Apple becomes world's No. 1 PC maker

Apple Inc overtook Hewlett-Packard Co as the world's largest vendor of personal computers. In the fourth quarter, tablet demand helped drive the global PC market 16 percent higher than a year ago to 120 million computers.

Apple Inc overtook Hewlett-Packard Co as the world's largest vendor of personal computers in the fourth quarter, helped by booming demand for its iPads, research firm Canalys said on Monday.

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In the fourth quarter, tablet demand helped drive the global PC market 16 percent higher than a year ago to 120 million computers, Canalys said.

Excluding tablets, the market fell 0.4 percent from a year ago, said Canalys, one of the first research firms to include tablets in PC forecasts. Other firms have said they will likely follow.