Lenovo tops HP as world's biggest PC maker

NEW YORK (AFP) - Chinese manufacturer Lenovo has overtaken United States (US)-based Hewlett-Packard as the largest global vendor of personal computers, according to a survey on Wednesday highlighting a struggling PC market.

The survey by the research firm Gartner showed Lenovo took over the top vendor spot for the first time with 15.7 per cent of the market in the third quarter of 2012, edging HP with 15.5 per cent.

Gartner pointed out that Lenovo has used "aggressive" pricing, especially in the professional market and has boosted its market share across all regions even as PC sales weaken.

Gartner said worldwide PC shipments totaled 87.5 million units in the quarter, a sharp decline of 8.3 per cent from a year ago, as many retailers and consumers held back for the new Windows 8 PCs due in late October.