Global Times | October 13, 2011 23:28  By Liang Fei

Computer and electronics device maker Lenovo Group has surpassed Dell as the second largest PC producer in terms of shipments in the third quarter, statistics from US-based information technology research firm Gartner showed on Thursday.
 
Following five quarters as the fastest-growing PC maker, Lenovo shipped more than 12.35 million personal computers in the third quarter, up 25.2 percent year-on-year, with 13.5 percent share of the global market, a Gartner report sent to the Global Times said on Thursday.
 
Hewlett-Packard (HP) remains the top PC producer, with 17.7 percent market share, according to the report.
 
"With the sector's strong performance, I believe that Lenovo will finally excel in the world's PC market," Yang Yuanqing, CEO of Lenovo Group, said on Thursday in a statement posted on the company's website.
 
"Booming domestic demand has partly contributed to the robust growth of Lenovo, with China surpassing the US as the biggest PC market in the second quarter," Wang Jiping, an analyst with a research firm International Data Corporation, told the Global Times on Thursday.
 
While Lenovo is marching ahead in the PC market, its competitors are gradually shifting away, as profitability of the sector has been seriously affected by new gadgets like tablet PCs.
 
Earlier media reports said HP will very likely spin off its PC business, and Dell currently is also considering turning into a much more IBM-like company, which mainly targets at the business-to-business sector.
 
"This has presented a good opportunity for Lenovo to gain market share in the PC sector," Li Yi, secretary general of the China Mobile Internet Industry Alliance, told the Global Times on Thursday.
 
In June, Lenovo bought into a German consumer electronics company Medion AG, and a month later, it established a joint venture with Japanese PC maker NEC Corp. The moves, according to Li, could greatly enhance Lenovo's presence in Europe and Japan.

"Our company will have full commitment to the PC market in the long term," Lenovo's Yang said, adding that, "we will also continue investing in innovative products in four areas, smartphones, tablets, PCs and smart TV."
 
In the third quarter, worldwide PC shipments totaled 91.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 3.2 percent, lower than the earlier projection of 5.1 percent, said Gartner.