It was a case of 'video killed the radio star' scenario as personal computers, latest industry figures showed PCs continuing their gradual decline, no thanks to the rising dominance of mobile devices.

Even the portability offered by notebook computers failed to cushion the impact of the aggressive onslaught launched by smartphone and tablet makers, which in 2011 collaborated to further slash the high sales figures once enjoyed by PC vendors.

According to Gartner, combined sales achieved by Android and iOS gadgets in the past year easily surpassed the figures turned in by desktop and notebook units, by many miles away.

In 2011, vendors sold more than 352 million units of personal computers worldwide, a data that is admittedly impressive by itself.

But Gartner noted that Samsung alone, which makes high-end and entry-level smartphones and tablet computers, managed to ship out more than 300 million units.

The bulk of Samsung devices are Android-based, which are bannered by the company's Galaxy product lines, and adding all the combined Android-powered gadgets sold in the same period, PC sales would effectively take the backseat.

Add to that the 2011 total sales of iPads and iPhones collected by iPhone, which could easily top that of Samsung's sales or even double, then the inevitable has been highlighted by the numbers - PC is on its way out.

Also, noteworthy is the fact that the only desktops and notebooks that performed well, in terms of actual units sold last year, were all assembled courtesy of Apple, further punctuating the decline of Microsoft Windows-powered computers in the same year.

The year 2011 also marked the ascension of Apple as the second most valuable company in the world, with billions of cash flows to boot, while the once the world's largest PC vendor, Hewlett-Packard, finally accepted defeat and revealed plans to get out of its hardware business.

That was another blow for the PC world, analysts said, which saw its impending demise when Apple launched the first iPhone and soon followed through with the notebook-killer iPad.

Google shortly released the first Android phone, paving the way for breakthrough smartphones and tablets that effectively compete with Apple devices, rendering personal computers almost completely obsolete.

The shift, according to Appolicious, was mostly prompted by users' lifestyle, preferring to bring with them their mobile devices and with improved connectivity, more works were accomplished and more funs were delivered through smartphones and tablets.

The once intrusive PCs were suddenly confined on desks and house corners, mostly reserved for intensive works, which experts said could soon develop into a niche market, far from the mainstream status they enjoyed over the past two decades.

Gartner reported that as expected, mobile devices will remain dominant this year, again selling hundreds of millions as many more are set to discover their everyday functionalities, while personal computers will be mostly limited to enterprise or professional usage, making the selling of the former a more lucrative venture.