Ashton Kutcher recently played Apple guru Steve Jobs on the big screen, he has become the product engineer for a new line of the PC company, Lenovo.

    It is almost guaranteed to help the business of a company when incorporating a superstar Hollywood actor like Ashton Kutcher to be involved with the product.

    In addition to being the highest paid actor on television and appearing in many films, Kutcher is also a big investor in tech products and likes being a part of the growing technological world.

    Lenovo, already the world’s biggest PC manufacturer, has appointed Kutcher as the product engineer on a new Yoga line of tablet computers.

    It was previously rumored over the summer that Kutcher might be entering into a business partnership with Lenovo, and now the news has become official. He is very excited to be in business with the PC giant, and said of the experience, “Entrepreneurship is part of their DNA, and I couldn’t ask for a better fit.”

    An Ashton Kutcher-Lenovo partnership will undoubtedly help their business, as they will use him to provide input and decision-making into design, specifications, software and usage scenarios. In a statement from Kutcher at a launch event, he said of the partnership, “This partnership with Lenovo brings together my love of technology and design that makes your life better.”

    He went on to say that he hopes to help Lenovo develop future mobile computing products, with the Yoga tablet just being the beginning. Ashton Kutcher has already stepped into the tech world before, and co-founded A-Grade Investments, which has provided venture capital and collaboration for multiple tech companies including Airbnb, Fab, Foursquare, Spotify, Path and Uber.

    The new Yoga Tablet went on the market today, being able to last for a a total of 18 hours of battery life, and it also has three different modes (hold, tilt, stand). The 8-inch Yoga Tablet will retail for $249, while the 10-incher is priced at $299.

    There is no doubt that the recent partnership with Ashton Kutcher will help Lenovo’s business, and he is excited about being able to help with the expansion of a very successful company. Lenovo is currently worth $34 billion, and was founded in 1984.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a9K59G0Z0g

    Image via Youtube

  • Lenovo Announces Its First Android Convertible Laptop

    It’s been rumored for a while now that Google would some day introduce a line of Chromebooks that run on Android. That rumor hasn’t materialized yet, but more PC OEMs are now getting in the business of creating Android tablets that double as laptops.

    Lenovo announced the A10 today, a convertible that functions as both a 10-inch tablet and a fully-featured laptop. It’s also cheap with estimates coming in at $340. It’s no slouch, however, as it sports some decent specs.

    According to the press release, the A10 sports a 10.1-inch 1366×768 display that’s powered by a RK3188 quad-core 1.6GHz CPU, Android 4.2 and 2GB of RAM. It also sports 32GB of internal storage, a VGA Webcam, two USB 2.0 ports and one HDMI port. While the resolution may not be as high as other 10-inch tablets, it does feature the most powerful SoC in Rockchip’s lineup.

    Besides the specs, the Lenovo A10 has a few features that help to set it apart from the pack. For starters, Lenovo built a custom UI that the A10 will use when in laptop mode that includes an app launcher, task bar and status bar “for quick, intuitive access to the app library and desktop.”

    When the keyboard is flipped around to what Lenovo calls “stand mode,” the A10 becomes a multimedia Android tablet. It sports stereo speakers so all of your apps, games and movies will actually sound better than it does on most mono-speaker tablets out there.

    “With the recent explosive growth in Android-based, smart connected devices, customers are relying more on Android apps for both work and play. Why should they be required to switch and duplicate to use their laptop? Lenovo’s A10 brings ultra-portability and dual-mode benefits to Android users at a reasonable price,” said Bai Peng, vice president and general manager, notebook business unit, Lenovo Business Group. “Thin and light, with multiple modes and user-inspired innovations for an outstanding user experience … the A10 is uniquely Lenovo.”

    There’s no official price or date yet for the A10, but we’re sure to find out soon enough.

    [Image: zaKTECH1/YouTube]

  • PC Market Not as Bad as Expected During Last Quarter

    Though PC shipments in the third quarter of 2013 did decline year-over-year for the sixth straight quarter, it seems that there could be a small silver lining in the numbers. Market research firm IDC today reported that worldwide PC shipment declines were not quite as bad as analysts had predicted.

