Lenovo dumps IBM

SWAGGERING AFTER a healthy quarter ot two, Chinese computer maker Lenovo said it is ready to dump the IBM brand.

The firm has been able to use the IBM brand and logo since it bought Big Blue's PC division three years ago.

Now, Lenovo boss, William Amelio says the, "decision to completely transition our Think products from the IBM brand to the Lenovo brand two years earlier than planned," was a sign of the company's progress.

"By making substantial progress on all of our critical priorities over the past few quarters, we are now a stronger, healthier company," said said.

Lenovo sales rose 20 per cent to $4.4 billion in the third quarter of 2007 compared to the same period a year ago. Profit surged 178 per cent to $105 million.

Lenovo lost out to Acer in trying to buy up both Gateway and Packard Bell and as a result slipped to fourth spot in the PC makers' top ten.

But chairman Yang Yuanqing insisted the company is entering "a new phase of profitable growth".

The aim he said, is to "continue to tap the growth potential of the PC industry, especially in China and other emerging markets, the SMB and consumer segments in mature countries, and the notebook market worldwide". µ