Lenovo, which took over IBM’s PC business in at the end of 2004, will begin marketing the Lenovo brand of desktop PCs and notebooks in Taiwan in 2006, while the ThinkPad brand will continue to exist on store shelves elsewhere, according to sources at Lenovo (Taiwan). The Lenovo series will focus on the consumer PC market, while the ThinkPad series will continue to target the business segment, indicated the sources.

Laurence Hwang, general manager of Lenovo's branch office in Taiwan (formerly head of IBM's personal computer division), declined to confirm the report, claiming that they are still working on product differentiation for the two PC brands. Meanwhile, the launch plan of the Lenovo brand is still being evaluated, said Hwang.

Lenovo introduced a new widescreen notebook series, the ThinkPad Z60 in classic black and titanium silver, in Taiwan yesterday. The ThinkPad Z60t model has a 14-inch widescreen display, 2kg in weight and less than 2.8 cm in depth, with a suggested price tag of NT$62,900 (US$1,870). The ThinkPad Z60m, which features a 15.4-inch screen, will be priced at NT$68,900 (US$2,040). Both models are slated for launch in Taiwan next month, according to Lenovo (Taiwan).

In addition to notebooks, Lenovo launched the E-series desktop PC line to target the mainstream segment. The ThinkCenter E50, considered as Lenovo’s first desktop PC model after the acquisition of IBM’s PC unit, is slated for volume shipments in November and will target the small business and consumer markets, the company stated. Two models from the series will be available at prices of NT$16,800 (US$500) and NT$18,900 (US$560), respectively, in Taiwan.

In response to whether the company would soon have new desktop PCs that support the Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition (MCE) OS, Lenovo said it has no such plans at the moment. However, as long as desktop PCs with the OS gain positive feedback from markets, Lenovo will surely follow suit, said the company.

In related news, Lenovo plans to suspend the ThinkCenter S-series desktop PC model in the first quarter 2006, as the line has some similarity in specifications as the high-end M series, sources at Lenovo (Taiwan) indicated. The average life cycle for ThinkCenter M products is 18 months, compared to about 12 months on average for other ThinkCenter series, according to the sources.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved