China's Lenovo Group shares slid nearly 9 percent on Thursday after it said its quarterly net profit was halved as its mobile division with Motorola handsets lost nearly $300 million. Lenovo plans to cut about 3,200 non-manufacturing jobs with a one-time cost of $600 million.

Lenovo's Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing warned that the company was facing its "toughest market environment in recent years," referring to the difficulty in selling handsets combined with a continuously shrinking global market for PCs.

Yang further noted, "I still believe mobile is a new business we must win. Yang told Reuters in an interview that Lenovo's ambition to rival Apple and Samsung Electronics in smartphones remains undimmed. Lenovo still believes that the market needs a strong third smartphone player after Apple and Samsung and they believe they be that player.

Yet with Xiaomi gaining ground in China and now India along with more competition squeezing into the middle and lower tiers of the smartphone market, it will be very difficult for Lenovo to reach their goal. And with Apple and Samsung introducing strong new upgrades over the next month, Lenovo's dream could be a nightmare in at least the short term.

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