Lenovo Forms New Business Unit For Mobile Embedded Devices

The new business unit, called the Mobile Internet and Digital Home Business Group (MIDH), will also be responsible for applications and services pertaining to cloud computing devices and digital equipment for the home entertainment space.

“The Mobile Internet and Digital Home Business Group will help us leverage our leadership in the PC arena to create a rich portfolio of Internet-centric devices," said Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing, in a statement. "At the same time, we’ll use our creativity, innovation and technical prowess to help our customers navigate the future of personal technology worldwide.”

Liu Jun, former senior vice-president and president of Lenovo’s Product Group, will serve as president of Lenovo's new MIDH group, which will be headquartered in Beijing, China. Meanwhile, Peter Hortensius, former head of Lenovo's Think Product Group, has been promoted to replace Liu as president of the company's Product Group.

Hortensius was named president of Lenovo's Think Product Group in April, and quickly established a strategy centered on offering commercial products to the SMB market. His departure from his current position closely follows the departure of Lenovo's SMB channel chief, Jay McBain last month. McBain was a proponent of producing a diverse ecosystem of embedded devices.

Lenovo launched the IdeaPad U1 hybrid PC with a detachable LePadtablet at CES 2011 in Las Vegas earlier this month, after debuting it at CES 2010.

Lenovo began offering smartphones to Chinese consumers last year. Although Lenovo was considered a frontrunner to acquire Palm before it was acquired by HP, Lenovo has yet to bring smartphones to the U.S. market.