Lenovo's New Smartphone Will Pack Augmented Reality Features
Lenovo will release a new smartphone with augmented reality features.
The device was developed under Google's Tango Project, according to Lenovo Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing's interview at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Google's Project Tango is a technology that allows mobile devices to comprehend motion tracking, depth perception and area learning. With these abilities, the smartphone can potentially carry augmented reality features.
Augmented reality software overlays text or graphics on the real-life image afterwards. The software shouldn't be confused with virtual reality, which is a technology that simulates real-world views.
The Chinese tech company's new smartphone was first announced in January at the CES 2016 in Las Vegas, with a release date scheduled in July.
Expecting Big
Lenovo expects that the upcoming smartphone will have a positive presence in China and will make the company's presence more prominent in mature markets like North America.
"If you want to access the mature markets you need two things: innovative products and a premium brand," Yuanqing said. "So far we haven't done very well on both things. But with a couple of years of preparation, I think now we are ready to attack that market this year."
According to data from research company Canalys, the smartphone market in the North American region has plummeted slightly (by 0.4 percent) compared to last year's sales.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Lenovo's third quarter income plummeted 8 percent to $12.9 billion due to sluggish "global demand and weaker smartphone sales." Research group IDC said Western markets contribute meagerly to Lenovo's sales.
Lenovo purchased Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.9 billion in 2014. The acquisition made Lenovo the world's fourth largest smartphone manufacturer, following Huawei, Apple and Samsung, according to research and advisory company Gartner.
Western markets only accounted for just 0.3 percent of the company's total earnings last year. Meanwhile, 35 percent of Motorola smartphones were sold in Western Europe and North America.
New Devices
Lenovo launched new laptops, a smartphone and a hybrid tablet during the MWC 2016.
The new laptops, which both run using Windows 10, are the YOGA 710 and 510. Both of the YOGA 710's 11-inch and 14-inch models can flex into four different styles due to its flexible hinge: as laptop, tablet, in triangular tent mode and in stand mode for presentations.
The YOGA 510 now boasts of a slimline makeover to make it more portable than its predecessors, while the 10-inch MIIX 310 hybrid tablet has optional 4G connectivity.
Lenovo's newest 5-inch smartphone, the VIBE K5 Plus, has a Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor and a 2,750 mAh replaceable battery. The device comes with a 13MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP front-facing one.
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