Worldwide PC shipment increased by 17.9% in the fourth quarter of 2013, boosted by a seasonal surge in tablets sales, according to a report from Canalys.
The report said tablet shipments grew 65.2% year-on-year to 76.3 million units, representing a 48.3% share of the total PC market.
In the same quarter, PC shipments excluding tablets dropped by 6.9% year-on-year with a decrease in shipments across all the regions.
Apple led the PC market during the quarter by shipping 30.9 million units, representing a 19.5% share including 26.0 million iPads that contributed for 84.3% of its total shipments, while the company’s tablet market increased from 27.3% to 34.1%.
Canalys senior analyst Tim Coulling said Apple is focusing on China, where it has a 38.3% share of the tablet market.
"Product innovation and competition in the Android camp will continue to accelerate," Coulling added.
"This gives good growth potential to smaller local players and those top-tier vendors willing to disrupt margins in the tablet space."
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Lenovo secured second position with an 11.8% share, while its PC shipments grew 25.5% year-on-year, driven by a rise from emergin markets despite a 11.7% drop in notebook shipments across China.
Canalys Analyst James Wang said Lenovo still has the potential to grow its global notebook shipments and has emerged as a challenger in the tablet space.
"Worldwide, Lenovo shipped three times as many tablets in Q4 as HP and Dell combined, or two and a half times when excluding China," Wang added.
Samsung shipped 18.2 million units in the quarter to secure third position that included 14.5 million tablets contributing 79.7% that grew 90.3%.
Canalys research analyst Pin Chen Tang said consumers are becoming more open to Windows alternatives, and Google’s low-cost options are reaping the rewards.
"Android is now the most popular OS in the tablet segment and PC vendors are showing a keen interest in Chromebooks, which are carving out a niche, especially in the education sector," Tang added.
