The world’s No. 1 PC maker is determined to become an even larger player in the mobile communications space. And that effort is being displayed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with a barrage of new product and software announcements:

  • A new series of “S” smartphones shows that Lenovo isn’t waiting for an infusion of talent from Google Motorola Mobility to sharpen its attack on Apple and Samsung.
  • An updated Yoga tablet promosies more power as part of the “Better Way” campaign launched last October as hyped by Hollywood’s Asthon Kutcher
  • “DoIt,” a suite of software applications that Lenovo says is designed to make mobile life easier to manage.

The “DoIt” apps play off Lenovo’s slogan: “For Those Who Do.”

Two of these phones – the S860 and S850 –  are HUGE, featuring 5.3-inch and 5-inch screens respectively.

All the products are making headlines at what is probably the world’s mobile communications conference.

“Lenovo’s Android-powered Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ promises huge spec improvements,” declares PCWorld.

“Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ is an upstanding slate,” says CNET.

And the price … low.

“Lenovo Announces $349 ‘Full HD’ Yoga 10 HD+ Android Tablet,” reports Daily Tech.

Meanwhile, Android Community blog offers a positive “Lenovo DOit app suite hands-on” review:

“The suite includes; SNAPit, SEEit, SHAREit, SYNCit, and SECUREit. The first two deal with the camera, both capturing and sharing images. More than just that, the SNAPit aspect involves a complete array of filters. And nicely, these are live filters – meaning you capture the image as the filter option you choose, as opposed to snapping the picture and then filtering afterward. The SEEit portion allows for editing and image management.”

Here are more details about the apps as provided by Lenovo:

  • SHAREit – shares information instantly between multiple devices without network charges
  • SECUREit – speeds up devices and secures them from viruses and malware
  • SYNCit – backs up and restores contacts, SMS messages and call logs
  • SNAPit Camera – provides a powerful camera app with multiple shooting modes
  • SEEit Gallery – allows one-touch creative editing and efficient photo

“We’ve created a premium mobile experience by marrying our elegant and powerful smartphones and tablets with an unparalleled software app experience that makes our devices incredibly simple to use and compatible with virtually any other device a user wants to share and sync with,” said Liu Jun, executive vice president of Lenovo’s Mobile Business Group, in announcing the apps. “The DOit series of apps zeros in on the ways people use their devices, making their experience safer, more efficient and just overall better.”

Read more about the apps here.

The New Phones

Lenovo offers this summary on the new S phones:

 

  • S860 for All-Day, Uninterrupted Usage: Encased in a brushed metal exterior with a large 5.3-inch HD screen, the S860 meets busy professionals’ needs. It features standby time of up to 40 days and talk time of up to 24 hours on 3G connections, quad-core computing and 2GB of RAM for responsive multitasking among applications. The S860’s high-capacity battery even allows users to charge their other devices on-the go by using the included micro USB cable.
  • S850 for Trendsetting All-Glass Design: Fashion-conscious users will favor the S850 for its remarkably thin and lightweight all-glass exterior, available in pink or white. The sleek design encases a true mobile machine with a MTK quad core processor, 13 MP rear and 5 MP front cameras for snapping and sharing high quality photos and a large 5-inch screen for watching content in high definition.
  • S660 for All-Round High Performance: The compact 4.7-inch device Lenovo S660 smartphone offers three key features for value seekers: a striking brushed metal design, long battery life for all-day usage and a wallet-friendly price. A great multipurpose smartphone, it has expandable storage – up to 32GB with microSD cards – and a comfortable rear cover, making the S660comfortable to hold and fingerprint and scratch resistant.

“The new S860, S850 and S660 smartphones perfectly complement the full range of mobile devices available to consumers around the world, letting consumers easily pick the Lenovo smartphone that’s right for them,” said Lenovo’s Liu. “Customers told us they wanted a great user experience without sacrificing performance, so we built these new smartphones for style, blazing fast processing speeds, and integrated Lenovo apps.”
 

Fact Sheets

Here are weblinks to Lenovo’s new phones and the updated Yoga:

  • S860: http://news.lenovo.com/images/20034/S860%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf
  • S850: http://news.lenovo.com/images/20034/S850%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf
  • Yoga: http://news.lenovo.com/images/20034/Yoga%20Tablet%2010%20HD%2B%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf
  • S660: http://news.lenovo.com/images/20034/S660%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf