TORINO, Italy, February 16, 2006 – Lenovo, the computing equipment sponsor of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, today announced that its personal computing solution has delivered error-free support for all competition events completed to-date.
“There is no such thing as a ‘second try’ at the Olympic Games,” said Enrico Frascari, information technology managing director, Torino Organizing Committee for the XX Olympic Games. “Thanks to the reliable and secure PC solution developed and supported by Lenovo, we have passed a critical operational period in Torino with record-breaking performance from the technology system.” Lenovo has provided more than 5,000 desktop personal computers, 350 servers and 800 notebook PCs for the Olympic Winter Games. The hardware is used in nearly every aspect of the Torino information technology infrastructure, working together with applications and software from other technology sponsors for accurate and fast collection, distribution and storage of competition results and related information. In addition, through the Lenovo PC solution in Torino:
– Hundreds of events have been conducted with consistent and reliable hardware support.
– Broadcasters from throughout the world are using almost 1,000 Lenovo desktop PCs and touch-screen flat panel displays to access the Commentator Information System, which includes athlete biographies, news and statistics. – Seven on-site Lenovo Internet “i.lounges” equipped with 165 ThinkPad notebooks and Lenovo desktops, are keeping athletes, coaches and trainers connected with their families and supporters back home. – Since opening, the Lenovo i.lounges in the Torino Olympic Village are supporting approximately 200 athletes from more than 40 countries per day. The Lenovo i.lounges in Torino are most popular with Russian, American, Canadian and Italian athletes. – Traffic in the Sestriere Olympic Village i.lounges also is averaging more than 200 people per day, including athletes from more than 35 countries. The Lenovo i.lounges in Sestriere are most popular with athletes from Latvia, Slovakia and Romania.
“Lenovo has trained hard for the Olympic Winter Games in Torino,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo. “We have great confidence in the expertise of our people and the quality of our technology to ensure the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games are a great success. It’s been an exhilarating time as our 21,000 employees around the world rally to support the talented Olympic athletes and the skilled Lenovo technology team in Torino.”
In addition to hardware provided to help support the Games IT infrastructure, Lenovo is working with several worldwide Olympic Games sponsors to carry out their operations in Torino. As the personal computing supplier to NBC television for the Olympic Games, Lenovo has provided more than 1,000 ThinkPad notebooks and Lenovo desktops to help produce hundreds of hours of coverage for NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo and Telemundo.
Lenovo also is working with Visa International to provide all 23 runner-up national winners of the “Visa Championships – Torino 2006” online video game new ThinkPad Z60m wide-screen notebook PCs. The sponsors also worked together to design and stage the contest finals in Torino, with competition taking place on Lenovo desktop PCs.
Bank of America’s Hometown Hopeful Program and the United States Olympic Committee have both deployed Lenovo PC technologies in specially designed i.lounges to support their activities during the Games. About Lenovo Lenovo creates the most innovative products in the personal computing industry. Lenovo engineers, programmers and scientists from five laboratories in China, Japan and the United States focus on research and development that solves customer problems and improves productivity. Lenovo is the Technology Equipment sponsor of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, providing notebook and desktop PCs, servers, storage and other computing equipment. For more information about Lenovo, visit www.lenovo.com . Contacts: Geraldine Kan, Lenovo (Asia-Pacific)65 6418 4381 kang@sg.lenovo.com
Anne Chaurand, Lenovo (Europe) 33-1 41 88 69 74 chaurand@fr.lenovo.com
Susan Taylor, Lenovo (Canada) 416-383-4706 susant@ca.lenovo.com
Nina Velasquez, Text 100 (United States) 212-871-5173 ninav@text100.com