Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Grew 27 Percent in First Quarter of 2010

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 84.3 million units in the first quarter of 2010, a 27.4 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009, according to preliminary results by Gartner Inc. These first quarter results have exceeded Gartner's earlier market outlook. Gartner had been expecting first quarter PC shipments to grow 22 percent.

"The stronger-than-expected growth was led by a robust recovery in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) PC market, which grew 24.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010," said Mikako Kitagawa, Principal Analyst at Gartner. "All other regions recorded double-digit growth rates, although the US and Latin America were slightly lower than what we had expected."

"These first quarter results indicate that the professional PC market is gradually picking up, driven by PC replacements in mature markets," Kitagawa said. "With a relatively positive macroeconomic outlook, business demand was more forthcoming. Major PC replacement demand driven by Windows 7 will become more apparent in the second half of 2010 and the beginning of 2011."

HP continued to be the leader in worldwide PC shipments, but its growth was below the worldwide average in the first quarter of 2010. The company faced continued pressure from its Asian rivals that are gaining share. However, HP's strength could be apparent as the professional market rebounds.

Acer had strong shipment growth across all regions. Acer's business model allows it to meet price points that other vendors find difficult to match. Dell achieved year-over-year growth above 20 percent for the first time in two years. Dell's growth was attributed to strong international sales.

Lenovo's PC shipments increased 59.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010. Lenovo's commitment to expand into the consumer segment seems to have brought positive results, although its high dependence on China's market remained unchanged. ASUS joined the worldwide top 5 ranking for the first time, sharing the position with Toshiba. ASUS had PC shipments increase 114.8 percent in the first quarter. The company quickly increased market share with its mini-notebook launch in 2008, but it has also successfully expanded into the traditional mobile PC market.

In Asia Pacific, PC shipments reached 26.5 million units, a 36.9 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009. PC shipments in China grew 45.4 percent; this growth was led by consumer PC demand due to the Chinese New Year holidays, when promotions and students' winter holidays stimulated purchases, especially of mobile PCs.

www.gartner.com