SEOUL, KOREA- The global sales of personal computers fell by 10.9 percent year on year in the second quarter of this year, according to a market research firm Gartner.After recording a positive year-on-year growth of 1.9 percent in the first quarter of last year, global PC sales have continued to register a negative year-on-year growth for five straight quarters starting from the second quarter of last year.

In particular, global PC sales marked a double-digit decline this year, falling by 11.2 percent in the first quarter and 10.9 percent in the second quarter.

Key factors behind the decline in sales of PCs worldwide include the popularization of smartphones and tablet computers. Gartner explained that an increasing number of consumers opt for mobile devices rather than PCs.

China’s Lenovo once again overtook HP of the U.S., emerging as the world’s No. 1 PC maker. Despite the global PC market slump, Lenovo registered less sales decline than others. Lenovo moved up to the No. 1 spot for the first time in the third quarter of last year but was overtaken by HP in the fourth quarter.