At it stands right now, Apple is currently the second-largest PC vendor worldwide, with Hewlett Packard sitting firmly in first place. But, come to end of 2012, this could very well change. Research outfit Canalys, says Apple's share of the PC market has grown 6-percent in the past twelve months alone.

What is driving this growth? The super-famous iPad, which Canalys considers a personal computer. Canalys Analysis (say that three times fast) Tim Coulling says:

Apple has seen its PC market share expand from 9 percent to 15 percent in just four quarters, though iPad shipments in its core market - the United States - are likely to come under pressure in Q4 due to the launch of the Fire and Nook at extremely competitive price points. HP and Apple will fight for top position in Q4.

With the iPad 3 set to include a high-res 2048x1536 display, it will just make the iPad 3 an even tastier option. Canalys estimates global PC shipments to reach 415 million in 2011, a 15-percent year-over-year increase, thanks largely to the Apple iPad. What I'd like to know is, is this what the "2012 is the end of the world" is going to be... Apple, of all companies, as the number one PC vendor worldwide?