    IDC’s numbers put total worldwide PC shipments during the third quarter at 81.6 million units, a 7.6% drop in shipments from the third quarter of 2012. This total represents a significant improvement on IDC’s third quarter predictions, which saw global PC shipments falling 9.5%. The firm attributes the better-than-expected results to a higher volume of enterprise sales.

    “The third quarter was pretty close to forecast, which unfortunately doesn’t reflect much improvement in the PC market, or potential for near-term growth,” said Loren Loverde, VP of Worldwide PC Trackers at IDC. “Whether constrained by a weak economy or being selective in their tech investments, buyers continue to evaluate options and delay PC replacements. Despite being a little ahead of forecast, and the work that’s being done on new designs and integration of features like touch, the third quarter results suggest that there’s still a high probability that we will see another decline in worldwide shipments in 2014.”

    IDC’s third quarter PC numbers were overall similar to other analysts, showing the the U.S. PC market is doing better than others. PC shipments during the third quarter in the U.S. were down only 0.2%. Also, Lenovo was shown to retain its current place at the top of the PC market, improving its shipments more than 2% over its third quarter 2012 shipments. HP and Dell also saw shipment improvements, while smaller PC manufacturers and Apple saw large declines.

    “The United States outperformed many other regions as growth stabilized just under 0%,” said Rajani Singh, senior research analyst for Personal Computers at IDC. “Continuing upgrades from Windows XP boosted shipments, particularly in the commercial desktop segment, while retail acceptance of new and emerging product categories, such as Chromebooks and Ultraslims, helped the portables segment. Nevertheless, the broad picture of the U.S. market has not changed much, with hopes for a small increase in the fourth quarter followed by a challenging 2014.”

    (Image courtesy Lenovo)

  • PC Shipments Decline During Back-to-School Season

    As expected, PC shipments declined year-over-year during the third quarter of 2013. According to market research firm Gartner, shipments fell 8.6% from last year to only 80.3 million units. Shipments were up from the previous quarter, boosted by back-to-school sales and new offerings.

    Though the third quarter numbers represent a sixth consecutive quarterly year-over-year decline in PC shipments, top PC brands did manage to see improvement. Lenovo, which overtook HP in market share the previous quarter is still on top, despite predictions that HP will soon retake its lead. Lenovo improved its global shipments to 14.1 million during the third quarter, a 2.8% increase over 2012. HP also improved its global numbers, raising shipments 1.5% to 13.7 million. Dell was the only other major PC manufacturer to improve year-over-year, increasing shipments 1% to 9.3 million.

    “The third quarter is often referred to as the ‘back-to-school’ quarter for PC sales, and sales this quarter dropped to their lowest volume since 2008,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Consumers’ shift from PCs to tablets for daily content consumption continued to decrease the installed base of PCs both in mature as well as in emerging markets. A greater availability of inexpensive Android tablets attracted first-time consumers in emerging markets, and as supplementary devices in mature markets.”

    U.S. PC shipments actually improved over 2012 with a 3.5% increase to 16.1 overall units shipped during the second quarter. All major brands managed to increase shipments in the U.S. except for Apple, which declined 2.3% to only 2.1 million units. Lenovo saw the largest shipment increase in the U.S., shipping nearly 1.7 million units – a 24.6% increase over its 2012 U.S. shipments.

    “The positive U.S. results could mean that seasonal strength and channel fill for new product launches in 3Q13 finally overcame the structural decline.” said Kitagawa. “Even though 3Q13 shipments were compared with artificially weak 2Q13 because of inventory control for the Windows 8 launch at the time, the 3Q13 results imply the U.S. market may have passed the worst declining stage, which started in 2010. The shrinking installed base of PCs has also passed the steepest decline phase because the structural change has progressed fairly quickly. Tablets will continue to impact the PC market, but the U.S. PC market will see a more moderate decrease rather than a steep decline in the next two years.”

    (Image courtesy Lenovo)

  • Ultrabooks: The Next Generation Of Laptops

    The ultrabook, a new revolutionary laptop, has been released and they have all kinds of features for people to get excited over. There are plenty of brands and designs to choose from, and while a lot of it may be personal preference, each one is designed slightly different from the others. Some weigh more or less than others and the screens also vary in size for the different models.

