Dubai: World’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer Lenovo is looking to move up the ladder with its new Vibe 2 smartphones and stand out from rest of the crowd.
The Chinese manufacturer unveiled the three models — Vibe X2, Vibe Z2 and Vibe Z2 Pro — which were launched at IFA, Berlin, couple of weeks ago.
“Our aim is to become the third largest smartphone player in the Middle East and Africa region and globally. We are not present in all the regional markets. We will be expanding to other African countries in a phased manner,” Oliver Ebel, Vice-President and General Manager of Lenovo MEA, told Gulf News on Monday.
Lenovo is present in Egypt and Nigeria.
Quoting a research firm International Data Corporation’s second-quarter report, he said that Lenovo ranks third place and occupies 7.9 per cent market share in the UAE and 4.9 per cent in Saudi Arabia within a span of one year.
Lenovo launched its smartphones in the UAE and Saudi Arabia last year.
“With the expansion of our Vibe portfolio, Lenovo continues to build on the momentum we have gathered in the PC space and translate that into growth across all of our other segments in the region,” he said.
Lenovo seeks to stand out from the crowd and is banking on a new layered design — three different layers with each layer featuring a different colour — to cater to intuitive and trendy users.
The five-inch Vibe X2 is priced at Dh1,499 while the 5.5-inch Vibe Z2 is priced at Dh1,699 and the six-inch Vibe Z2 Pro for Dh2,499.
According to Ipsos MediaCT report, smartphone users in Middle East and Africa are expected to reach 156.4 million in 2014 and 251.9 million by 2017, said Shashank Sharma, executive director and director of mobile business group at Lenovo MEA.
“This year, we are seeing a hunger for smartphones and an increase in mobile data usage, enabling a new world of mobile business, entertainment and social networking,” he said.
With many new smartphones going to be launched this quarter, Lenovo is ready to face the brutal competition.
“We expect healthy competition and it is good, then only we can compete with other products and differentiate with unique features,” Ebel said.
