Lenovo’s CEO claims that high demand for the LePad tablet has resulted in a supply shortage since its debut and aims to grab 20 percent of China’s tablet computer market by the end of this year.
That will put the world’s fourth-largest PC maker in direct competition with Apple, which takes up 78.3 percent of China’s tablet market, followed by Samsung’s 5.1 percent and then several small domestic players, according to research firm Analysys International.
Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing told Chinese reporters that the market response for LePad has been very good and that the company is currently working on a series of new tablets, including a ThinkPad tablet for commercial users, set to be launched in the coming months.
The Chinese manufacturer reported a tripled fourth-quarter profit from $13 million to $42 million, attributing strong sales to corporate customers and emerging markets.
Analysts believe that China is set to overtake the United States to become the world’s biggest PC market by next year. Lenovo sales in China alone accounted for 46.4 percent, compared to other mature markets such as the United States and Europe combined with only 35.7 percent.
The chances of Lenovo taking over iPad in China is close to nil, however given its superb performance in the country, it may very well make a good second placer.