IDC Reports Sluggish Growth in Worldwide PC Shipments
The deteriorating worldwide economy had a negative impact on PC shipments in the third quarter of 2008, according to IDC market analysts, but HP managed to retain its leadership position while Dell came in second.
The overall market grew 15.8 percent year over year, according to IDC, which was slightly less than projected. Sales of low-cost portable PCs are having the biggest impact on the sales, according to the company’s findings.
“The proliferation of low-cost portable PCs coincided perfectly with market conditions,” said Jay Chou, research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. “As more low-cost models enter the fray, a new pecking order may emerge among vendors as the market leans toward notebooks with ever-declining prices.”
IDC reported sluggish growth in the U.S. market, with increased sales of low-cost notebook PCs helping to keep the quarter in positive territory. Although the competitive landscape remains unchanged, according to IDC, Dell and Apple outperformed the rest of the market. The PC markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa performed better than average, driven by strong demand for mainstream notebook PCs.
HP retained its grip on the number-one spot by registering 14.9 percent growth in annual shipments, despite the recent downturn in the U.S. economy. The company shipped more than 15 million units in the quarter to grab an 18.8 percent share of the market. Dell’s business grew by only 11.4 percent, but the company benefitted from its growing retail presence (the company got its start, of course, by selling computers direct). Dell managed to ship more than 11 million units and enjoys a 14.2 percent market share.
Third-place Acer shipped nearly as many computers as Dell—just over 10 million—despite focusing primarily on portables. This earned the company a 12.5-percent share of the worldwide market. In the U.S., however, the company registered a 3.2-percent decline in PC shipments year over year when combined with Gateway’s results (Acer acquired Gateway in 2007).
Lenovo held onto the number four slot, holding 7.4 percent of the worldwide marekt despite achieving anemic annual growth of just 7.7 percent. The company shipped less than six million PCs in the third quarter. Toshiba rounds out the top five, having shipped just over 3.5 million units to achieve a market share of 4.6 percent.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Intel’s postponement of the Magdeburg fab was made in “close coordination” with the German state — the company will reevaluate the project in two years to decide its final fate
Japan readies ambitious $65 billion plan to revive homegrown semiconductor manufacturing — Expects economic return of over $1 trillion
-
"Other" most probably means custom assembled PC's. In my country nobody buys Dell, HP, etc. They just go to the computer store and give exact specifications, and they assemble one from off the shelf parts.Reply