HONG KONG: Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group said Thursday it had become the global market leader in consumer and notebook personal computers, as it posted a 13 percent rise in second-quarter net profit.
Net profit for the three months to the end of September rose to $162.1 million from $143.9 million a year earlier, the company said. Revenue climbed 11 percent to $8.67 billion from $7.79 billion a year earlier.
“Lenovo became the worldwide number one consumer and notebook PC company in fiscal quarter two and remained as the largest PC company in emerging markets, including China,” the company told the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Its share of the overall PC market reached a record high of 15.6 percent in the July-September quarter, it added, putting it just 0.2 percent shy of leader Hewlett-Packard.
Lenovo has been outperforming rivals such as US-based HP and Dell, with a rise in PC shipments of 10 percent in the second quarter compared to a year earlier despite softening global demand.
Worldwide PC shipments have been declining as consumer habits change and more people connect to the Internet through smartphones and tablets instead of more cumbersome personal computers and laptops.
A survey by research firm Gartner released last month gave Lenovo 15.7 percent of the overall PC market, ahead of HP with 15.5 percent.
Gartner said Dell was the number three maker with a 10.5 percent global market share followed by Taiwan’s Acer with 9.8 percent and Asus, another Taiwan firm, with 7.3 percent.
A separate report showed global sales of personal computers are set to show a decline for the first time in 11 years.
The survey by IHS iSuppli said the total PC market in 2012 is expected to contract 1.2 percent to 348.7 million units, down from 352.8 million in 2011.
That would be the first drop since 2001, but sales have been sluggish for the past two years.
IHS said a strong rebound could still occur in 2013, with more adoption of Windows 8 computers and newer, thinner notebook computers gaining tracking.
smc/dan
China’s Lenovo claims top spot for consumer PCs
China’s Lenovo claims top spot for consumer PCs
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
