Global PC shipments rose 12 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the same period a year ago, according to a new report from market research firm Canalys. Leading the way is Apple, which regained the top spot from HP.

It’s important to note that Canalys counts tablets as PCs, so Apple’s iPad is counted in the numbers. Having said that, other companies that make tablets are also counted in the final numbers.

“Reports that poor economic conditions and the wait for Windows 8 hurt the PC industry this quarter do not tell the whole story,” said Tom Evans, Canalys Research Analyst. “The PC industry is performing well and 2012 is shaping up to be a record year. Vendors with innovative products will reap the rewards.”

Apple lead the way with 19.6 percent of the market, followed by HP with 12.5 percent, Lenovo with 12.1 percent, Acer with 9.8 percent and Dell with 8.9 percent.

While Apple’s Mac and iPad sales were high points in this quarter’s results, the same could not be said for Windows PCs.

“In contrast to pads, Windows PC shipments continued to disappoint,” wrote Canalys. “Ultrabooks have not hit the price points that could excite large numbers of buyers and the share of the overall market taken by Windows fell to a new low of 73%. Intel’s share also hit an all-time low, falling below 70%.”

Of course, Microsoft recently announced its Surface tablet, but the outlook from Canalys is not good.

“The information available to date suggests the prices of both will be too high to capture significant market share, and a direct sales approach will prove inadequate,” said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. “We expect the Surface pads to have a similar impact on the PC industry as the Zune did in portable music players.”