HP continues to be No 1 PC vendor globally

HP continues to be No 1 PC vendor globally
NEW YORK: Hewlett-Packard Company continued to be the No 1 PC supplier in the world during the second quarter of 2007, as global PC shipments grew 12 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year, research group IDC said Wednesday.

HP shipped 11.3 million units during the quarter, thereby leading all the PC makers and accounting for 19.3 per cent of the global market. The company's shipments rose 37 per cent. Dell, which managed to retain the No 2 position, however, saw its shipments go down nearly 5 per cent to around 9.5 million units compared with the same period last year.

IDC said HP saw rapid growth and is making big strides in the U.S. market in spite of a relatively dull period.

While sales had fallen for Dell, the company has taken corrective measures like introduction in the market of a new line of PCs and starting PC sales through supermarkets like Wal-Mart stores instead of its traditional direct sales.

Chinese PC maker Lenovo, which had fallen to the No 4 position in the first quarter, reclaimed the third position from Acer. The Taiwan PC maker is now at No 4 spot. Japanese computer maker Toshiba Corp is at the No 5 position now.

However, sales of Acer rose by 55 per cent, which is the fastest among the top five PC makers. Lenovo's sales grew about 22 per cent.

The other market research group, Gartner, also came out with its report, which showed almost identical positions for the major PC makers. IDC put the total number of machines shipped during the quarter at 59 million, while Gartner's figures were 61 million units.

Both the firms said that the sales growth had been faster than expected and notebooks sales were exceptionally strong.

IDC said there is no change in the worldwide rankings by market share. While HP topped the list with 19.3 per cent of global sales volume, Dell had 16.1 per cent, Lenovo 8.3 per cent, Acer 7.2 per cent and Toshiba 4.1 per cent.

The U.S. market is, however, led by Dell with 28.4 per cent market share by shipments, followed by HP with 23.6 per cent, Gateway and Apple with 5.6 per cent each, Toshiba with 5.3 per cent and Acer with 5.2 per cent.

IDC forecasts that consumers will continue to buy notebooks instead of desktops as the cost difference between the two has narrowed significantly. It said there will be strong growth in the second half of 2007, but market competition could be more complex than reducing prices.