The first time you heard about Lenovo was probably when IBM's PC division was getting acquired by the Chinese manufacturer in 2004. By then Lenovo was already China's number one computer maker. The move cost them almost $2 billion, but that bought them a household name with worldwide recognition, as they continue to do by selling ThinkPad laptops under the Lenovo brand.

Most recently Lenovo's Chairman Liu Chuanzhi was caught saying they are lucky "Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesn’t care about China." Despite its current PC-centric focus, earlier this year Lenovo's management claimed that mobile devices would account for 80% of Lenovo's sales in five years. Although this would also include their notebooks and upcoming tablet devices, right now they are pushing the LePhone, an Android powered smartphone that targets the iPhone and other competing devices. According to Chuanzhi, Apple is missing out by not putting the necessary effort in understanding the Chinese consumer, which in turn they see as an opportunity to become the brand that will drive consumer desire in the growing sector.

Lenovo has suffered the same kind of setbacks as everyone else in the slowing computer market, taking the losing end on the battle among major manufacturers like Acer, Dell and HP. However the company continues to strive in China, where it accounts for about 30 percent of the home PC market.