BEIJING, Jan 10 — Worldwide PC shipments fell 10 per cent last year to 314.6 million units as manufacturers could not stop consumers opting for smartphones and tablets instead, showed preliminary data from researcher IDC.

Shipments reached 82.2 million personal computers in October-December, 5.6 per cent less than in the same period a year earlier and the seventh consecutive quarter of decline.

“The PC market again came in very close to expectations, but unfortunately failed to significantly change the trajectory of growth,” said Loren Loverde, a vice president at IDC, in the market researcher’s latest global PC shipment report released today.

China’s Lenovo Group Ltd held its lead over the U.S.’s Hewlett-Packard Co as the world’s biggest maker by shipments, with a market share of 17.1 per cent for 2013 compared with HP’s 16.6 per cent.

Dell was the third-largest PC maker by shipments last year with a 12 per cent market share.

Both Lenovo and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd experienced strong growth in the US, in part because of the success of low-cost Chromebooks, which use Google Inc’s Chrome operating system.

Troubled Taiwanese makers Asustek Computer Inc and Acer Inc saw steep drop-offs in shipment levels in 2013, falling 19.6 per cent and 28.5 per cent globally, according to IDC. — Reuters