    The ultrabook will soon be the latest technology trend and much like the new I-phone, everyone will want to get their hands on one. The one downside to the ultrabook is certainly the high price and everyone will not be able to afford these high-tech toys at first. For those people that have been following the release of the new laptop, many people have probably alreaday been steered away because of the high prices. Although, it is possible that they may go down in price soon.

    One company, Lenovo, has already released a model called the IdeaPad U430 Touch, that attempts to compete with other brands in price range. According to a feature in PC World, “if you think an Ultrabook is out of your price range, you haven’t seen Lenovo’s IdeaPad U430 Touch.” Lenovo is a well-respected brand and will look to continue its success with this new model. The article continues to go on and talk about how the new U430 model also carries over many of the features that make their laptops so appealing, including a rigid but elegant all-aluminum enclosure and an exceptionally good, island-style, backlit keyboard. The Lenovo model runs for a low price of $700.00 and with a very long battery life of 6 hours and 38 minutes, it is also made to last. A couple of its downsides are having only one USB port and being a bit heavier than other models and for its size.

    With several models available, it is important for viewers to make an informed decision when buying a new and expensive product. The HP Spectre 13 also seems to be a very attractive model and its features are thoroughly explained in an article from CNET. The HP Spectre comes in both the ultrabook design as well as the detachable hybrid version. The high tech laptop features Beats Audio speakers, and they each feature a 1,920×1,080-pixel-resolution IPS screen. Each device features dual USB 2.0 ports and a full-size HDMI port. The ultrabook additionally includes a full-size SD card slot, and a mini DisplayPort. However, physically, the Ultrabook differs in one major way, featuring an extra wide touch pad that allows users to use certain Windows 8.1 gestures without touching the screen. This feature can come in very handy and save users the extra effort, when they are doing multiple things at once. The ultrabook version will run for $999.99, but a release date is not yet known for the product.

    There will be a number of new models available shortly and to check all of them against each other, visit PC Magazine’s web page for more info.

    Image via Youtube

  • HP Out-Shipping Lenovo Notebooks For the Year

    When this year’s second quarter financial results began to roll in, it became clear that PC shipments, including notebooks, were down for yet another quarter. The only company not largely affected seemed to be Lenovo, which overtook HP as the world’s top notebook manufacturer. Lenovo’s shipments dropped only 0.6% year-over-year, while HP saw a 4.8% notebook shipment decline in the second quarter of 2013. However, as the holiday season approaches, it now appears that predictions of HP’s reclaim of the notebook market are set to come true.

    DigiTimes today reported that HP has shipped 23.5 million notebooks during the first 10 months of 2013. This tops Lenovo’s estimated 22 million units shipped so far this year. The report’s unnamed “sources from the upstream supply chain” stated that HP is hoping to ship 28 million notebooks before the end of 2013.

    HP’s minor comeback to reclaim the top of the notebook market could be due to its strong enterprise sales within the notebook market segment. As the official end of Windows XP in April 2014 approaches, business that have stayed contend with that operating system are now transitioning their infrastructure to newer Microsoft operating systems. HP has even announced an official partnership with Microsoft to migrate business still on XP to newer versions of windows, presumably ones that run on HP hardware.

    (via DigiTimes)

  • Chinese Smartphone Vendors Are On The Rise

    Chinese Smartphone Vendors Are On The Rise

    As has already been reported, smartphone shipments continued to grow during the second quarter of 2013. Canalys today released its estimates, showing that shipments grew 50% from the second quarter of 2012 to 238.1 million units. The analyst firm’s numbers also show that Chinese smartphone manufacturers are raising their market shares quickly.

    Canalys estimates that the top five Chinese smartphone manufacturers – Lenovo, Yulong, Huawei, ZTE, and Xiaomi – accounted for a combined 20% of smartphone shipments this past quarter. Smartphone shipments in China rose over 100% this past year to now comprise over 33% of the quarter’s 238 million units shipped. India also saw a massive rise in smartphone shipments over the past year, with shipments rising 129% year-over-year to 9 million units.

    Like other analysts, Canalys is predicting that most future growth in the smartphone market will come from mid- and low-end devices.

