SweetLabs, which incorporated its version of a Windows 8 Start menu in its free Pokki software package in October 2012, has announced that it will now be pre-installed on all of Lenovo's Windows 8 PCs. Specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The press release said that the deal will not only bring a Start menu addition to Lenovo's PCs, it will also add the Pokki app store and game arcade as well. In June, SweetLabs announced a similar bundle deal with Acer, which means that the Pokki software bundle will be pre-installed on Windows 8 machines from the number one and number four biggest PC sellers in the world.
In a quick email interview with Neowin, SweetLabs marketing head Alan Masarsky said that the company "hit it off" when they first met with Lenovo a number of months ago. He added:
As evidenced by their recent takeover of the #1 spot in worldwide PC shipments (according to IDC), Lenovo continues to push the envelope with innovative new devices and we saw a natural fit to add our software to the mix. We believe this deal is fantastic for the entire PC and Windows ecosystem – helping users access and discover apps right from the desktop, and enabling developers to promote and distribute their apps to users.
SweetLabs also announced today that the Pokki app store and its app recommendation engine will add support for more app types, including traditional desktop apps, Windows Store apps, Pokki's desktop apps of web and social services like Facebook and Gmail and unique apps such as the Twitter desktop client Tweeki.
Masarsky told Neowin today:
We will continue to improve not only the menu but also our app discoverability points, such as the dynamic app recommendations and app store we provide. For example, we plan to expand support for developers who wish to promote their Windows 8 Store (fka “Metro”) apps as well.
Finally, Pokki is expanding its language options beyond just English with the addition of Chinese (simplified), Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Swedish, Portuguese (Brazil), and Russian.
Source: SweetLabs via Business Wire | Image via SweetLabs
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