Lenovo annual report tallies up a good year

Although Apple enjoys a much smaller market share in desktop and laptop computers, the American company has an edge in the global tablet market.

It shipped more than 16 million tablets in the first quarter, compared with 2.1 million shipments by Lenovo, according to research firm International Data Corp.

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Lenovo's worldwide market share in the desktop/laptop/tablet sector was roughly 12 percent, while Apple took 16 percent, according to Yang.

Earlier this year, Lenovo purchased Motorola Mobility from Google Inc for $2.9 billion in order to beef up its mobile unit.

The move will help Lenovo catch up Apple and Samsung if not surpass them, analysts said.

Analysts also suggested that perhaps it was time for Lenovo to consider becoming a service provider rather than just a hardware builder.

"Lenovo should jump out of its comfort zone," said Kitty Fok, head of IDC China.

"In terms of hardware, Lenovo has purchased the right companies to do the expansion. But the world is about more than just hardware; you need to explore new frontiers," she said.

"Lenovo feels comfortable in the hardware market because it knows how to control the ecosystem, how to negotiate with the component suppliers and how to control costs," Fok said, "because the bigger you are, the easier it is to negotiate."

But the company needs to start thinking about what other kinds of services a hardware company can provide, she added.