From PC World: Lenovo announced its first LTE smartphone and other handsets priced between US$219 to $549, but none will be immediately available in the U.S., one of the largest mobile device markets.
Headlining the new lineup is the sleek Vibe Z, which has a 5.5-inch screen and is the company’s first LTE smartphone. Starting at $549, the smartphone will initially ship in parts of Asia but not the U.S., where LTE has been most widely deployed.
Other new products are non-LTE models and targeted at budget buyers. The 6-inch S930 smartphone starts at $319, and the 4.7-inch S650 starts at $229. Both share common hardware and are intended to bring high-end smartphone features to inexpensive handsets, said Keith Liu, director of launch marketing at Lenovo.
The new products will be shown at the International CES conference next week in Las Vegas.
Lenovo is well established in PCs and tablets, but sees a big growth opportunity in smartphones with total unit shipments expected to reach 1.5 billion units in the coming years, Liu said.
Smartphone shipments for the company grew 78 percent year over year, and the new additions will expand the company’s offerings and worldwide reach, Liu said. The company so far has sold a majority of its smartphones in China.
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