Lenovo is a very fierce competitor in the PC world and is prospering thanks to its business decisions and products. This we know from its recent set of sterling results, while other similar companies stumble and moan about macroeconomics. Also Lenovo is a company that isn’t afraid to say it was wrong and adapt to the, sometimes painful, changes needed to succeed. Last month Lenovo’s North American president admitted that the company had not foreseen the demand for touchscreens with Windows 8 and went further to admit that “across every major shift over the past 10 years, we're never (been)right. The learning is, how do you respond to that?” Now the company looks set to launch a range of Chromebooks in May. The big question is; is it another misstep or is will these Chromebooks be released as the result of a lesson learned?
Anton Wahlman, writing for The Street, said that “enterprise customers started demanding Lenovo make Chromebooks in 2012, so Lenovo will provide them in 2013 and beyond.” Wahlman also says that more and more enterprises want to try using Chromebooks with their employees instead of Windows laptops. Furthermore, because of respect for Lenovo’s line of Windows powered laptops, Lenovo has been particularly singled out as a desirable supplier.
The maturing of Google Apps and the “zero-maintenance model of the Chromebooks” could make them very appealing to enterprises and offer savings of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the hardware according to Wahlman. He thinks this could be a thin end of the wedge situation for Microsoft “Yes, this is likely bad news for Microsoft, and perhaps the HDD and SSD vendors given the modest requirements of a Chromebook. Intel may keep a SKU, in principle, but it would be a far cheaper CPU so it is a loser, too. Companies such as Nvidia and Qualcomm may gain some share.” He then concludes that “The obvious winner here, though, is Google.”
New Samsung Chromebox
In related news, a new Samsung Chromebox has surfaced. This new model features a second generation Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and 16GB of local storage. For connectivity there is a wide array of ports including six USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, DVI and displayport. Wireless connectivity is catered for by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