    “Lenovo has benefited from its large TD-SCDMA product portfolio, much of which is aimed at the low-end,” said Nicole Peng, a research director at Canalys. “China Mobile’s strategy of continuously pushing TD-SCDMA smart phones to the mass market benefits local vendors, in particular Lenovo and Yulong. The critical task for these vendors now though is to reduce their reliance on their home market and grow their businesses internationally. To achieve this they will need to invest in patents, establishing local teams and channels as well as diversifying their product portfolios to attract a broader range of consumer segments.”

    Though the Chinese smartphone market is expected to grow for sometime to come, Chinese manufacturers will have a hard time pushing past Apple and Samsung, which make up a combined 44.8% of global smartphone shipments, according to Canalys’ data. Samsung has a wide variety of smartphone styles and is shipping double the number of mobile devices as any other company. With Apple expected to release a mid-range iPhone this fall, analysts are predicting that the current Apple/Samsung dominance will continue for some time to come.

    “The high end of the market continues to grow but there is no doubt that the explosive growth will come from the low end of the market,” said Chris Jones, a principal analyst at Canalys. “Apple needs to respond to this dynamic and it is evident from the performance of its older models this quarter that there is real demand for a new low-cost iPhone. The challenge that it faces is maintaining high margins on arguably the most important products in its portfolio.”

  • Mobile Shipments Are Still Growing, Says Analyst

    Mobile Shipments Are Still Growing, Says Analyst

    Earlier this week, analyst firm TrendForce estimated that smartphone shipments for the second quarter of 2013 were up 6.6% year-over-year. Today another analyst firm has chimed in with similar numbers and a stark look at how Samsung is beginning to dominate the market.

    IDC’s numbers show that 432.1 million total mobile phones were shipped during the second quarter of 2013, a 6% increase over the 407.7 million units shipped during the second quarter of 2012. Much of the markets growth was shown to come from smaller manufacturers, who are making inroads into emerging smartphone markets such as China, India, and Brazil.

    “The smartphone market is still a rising tide that’s lifting many ships,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst at IDC. “Though Samsung and Apple are the dominant players, the market is as fragmented as ever. There is ample opportunity for smartphone vendors with differentiated offerings.”

    Samsung, which released its new flagship Android smartphone the Galaxy S4 this quarter, now accounts for over 26%of the total mobile phone market and over 30% of the smartphone market. The Korean manufacturer shipped 72.4 million smartphone units during the quarter, a 43.9% increase over the second quarter of 2012.

    Apple, which had no new product launches during the past quarter, saw only a 20% increase in its shipments over the second quarter of 2012. The company’s share of the smartphone market dropped to 13.1% from 16.6% one year ago.

    LG was one of the big winners during the past quarter, shipping 11.3 million smartphones – a 108% increase from the 5.8 million it shipped during the second quarter 2012.

    Chinese manufacturers Lenovo and ZTE also saw huge shipment increases and market share gains. Lenovo in particular shipped 11.3 million smartphone units, a 130% increase from the second quarter of 2012.

    “Market opportunities exist at all levels, including the high end,” said Ramon Llamas, research manager at IDC. “While Samsung and Apple accounted for significant share of the overall market, they were not the only vendors active in the high end of the market, and recent device introductions and upcoming launches signal more vendors targeting this space. Comparisons will certainly be made to the flagship Galaxy and iPhone models, but clearly the competition refuses to be shut out altogether.”

  • Ashton Kutcher (You Know, Steve Jobs) Reportedly Eyeing Lenovo Gig

    Remember those “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” ads? Well, replace both John Hodgman and Justin Long with Ashton Kutcher and insert the new line “I’m here to sell you a PC, and also a movie about the guy who made Macs” and you’re on the right path.

    According to the NY Post, Kutcher is close to signing a deal with PC makers Lenovo – a deal that will involve Kutcher appearing in a series of advertisements for Lenovo computers. It’s also a deal that will net Kutcher $10 million, or so says the Post. Considering that Kutcher has been a pitchman for Nikon cameras, and is a noted tech-investor, it shouldn’t really surprise you that he would sign on to push computers.

