Lenovo counts on China advantage to challenge Apple

Lenovo Group Ltd, set to overtake Hewlett Packard Co as the biggest PC maker this year, has its sights on the smartphone and tablet markets, as it takes on Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co in China.

"We want to test the market, see the first steps toward success in China, then roll out to the rest of world," chief executive officer Yang Yuanqing said. "We want to win in the smartphone area and even the TV area."

The maker of Thinkpad laptops, a business it acquired from IBM Corp, has added tablets and phones to lessen its dependence on PCs, taking it into direct competition with the world's most valuable company. Yang said Lenovo's brand name, product development and distribution in China will give it an edge over Apple and other rivals that create devices elsewhere before selling them in the world's largest PC and smartphone market.