Challenges ahead

Experts agree a lack of technological breakthroughs is Lenovo's Achilles' heel.

For Lenovo, software development has lagged behind rivals. Wang predicts a merger or acquisition to address this is on its way.

Apple has dwarfed Lenovo with its intangible, yet crucial, customer experience, both before and after the purchase. Jiang said Apple's applications are markedly more user-friendly than most of its competitors, including that of Lenovo.

"LeOS, Lenovo's operating system, lacks genuine innovation, and has yet to achieve software compatibility. Compared with iOS, its business-oriented applications are still in their infancy," said Jiang.

In addition, "many consumers simply don't really care whether they are iPhones or LePhones, iPads or LePads. What they care about are Internet surfing, music, e-mail and the associated services that go with them. Therefore, what matters is the experience they go through in buying these products and the service they receive after the purchase."

Along with an attractive style, an appealing global branding image is also a must for Lenovo, which, unlike Apple, is not yet a household name.

The New York Times reported that Lenovo partnered with Saatchi & Saatchi, part of the French multinational advertising and communications Publicis Groupe, in January, to spend $100 million on a new advertising campaign that began in May.

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Wang said Lenovo has veered away from a product-driven strategy to pursue an ideal-oriented notion in order to make Lenovo a household name.

But according to Jiang, Lenovo appears hesitant on the trade-off between business expansion and technology breakthrough, and this has been a consistent strategic divergence that has long crippled its development.

"Lenovo started from trade and assembling, and excelled at them. It is no easy task to throw off this sheer inertia," Jiang said.

The critic added: "Despite churning out a full range of products within a limited time frame, Lenovo has been emulating Apple's approach all the time."

Lenovo could also be in trouble on its home turf. Analyst Brian White of Ticonderoga believes China is in the early stages of catching "Apple fever".

"What we need is Apple's global brand loyalty and the strong team of applications suppliers behind it," Liu Jun, the company's mobile Internet and digital group president, once said.

But Rome was not built in a day. "To win the hearts of Apple evangelists, who do not bother to haggle over prices and who worship Steve Jobs, is not within Lenovo's reach right now," Jiang said.