It was a busy 2009 for Jay McBain and Lenovo Inc. as the Chinese computer maker best known for its ThinkPad and ThinkCenter lines of notebooks and PCs released many new products designed to capitalize on the market shift towards mobile computing, as well as the launch this fall of Microsoft‘s (NASDAQ: MSFT) new operating system, Windows 7.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Lenovo launched a number of new IdeaPad consumer notebook designs, including Y650, Y550 and Y450, a consumer entertainment notebook.
The company also launched the U130 ultraportable and the S10 netbook. Lenovo also launched the IdeaCentre A600 All-in-One desktop.Netbooks are a big part of Lenovo’s strategy going forward, said McBain, with particularly strong opportunities in the consumer and education markets.
Following Lenovo Group president and CEO William Amelio’s resignation in February after a US$97 million quarterly loss and his replacement with Rory Read as president and COO and Yang Yuanqing as CEO, Lenovo announced a restructuring in March that included creating developed and emerging market units in the place of its regional business divisions, as well as restructuring product groups around high- and low-end customers.
The Think Product Group will mainly work on enterprise products. The Idea Product Group division of Lenovo will focus on products for small firms and consumers.
