Apple Inc may have surpassed Lenovo Group Ltd's revenue in China for the first time in at least a decade as the iPhone-maker's surge in sales hurt growth at the biggest Chinese computer maker, Bloomberg reported.

Lenovo's total revenue in China last quarter lagged behind the $3.8 billion for Apple, according to four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Lenovo, which acquired International Business Machines Corp's personal computer business in 2005, this week began to sell two new tablets in the US featuring Google Inc's Android software to take on Apple in its home turf.

Overtaking Lenovo within two years of introducing the iPhone in China shows the progress Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is making in luring buyers in the world's fastest-growing major economy, the report said. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook told analysts this week the Cupertino, California-based maker of Macintosh computers is only "scratching the surface" in the country.

"Apple is doing very well in China," said Jean-Louis Lafayeedney, who rates Lenovo shares "buy" at JI Asia in Hong Kong. Apple's growth may become a concern for Lenovo unless the Chinese company increases sales of its new smartphones and tablet computers soon, he was quoted as saying.

Lenovo generated $3 billion in sales from the Chinese mainland in the quarter ended June 30, according to Jenny Lai, head of Taiwan research at HSBC Holdings Plc. She had the highest of the analysts' estimates in the Bloomberg survey.