Lenovo Ousts HP As World's Top PC Maker, Says Gartner

Chinese PC maker Lenovo has replaced Hewlett-Packard as the world's top PC maker, according to preliminary figures released by research firm Gartner.

Gartner said Lenovo shipped 13.8 million units in the third quarter, compared with HP's 13.55 million.

It said Lenovo's "aggressive" price cuts had helped it gain substantial market share.

However, research firm IDC's data put HP at the top, though it showed the gap between the two was closing.

According to IDC, HP shipped 13.9 million units, giving it a 15.9% share of the global market, compared with Lenovo which enjoyed a 15.7% share with 13.8 million units.

Analysts said that Lenovo has been among the best performing PC makers in recent times and was likely to gain further market share.

"Just the momentum that Lenovo has had, makes it inevitable that it will be the world's number one PC maker across all charts," Andrew Milroy of Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.

According to Gartner, Lenovo was the only PC maker, among the world's top five, that increased its shipments to the US during the third quarter.