Lenovo CEO says we could see “Motorola by Lenovo” branded devices in the future

By Andy Boxall Published January 31, 2014

Lenovo’s CEO Yuanqing Yang has talking about the future, specifically what we should expect from the newly inked partnership between his company and Motorola, following the surprise sale earlier this week. Speaking to Fortune.com, Yang revealed a few details about what it may have planned for the two brands in the near future.

When asked if we will see Lenovo-branded phones for sale in America, Yang replied that no decision had been made so far, but indicated the Motorola name would probably be used – a sensible choice given its recent rise in popularity – but with a slight alteration. He suggested we could see phones with “Motorola by Lenovo” stamped on them.

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Yang fully intends to use the Motorola name in the U.S. and internationally, but will keep using the Lenovo name in China, where it’s the number two smartphone brand behind Samsung. However, there is some doubt over whether it’ll continue to offer customization options. Interestingly, if Lenovo does decide it’s a worthwhile feature, we could see it offered in more markets around the world. The Moto X has recently launched in the UK without any of Moto Maker’s custom design options.

Lenovo’s CEO says Motorola deal is reminiscent of IBM acquisition, and adds the pairing is “Definitely complimentary.

Going back to the Motorola by Lenovo name, if this sounds familiar, it’s because Lenovo occasionally uses a similar marketing message to promote its ThinkPad PC range. Yang commented that the Motorola deal was reminiscent of the IBM acquisition in other ways, saying the pairing is “Definitely complimentary.”

He expects it to be equally as successful too, and is aiming for 100 million smartphone sales by 2015. An ambitious target, as the combined sales of the two companies last year was 55 million. Not only that, but Yang says it’s targeting Apple and Samsung, the only two firms ahead of it in terms of market share.

Back in May last year, Yang said Lenovo wanted to launch a range of smartphones in the U.S. within 12 months time. By purchasing Motorola, it could potentially meet this target, provided everything is approved by the authorities. We liked the Vibe Z when we got the chance to play with the phone during CES, and love the Moto X and Moto G, so can’t help but remain positive about any future Motorola by Lenovo hardware.

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Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

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