Indiana State Adds ThinkPad to List of Essential School Supplies

TERRE HAUTE, Indiana, February 13, 2006 — Indiana State University has selected the Lenovo ThinkPad as its preferred computer for students and faculty as the university moves toward becoming a notebook institution. Indiana State will become the first public university in the state to require all students to have notebook computers, beginning with incoming freshmen in fall 2007. The university is one of a handful of institutions nationally – including the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Clemson University – to institute similar mobile computing initiatives. “When we announced the Notebook Initiative last September, we pledged that our students would receive high quality, business grade laptops worthy of the investment they and their parents are making in an ISU education,” said C. Jack Maynard, Indiana State’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The selection of the Lenovo ThinkPad fulfills that pledge.” Indiana State chose Lenovo because of its superior service and support, the quality of ThinkPad notebooks and the advanced wireless capabilities of the PCs. ThinkPads help simplify the network connectivity process through ThinkVantage Access Connections 4.1, which helps mobile users set up and automatically switch from one available network connection to the next. Through Access Connections, students and faculty will be able to seamlessly move from classes to dorm rooms and wired to wireless environments. The widespread use of notebook technology will leverage the power of mobile computing to provide campus-wide access through the university’s extensive wireless network, said Susan Powers, professor of curriculum, instruction and media technology and chair of ISU’s Notebook Implementation Committee. “The notebook initiative gives us an opportunity to use technology to support learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered and community-centered learning environments. It is a window of opportunity for true innovation. Lenovo ThinkPad will be an excellent partner in our strategies to expand the learning environment of ISU,” Powers said. The university will begin distributing ThinkPads to faculty members later this winter and to incoming President’s Scholars, Networks Scholars and ISU Laptop Award scholarship recipients at the beginning of the fall 2006 semester. The Laptop Award is guaranteed to incoming freshmen who have completed an Indiana Core 40 Diploma (or equivalent) and have a high school cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, based on a 4.0 scale. To receive the Laptop Award, students must be admitted to the university by March 1. Other students will have the option of utilizing the university’s purchasing power to buy ThinkPads at a significantly reduced price. More information about the ISU Notebook Initiative is available at www.indstate.edu/notebook. Information about the ISU Laptop Award and other scholarships may be found by going to the university’s home page at www.indstate.edu and clicking on the “Scholarships” button. About Lenovo Group Ltd. Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building the world’s most innovative personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable high-quality, secure, and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com . Contacts: For Indiana State University, contact Dave Taylor, media relations director, at (812) 237-3743 or dave.taylor@indstate.edu . For Lenovo Group Ltd., contact Jeff Dudash at 919-991-3445 or jdudash@us.lenovo.com .