Lenovo Beats HP To Become Top PC Maker

Lenovo has been ranked the world's largest seller of PCs as it eats into the market share of Hewlett-Packard (HP), according to new research.

The Chinese company shipped 13.77 million computers during the third quarter - up nearly 10% from a year ago, analysts Gartner said.

This takes its global market share to 15.7%, compared with HP's 15.5%, according to the research.

The US company's shipments fell by more than 16% to 13.55 million - seeing it knocked off Gartner's top spot for the first time in six years.

The research also revealed the total number of personal computers shipments across the world fell by 8.3% in the third quarter to 87.5 million - the largest decline since 2001.

A separate report by researchers IDC found the global market was falling by 8.6% - although it ranked HP ahead of Lenovo in shipments by 0.5%.

Demand for computers has been hit by the availability and popularity of tablets and smartphones, which enable people to do basic computing on the move.

Some consumers are also holding out for the launch of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 8, which will not be available until later this month.

HP is struggling to keep up with rivals including Taiwan's Acer and other Asian companies as its new chief executive, Meg Whitman, attempts to overhaul the 73-year-old company.

The US's Dell - the third largest PC seller - is also seeing its market share eroded.

Lenovo, which bought IBM's personal computer division in 2005, said it believed there was room for growth in the sector.

"We are establishing even deeper roots in each major market around the world," its chairman and chief executive, Yuanqing Yang, said in a statement.

"In addition to localised sales and distribution teams in major markets, we are establishing an even stronger manufacturing footprint."

HP, which has its HQ in California, said that some analyst reports "don't measure the market in its entirety".