10/13/2012
Lenovo replaces HP to take lead in global PC market stakes – GartnerLenovo has taken a slight lead over Hewlett-Packard to take the No 1 position in worldwide PC shipments – a first for the PC maker in the company's history – according to preliminary results from Gartner.
Worldwide PC shipments totalled 87.5m units in the third quarter of 2012, a decline of 8.3pc when compared with the third quarter of 2011, said Gartner, which cited how the market is preparing for the launch of Windows 8.
"A continuing slowdown in consumer PC shipments played a big part in the overall PC market decline," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.
Describing the third quarter as a "transitional" one before the release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, she said shipments were less vigorous as a result of vendors and their channel partners liquidating inventory.
"Retailers were conservative in placing orders as they responded to weak back-to-school sales. By the end of September, retailers were focused on clearing out inventory in advance of the Windows 8 launch later this month," said Kitagawa.
As for Lenovo, Gartner said the company has taken the No 1 position in worldwide PC shipments for the first time in its history, with its share increasing to 15.7pc. Hewlett-Packard's global PC share was at 15.5pc.
Gartner said that as well as acquiring other vendors, Lenovo has also taken an "aggressive position" on pricing, especially in the professional market.
Lenovo acquired the US software company Stoneware in September.
In August, Lenovo revealed that its ThinkPad Tablet 2 would be ready for release at the end of October. The company also revealed two new ultrabooks: the ThinkPad Carbon X1 and the ThinkPad T430u ultrabook.
