Lenovo to dial into phone market

The Chinese PC giant will launch mobile phones before introducing its PCs to Vietnam under the IBM brand name, after buying the rights for IBM’s PC business last year.
Lenovo has set an initial target of becoming the fourth-largest mobile handset provider in Vietnam by 2006.
The group’s products are available through Hanoi-based DKD Hi-tech company, its sole Vietnamese distributor, in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang.
Lenovo’s business development key account manager, Hu Bing, said the group aimed to use this opportunity to expand operations in Southeast Asia, especially to Vietnam, which has one of the world’s fastest growth rates of mobile phone penetration.
“We are aiming at becoming the fourth-largest mobile handset provider in the market within two years,” said Hu Binh, adding that the group would focus on maintaining services that might be standardised internationally.
The company is also entering the Singapore and Hong Kong markets in parallel with Vietnam.
Lenovo said its mobile phones are aimed at entrepreneurs, young people and mid-level consumers.
Lenovo will eventually offer 15-20 models in Vietnam, but at first only five models will be available, costing between VND1.6 million and VND9.9 million ($102-$634).
Of these, the $634 pocket PC ET960 is expected to be a big hit. The handset comes with a built-in camera, Windows Mobile 2003 SE OS and Intel processor PXA 272 312 MHz.
The phone can be used on GSM Tri-band network and boasts 128 MB storage space. Duong Quang Trung, director of DKD Hi-tech company, said the company would release its target revenue in the next two weeks.
“However, the main goal is to gain good sales in Vietnam,” said Trung.
The latest addition to the mobile phone market means Vietnam is home to more than 20 handset providers, including TCL, another China-based brand. In terms of nationwide sales, Nokia leads the pack, followed by Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.
According to market research firm GfK, Nokia held 52.9 per cent of the market share in February this year, an increase of 8.7 per cent over the same period last year. However, the market share was down by 2 per cent over that in January.
Local insiders said the market consumption trend will focus on easy-to-use phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) for local youth, while mid-end users would also be targeted by mobile handset providers.