Lenovo Introduces the LePad to Compete with iPad

The Chinese firm Lenovo, best known for making clunky laptops for IBM, has introduced a tablet mobile computer based on the Android mobile computing platform in a direct attempt to compete with Apple’s iPad. Not sure how well it will do, but if the “LeCar” is any indication, it does not bode well.

From ComputerworldUK here:

The device will be called the ‘LePad’ and will use the Android mobile operating system.

The product’s development comes as Lenovo’s chairman said earlier this month that Apple CEO Steve Job hasn’t been focused on the Chinese market. “If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, (Lenovo) would be in trouble,” Liu Chuanzhi told the Financial Times.

This year, Lenovo began selling its own smart phone called ‘LePhone’. The company has said in the past Lenovo’s strategy is to “win” in China before Lenovo begins selling the phone abroad. Lenovo also believes the mobile internet hardware and services could become 10 to 20 percent of the company’s business over these next five years.

Whether or not this will be successful will remain to be seen. But I can say that there is still lots of techno-xenophobia in government agencies when it comes to adopting any computing platform made in China. Many government agencies refuse to allow Lenovo laptops on their networks. They can’t say WHY they aren’t allowed other than it is made in China. Somehow, that is an unacceptable risk, despite the fact that the systems can be monitored and proven safe.