ThinkPad For his innovative design management leadership during ThinkPad development, Hardy was named "innovator of the Year 1992" by PC Magazine. Since 1992, the ThinkPad design has been regularly updated, developed and refined over the years by Sapper and the respective teams at IBM and later Lenovo, which included Yamazaki, Tom Takahashi, Sam Lucente and, since 1995, David Hill, Vice President of User Experience & Design, who leads and manages the design/user experience of ThinkPad. Hill's approach to maintaining the evolution of Sapper's original ThinkPad design is analogous to how Porsche manages evolution of the classic 911. The fold-out butterfly keyboard,
Lenovo smartphones The "Le" series of devices, including the LePhone, LePad, and the LeTV were sold under the "idea" brand outside of China. The LePhone was thus known as the "ideaphone" in other markets. The "Le" pre-fix means "happy" in Mandarin Chinese and this branding is only used in Mainland China. In early 2013, Lenovo signed an endorsement deal with Kobe Bryant. Lenovo says Bryant was selected in order to further internationalize its brand while appealing to young consumers. Bryant made numerous appearances on behalf of Lenovo and was its main smartphone marketing campaign of the year in Asia. Lenovo sold its