14 DAY TRIAL // Chinese mobile phone maker Lenovo has confirmed earlier this year plans to bring to the market Windows Phone 8.1 devices, and it seems that the company will be ready to make the move before the end of 2014.
The company was unveiled as a new Windows Phone partner back in February, yet, at the time, Microsoft did not say much on when first such devices coming from the company would arrive.
Previous reports on the matter suggested that the company might release Windows Phone devices sometime this summer, yet no confirmation on this has been provided as of now.
However, German website Mobile Geeks claims that Liu Jun, president of Lenovo’s Mobile Business Group, has unveiled that the company is planning on making its first Windows Phone handsets available before the end of this year.
Unfortunately, no specific details on the mobile phone have been provided as of now, although it’s clear that the handset will sport all of the features and capabilities inside Windows Phone 8.1, including Cortana, Action Center, Start Screen backgrounds, and the like.
Moreover, considering the fact that Lenovo’s handsets don’t usually arrive on the market at high price tags, we should expect the Windows Phone 8.1-based handset to prove affordable as well. What remains to be seen, however, is which market segment it will be targeted at.
Currently, Windows Phone is enjoying great popularity in the low-end segment, and Lenovo might be aiming at it as well, in order to ensure that it can grab some market share fast.
Currently, the company is enjoying great success with its Android devices in China and other emerging markets, and we can assume that it will target its first Windows Phone handsets at the same end-user segment.
However, other handset vendors out there planning to release Windows Phone devices might be considering the release of cheap phones as well, which means that Lenovo will certainly face great competition in the area.
Lately, Lenovo has seen a significant increase in sales, and the release of Windows Phone devices could help the company a lot, given the fact that the OS is growing worldwide.
Unfortunately, for the time being, we can only make assumptions on what Windows Phone devices Lenovo will bring to shelves later this year, since the company hasn’t offered specifics on the matter. However, it might unveil said handset sooner rather than later, so keep an eye on this space to learn additional info on the matter.