    What makes this interesting, however, is that Kutcher has already filmed a movie in which he portrays iconic Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

    Is this some kind of marketing genius? Subversive advertising where a Steve Jobs-like figure tries to sell you PCs? Interesting, Lenovo.

    Jobs is the movie, and it’s slated to premiere on August 16th – which is actually a lot later than it was supposed to hit theaters. The film premiered back in January at the Sundance Film Festival and received mixed reviews. The film was supposed to open on April 19th but was pushed back in order to benefit from an additional marketing push.

    Here’s what you can expect:

    “JOBS details the major moments and defining characters that influenced Steve Jobs on a daily basis from 1971 through 2001. The film plunges into the depths of his character, creating an intense dialogue-driven story that is as much a sweeping epic as it is an immensely personal portrait of Steve Jobs’ life.”

    Recently, Kutcher took to Quora to talk about why he decided to take on the iconic role of Steve Jobs.

    “It was a perfect convergence in my craft and my interests. I’ve spent the last 5 years working with early stage technology companies as an investor and advisor. Whenever you take on a role, it’s like a crash course in the subject matter of the film. So while researching the role I was able to spend countless hours studying tech design, product, and history. It also afforded me the opportunity to meet with several of Steve’s peers who happen to be icons of the tech world,” he said.

    Maybe one of those interests involves pitching Lenovo products? It’s unlikely that Kutcher’s role in any future advertising would even remotely be tied to Steve Jobs – but hey, it’s an interesting thought, right?

  • CES 2013: Lenovo Introduces The 27-Inch Tablet You Never Asked For

    Tablets traditionally come in either 7 or 10-inch varieties. Anything even remotely bigger would be seen as insanity. Well, Lenovo is apparently insane as the company has introduced a massive tablet at CES.

    Lenovo today announced the IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC, a massive 27-inch tablet that the company calls an “interpersonal PC.” The idea is that it’s laid across a coffee table and then everybody can partake in messing around with the massive touch screen in a variety of ways, including multiplayer games like virtual air hockey.

    “We’ve seen technology shifts across the four screens, from the desktop to the laptop, tablet and smartphone, and yet, while people have more computing power than ever before, there is still room for technologies like Horizon that bring people together. Horizon makes personal computing interpersonal computing with shared, collaborative experiences among several people,” said Peter Hortensius, president, Product Group, Lenovo. “Now many people can enjoy different photos, music and video on the same screen, and they can play games with our special accessories that blend physical and digital interaction. Horizon reflects our commitment to delivering the innovative products that define the PC Plus era.”

    If the 27-inch Horizon isn’t doing it for you, Lenovo is also experimenting with a 39-inch table PC, code-named “Gamma.” The company says it’s in the early concept phase, but it “illustrates the outstanding multi-user entertainment experiences such a large screen can provide.”

    The Horizon Table PC is obviously built for entertainment, and the hardware will come with a number of accessories when it ships later this year. For starters, it will come with e-dice and four joysticks for games that require a bit more precision than what its 10-finger touchscreen can provide. Speaking of games, the table PC features a number of casual experiences including Monopoly, Raiding Company, Draw Race 2 HD and more. It can also play a number of popular phone apps thanks to BlueStacks emulation technology.

    Besides games, the Horizon is a Windows 8 PC so it has all the features you’ve come to expect from a Windows PC. Owners can share pictures, videos and other media all from the neck-straining comfort of their coffee table.

    The Horizon Table PC will be made available in early Summer through the company’s Web site. The PC will start at a reasonable $1,699, but upgrading the device with extras will presumably push it past the $2,000 mark.

  • Lenovo Acquires Cloud Computing Company Stoneware

    Lenovo announced today that it has acquired cloud computing services company Stoneware Inc. Lenovo states that cloud computing solutions are now a key component of its product portfolio. The company expects the acquisition to speed along its offerings, particularly “the ability to provide secure content across multiple devices in education and government.”

    Stoneware is a privately held company that develops cloud computing and classroom management software. It is currently headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and has 67 employees. The price paid for Stoneware has not been disclosed, but Lenovo did state the acquisition “is not material to Lenovo’s earnings.”

