Lenovo moves to the country

Offers low-cost PCs for China's rural market

By Austin Modine in Mountain View • Get more from this author

3rd August 2007 22:06 GMT

Flushed with a nearly 13-fold income jump in its first quarter, Lenovo hopes to extend its lead in China by targeting the country's poor, but expansive rural market.

The world's third largest PC maker announced today it will vend computers for as low as $200 to residents of China's countryside. China is the world's second largest PC market and rapidly expanding.

The PC will come with a keyboard, but not a monitor. Lenovo has opted to use the customer's television for a display instead. The system is expected to go on sale later this year with a price range of $200-$400. Currently, there are no details on the processor size or other features in the package.

While Lenovo has been eager to expand beyond the Greater China market - with moves such as the purchase of the PC division of IBM two years ago — there's still a lot of money to be made at home. About 70 per cent of China's people live in the countryside, but the average income is only about $560 a year.

Dell has previously announced a similar move. In March, the company unveiled a PC that retails between $335 to $520 for the Chinese market. Although Dell is well ahead of Lenovo worldwide, it lags behind in China. ®