Lenovo is winning customers in Russia and India, two important emerging markets for the personal-computer company, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The company is offering colorful and cut-rate models that attract first-time and low-income buyers. Lenovo also is using retail franchisees who understand the individual markets and increasing advertising. That includes one of the world's biggest billboards, a 1,300-foot-long spot near the Kremlin, the newspaper reports.

Lenovo, which bought IBM's PC business in 2005, is trying to offset slower sales in the U.S. and other developed markets. The Chinese company has a headquarters facility in Morrisville, where it employs about 1,500 people who design, test and market laptops and other products.

Lenovo got a plug from an influential source: The Wall Street Journal's technology reviewer Walter Mossberg.

Mossberg gave high marks to two new Lenovo ThinkPad models in his widely read column today. In the past, Mossberg hasn't been the laptop line's biggest fan, panning its high prices and stuffy design.

But the X100e, essentially a type of netbook that starts at $449, and the Edge, which starts at $579, are good signs that Lenovo's rethinking of the iconic laptop brand is paying off, Mossberg writes. He likes the new keyboard and choice of a color other than basic black (red).

Lenovo is the Chinese company that bought IBM's PC business, and the ThinkPad brand, in 2005. The company kept a world headquarters in Morrisville.

Read Mossberg's full review online here.