    “Adding Stoneware cloud computing into the Lenovo line up presents a significant opportunity to leverage their success, and enhance our PC Plus offerings, all to the benefit of our customers,“ said Peter Hortensius, president of the product group at Lenovo. “We have a history of innovation and embracing new technologies, and the talented team at Stoneware will fit in perfectly with our long-term strategy.”

    It seems that Lenovo will be focusing on the enterprise side of its business. Along with the acquisition announcement, Lenovo stated that it is “aggressively expanding its product offerings” to people and businesses, specifically emphasizing connectedness across multiple devices. Lenovo expects to leverage Stoneware’s software to help users connect PCs, tablets, and smartphones. The company “aims to offer” secure, end-to end solutions for business customers.

    “We are pleased to be joining forces with Lenovo,” said Rick German, CEO of Stoneware. “Lenovo is one of the largest and fastest growing technology companies in the world and for Stoneware, a small company with roots in the heartland of the United States, we are delighted to be given the opportunity to deliver real benefit to customers on a global stage.”

  • New ThinkPad X1 Carbon From Lenovo To Be Available This Month

    Lenovo introduced the ThinkPad X1 Carbon back in May, and the device will reportedly ship by the end of the month. No concrete release date has been announced, but it should be available soon enough, through Lenovo’s partners and Lenovo.com. On the product page, it still just says “available summer 2012”.

    A commenter at SlashGear indicates that a Lenovo sales rep told him the date would be August 21st.

    The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the lightest 14″ Ultrabook in the world, according to Lenovo.

    “Created for those who demand the highest levels of performance, mobility, entertainment and design, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon exceeds Ultrabook specifications by using a premium carbon fiber rollcage to create a durable Ultrabook weighing less than three pounds,” the company says.

    “Just like in the automotive industry, carbon fiber materials add structural strength and durability while minimizing weight,” the company adds on the product page.

    It comes with embedded 3G connectivity and a mobile pay-as-you go option, and contains Intel vPro technology.

    Lenovo also touts the fact that you can bring up the battery life of the device to 80% strength in as little as 35 minutes with its RapidCharge feature.

    When the company introduced the X1 Carbon, it also revealed a new portfolio of ThinkPad laptops, the new ThinkPad X, T, W, and L Series models, which come with 3rd generation Intel Core processors and Lenovo Enhanced Experience 3.0. The laptops are 40% faster than typical Windows 7 computers, according to the company. These came out in June.

  • Bing, Lenovo, DoSomething.org Really Want Teens to Not Be Lazy This Summer

    Bing continues its mission to get people #doing more as it has teamed up with Lenovo and DoSomething.org to launch “The Hunt: 11 Days of Doing,” a call to action for youngsters to get up off of their keisters and do some good in their communities over the summer.

    Teens in the United States apparently have a motivation problem when it comes to volunteering. A surprising 93% of them say they want to volunteer, but only 22% actually end up doing it; the other 71% say they didn’t get around to volunteering because, as is their typical adolescent wont, nobody asked them to volunteer (although that kinda defeats the purpose of volunteering, kiddos). Trying to tap into this unmotivated potential, DoSomething.org has launched a website for “The Hunt” that hopes to get teens started with effecting some positive changes in their communities. By working with the technological implements that teenagers seem addicted to these days, the companies will have participants communicate their progress throughout the 11-day challenge via cell phones, the internet, and social media.

    Bing Senior Product Manager Karin Muskopf predicts that the integration of social media as a tool for building communities will help promote activism. “Bing’s new social features will play an integral role in helping participants search for the clues, connect with their Facebook friends for advice and see what experts recommend in order to quickly research and tackle the daily challenges,” she said.

    Challenges in “The Hunt: 11 Days of Doing” will focus on humanitarian issues related to the environment, energy and recycling, poverty, violence and bullying, animal welfare, and more. Participants in the challenge will also be eligible for prizes like Lenovo Ultrabooks and scholarships.

    The challenge has also enlisted the help of several celebrities like Hillary Duff, Cody Simpson, Rachael Leigh Cook, and this young lady, Shenae Grimes, who the internet tells me is on the relaunched version of Beverly Hills, 90210 (which the internet also tells me is simply titled 90210).

