Meanwhile, worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 11 percent according to data from research firms Gartner and IDC, as people continued to migrate to tablets and other mobile devices.
Gartner Inc. said Wednesday that the PC industry is now experiencing the longest decline in its history, as shipments dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter. Computer makers shipped 76 million PCs in the April-June period, down from 85 million in the same three months of 2012, according to Gartner.
International Data Corp., which uses slightly different methodology, essentially came to the same conclusion, though it noted that the decline was slightly smaller than expected.
IDC reported that Lenovo reached 16.7 percent of the global PC market share in the second quarter, which is up from 15 percent in the second quarter last year.
"We are proud that Lenovo has become the clear world leader in PCs, and we are grateful to our customers and to our global team for this success," said Lenovo chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing. "Even in the toughest PC market ever, Lenovo has not only gained share, but we have steadily improved profitability and introduced even more innovative products for every market segment. The battle for PC leadership could certainly still go back and forth. But I am fully confident that there remains substantial room for profitable growth and groundbreaking innovation in the global PC marketplace."
Gartner's Mikako Kitagawa said inexpensive tablets are displacing low-end computers in "mature" markets such as the United States. In emerging markets like China, meanwhile "inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC. This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market," she added.
IDC said the numbers "reflect a market that is still struggling with the transition to touch-based systems running Windows 8." Microsoft Corp.'s latest operating system launched in October and sales have disappointed analysts. But Kitagawa said that while "Windows 8 has been blamed by some as the reason for the PC market's decline, we believe this is unfounded as it does not explain the sustained decline in PC shipments."
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