ThinkPad past several years." Although Lenovo acquired the right to use the IBM brand name for five years after its acquisition of IBM's personal computer business, Lenovo only used it for three years. The majority of ThinkPad computers since the 2005 acquisition of the brand by Lenovo have been made in China. In addition to these Chinese manufacturing facilities, Lenovo employs 300 people at a combined manufacturing and distribution center near its American headquarters in Morrisville, North Carolina. Each device made in this facility "is packed in a box that sports a red-white-and-blue sticker proclaiming "Whitsett, North Carolina." In 2012, Lenovo
Lenovo were driven by the popularity of Apple's iPhone and Lenovo's desire to increase its market share in mainland China. Lenovo passed Apple to become the No. 2 provider of smartphones to the Chinese market in 2012. However, due to there being about 100 smartphone brands sold in China, this second only equated to a 10.4% market share. In May 2012, Lenovo announced an investment of US$793 million in the construction of a mobile phone manufacturing and R&D facility in Wuhan, China. On January 27, 2011, Lenovo formed a joint venture to produce personal computers with Japanese electronics firm NEC. The