    Video: Bing Teams with DoSomething.org and Lenovo to Kick-Off “The Hunt: 11 Days of Doing”

    While this is generally good for the heart and soul of humanity, it also affords Bing a unique opportunity to introduce its newly launched design, the three-column format that integrates information from Facebook and Twitter into search results, to a young and likely obstinate generation of internet users. And I only say obstinate because what teenagers don’t look forward to velcroing themselves to the couch for the duration of their summer break and happily doing nothing? If Bing can break the pattern of irresistible laziness of adolescents, then toppling Google should be a walk in the park.

  • Lenovo Offers No-Contract Mobile Broadband

    Lenovo has announced Lenovo Mobile Access, a no-contract mobile broadband service that allows consumers to ditch MiFi subscriptions. All ThinkPad laptops that come with embedded mobile broadband connectivity will also come with Lenovo Mobile Access pre-installed. The service will be pay-as-you-go, allowing users to purchase blocks of time or data. The service is provided through Macheen Inc., a cloud service platform recently acquired by Lenovo.

    “We live in world where it’s not only undesirable to be without online access, it’s often disruptive to businesses. For that reason we wanted to create a flexible mobile broadband solution that would be unparalleled in its ability to help business users stay connected and working,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager of the ThinkPad Business Unit at Lenovo. “Fundamentally, Lenovo Mobile Access gives individual and corporate customers options to determine how, when and where they want to connect with online applications and services, all at a price that fits their budget.”

    The lowest-end “Time Pass” that can be bought for Lenovo Mobile Access is 30 minutes, costs $1.95 and has a 30 MB data limit. Users can also purchase a day-long pass for $8.95, though it has a 200 MB data limit. For those that travel often, Lenovo is also has monthly plans for 2 GB or 6 GB of data. The monthly plans are auto-renewable and can also be purchased by companies for allotment to employees.

    “To date, connectivity has been ‘off the rack’ and one-size fits all-too many mobile users are forced to squeeze into a mobile broadband contract that gives them either more or less connectivity than they need, or they go without entirely,” said Richard Schwartz, president and CEO of Macheen. “With service by Macheen, Lenovo Mobile Access lets users trade ill-fitting plans for tailored connectivity featuring pay-as-you-go rates and customized access for any device, application and user. Quite literally, it’s access to cloud-based content, services and applications that fits the way users work and live, meaning virtually all ThinkPad users can enjoy the value of true mobility.”

    Lenovo Mobile Access is already available for ThinkPad Classic and ThinkPad Edge devices with mobile data connectivity. The service is, so far, only available in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

  • Lenovo Recalls Desktops

    Lenovo, cooperating with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, announced today a voluntary recall of ThinkCentre M70z and M90z desktop computers, due to a potential fire hazard. The CPSC has advised consumers to discontinue use of the recalled products as of now, and points out that it is illegal to even attempt to resell a recall machine.

    lenovo recall

    The details of the recall have been listed on the CPSC site:

    Name of Product: Lenovo ThinkCentre M70z and M90z desktop computers
    Units: About 50,500
    Manufacturer/Importer: Lenovo, of Morrisville, N.C.
    Hazard: A defect in an internal component in the power supply can overheat and pose a fire hazard.
    Incidents/Injuries: The firm received reports of one fire incident and one smoke incident in the U.S. No injuries have been reported.
    Description: The recalled all-in-one desktop computers, or PCs, are flat-panel monitors with the PC integrated into the monitor housing itself. The power supplies are also inside the monitor or PC housing. The computer chassis has a matte black finish with the brand name “ThinkCentre” in the lower left hand corner of the monitor front. The recalled desktop model numbers are M90z and M70z along with the serial number and manufacturing date code can be found on a label on the underside of the unit.

    As Lenovo has pointed out, only certain computers of the series were affected, and consumers would need to check the serial numbers on their desktops. The numbers to look for are in the date code ranges 1001 to 1012, 1101 to 1112, 001 to 012 and 101 to 112.

    Additional recall details:

    Sold at: Online at Lenovo’s websites, by telephone and direct sales through Lenovo authorized distributors nationwide from May 2010 through January 2012 for about $500 for the M70z model and $800 for the M90z model.
    Manufactured in: Mexico
    Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the computers, unplug the power supply and contact the firm to determine if your computer is included in the recall and to schedule an appointment for a free replacement of the power supply.
    Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Lenovo toll-free at (855)248-2194 anytime, or visit the firm’s website at www.lenovo.com/aiopsurecall

    Any users who would like to report an incident with the product to the CPSC can do so here.

  • Stephen Hawking’s PC’s Are Personally Delivered By an Intel Engineer

    The photo above is of Travis Bonifield, who works directly with Hawking, Rob Weatherly, who provides IT support for Hawking, and Sam Blackburn, Hawking’s grad assistant. And of course, Hawking himself.

    When you’ve defied the medical odds and lived 50 years longer than what medical experts said, devised some of the most important theories in physics and cosmology, and become a multi-million book selling author, then maybe you can have your PC’s delivered to you by Intel personally. Until then we can get a small glimpse into the relationship Stephen Hawking has developed with PC component manufacturer, Intel.

    This story begins in 1997, when Hawking was working with AMD to help him with his custom PC needs, due to the motor neuron disease which left him with very little physical functionality. According to Travis Bonifield, the Intel application engineer who works with Hawking personally, the relationship began when Intel’s Co-Founder, Gordon Moore spoke personally with Hawking, “Stephen and Gordon met at a conference around 1997. Gordon noted that Stephen was using an AMD machine. Gordon asked Stephen, ‘Would you like to use an Intel computer moving forward? We’d be happy to build that for you and support it.‘ ”

    If you’re wondering what’s powering Hawking’s latest PC, which is updated every 2 years, he’s sporting a Lenovo X220 tablet PC, with an Intel Core i7 processor. What’s really cool about the custom build is how it recognizes Hawking’s commands for his voice synthesizer.

    Originally, Hawking would use a clicker which he could highlight various commands or words and then communicate them through the synthesizer. However, the nerve which allowed him the use of his thumbs would degrade which required Intel to devise a new solution. They eventually developed an infrared sensor which hangs off of Hawking’s glasses. The sensor detects light changes as he twitches his cheek, and allows him to select commands. Which is amazing. Watch it in action below.

    Bonifield has been working with Hawking since 2001, when he took over the position from a previous engineer. One aspect of the job is having to deliver the PC’s from America to England, where Hawking lives. Bonifield mentions one of the less than glorious aspects of the project, “I actually take two systems out to Stephen [one is a backup]. One year I packed them in cases, checked them in as luggage and the airlines lost them for three days. The year after that I thought I’d ship them ahead of time. They got held up in customs for 3 days. This time I got lucky. My luggage showed up with me [laughs].”

    Below is a photo of Bonifield holding up a replica of the custom PC he developed for Hawking, and a video of Hawking’s grad assistant installing it.

    Hawking Intel

  • mSpot: We Have the “Holy Grail” of Mobile Movies

    mSpot has announced what it is calling the “Holy Grail of Mobile Movies”. In other words: instant streaming and progressive downloads. It will first be offered on newly shipping Lenovo tablets.

    “While there is growing competition for streaming movies – it’s mostly on PCs and web-enabled TV –very little downloading is available on mobile devices,” the company says. “Movie DRM for the mobile is not the same as movie DRM for PC, (companies like Amazon/Blockbuster have created their own players to solve the download problem on PC, but are unable to both stream and download movies to mobile devices).”

    Lenovo and mSpot have together developed their own DRM solutions for mobile movie downloads, using Microsoft’s PlayReady.  

    According to mSpot, it’s the only player that is able to serve the “very fragmented market” cross platform with both iOS and Android.

    “Amazon, Apple and Blockbuster boast the ability to download and instantly watch – but they are actually referring to TV shows; movies require a full download before you can watch them, (Apple states in their video tutorial, that you can start watching right away -while downloading), but fail to mention this doesn’t apply to movies,” mSpot says. “Amazon and Blockbuster have built their own DRM-enabled movie players, but users must still download the entire movie before watching.”

    The company also points out that Blockbuster used to support iOS devices, but no longer offers this.

    mSpot Competitive Matrix