Research group IDC said Wednesday that global shipments of personal computers fell 14 percent in the first three months of 2013, the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994. IDC said Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets. According to research group IDC, here are the five leading manufacturers of personal computers worldwide in first quarter of 2013:

— Hewlett-Packard Co., 12.0 million shipped worldwide, 15.7 percent share, down 23.7 percent from a year earlier

— Lenovo Group Ltd., 11.7 million, 15.3 percent share, unchanged

— Dell Inc., 9.0 million, 11.8 percent share, down 10.9 percent

— Acer Group, 6.2 million, 8.1 percent share, down 31.3 percent

— AsusTek Computer Inc., 4.4 million, 5.7 percent share, down 19.2 percent

— Others, 33.1 million, 43.4 percent share, down 10.0 percent

— Total, 76.3 million, down 13.9 percent.

IDC is expected to release figures on first-quarter phone and tablet shipments in the coming weeks.