Samsung surged ahead of Apple last year to become the largest maker of smart connected devices -- PCs, portable PCs, tablets and smartphones.

The South Korean manufacturer shipped 250 million units across the four device categories in 2012, up 119% from 2011, giving it a 20.8% share, according to new data from IDC.

Apple increased unit shipments 44% to 218 million, for an 18% share, followed by Lenovo, which shipped 78 million devices, for a 6.5% share. Rounding out the top five, HP shipments fell 8.5% to 58 million, reducing its share to 4.8%, while Dell shipments dropped almost 13% to 38 for a 3.2% share.

Tablets and smartphones accounted for all the growth among smart connected devices. Tablet shipments were up 78%, while smartphones grew 46%, but accounted for 60% of devices shipped last year. By contrast, PCs and portable PCs declined 4.1% and 3.4%, respectively. Smart device shipments rose 29% overall in 2012 to 1.2 billion.