US government clears China for big deal with IBM

March 9, 2005      (Page 4 of 4)

Now that the federal review is behind it, the next step for the new Lenovo is to focus on executing the deal, Ward said. Lenovo has already formed its senior executive staff and launched a number of integration teams.

It's also evaluating a product strategy that would bring Lenovo-designed PCs from China to the rest of the world through both direct and indirect sales channels, Fran O'Sullivan, who will become Lenovo International's chief operating officer, said in an interview last week.

Lenovo's Tian Jino A desktop has a built-in VoIP phone. Many of Lenovo's PCs, two of which IBM showed off last week at its PartnerWorld conference, have trendy features and look more like they might have been built by Apple Computer rather than a buttoned-down company like IBM. The Tian Jino A desktop, for one, looks like a 1950s radio and includes a built-in voice over Internet Protocol telephone.

Still, it won't be easy for Lenovo. Dell and HP aren't likely to cede market share willingly. Moreover, they can use any uncertainty over the Lenovo deal as leverage to dislodge IBM's corporate customers, analysts have said. At the same time, despite Lenovo's fresh-looking designs and the potential for the new company to offer lower prices, thanks to its greater scale, its brand name is untested outside China. But now, after being relatively quiet during the CFIUS review, Ward said, "We're really going to start explaining to our customer base, to our partners and to (the news media) why we're so excited about this new company."

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Source: C-Net News