HP, Dell Battle Atop Global PC Shipments List

The third quarter of this year was a good one for the worldwide PC market, as mobility and a healthy consumer market provided the fuel for the double-digit percentage growth over last year, according to reports from IDC and Gartner.

In its Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, IDC reported that 67 million PCs shipped in the third quarter of this year, a 15.5 percent increase over the same time last year when IDC reported
shipments of nearly 58 million units. Gartner reported shipments of 68.5
million for 3Q07, which is an increase of 14.4 percent its 3Q06 numbers.

HP owned a 19.6 percent market share, according to IDC, shipping just over 13
million PCs. The figure represents a 33 percent increase over the same
quarter a year ago. Gartner reported an 18.8 percent share for HP and a
similar 33 percent growth in terms of PC shipments.

IDC put Dell in second place with meager year-over-year growth of only 3.8
percent. Gartner reported growth of 3.5 percent. Dell still commands a 15.2
percent global market share, according to IDC, and a 14.4 percent share
according to Gartner.

Lenovo rounds out the top three globally with an 8.2
percent market share, according to IDC followed by Acer with 8.1 percent. Gartner has Acer holding down the No. 3 spot with an 8.1
percent share, just barely ahead of Lenovo’s 8 percent share.

Though HP is the leader globally, Dell still holds the top spot in the U.S.
with a 28 percent market share in 3Q07, according to IDC, and a 29.1 percent
share according to Gartner.

Dell’s share, however, is on the decline; it’s
3Q07 shipments fell by 4.8 percent from 3Q06 according to IDC and by 5.5
percent according to Gartner. In contrast HP’s 3Q07 shipments surged 16.9
percent in IDC’s report and by 16.5 in Gartner’s study, propelling HP to an IDC-reported 24.3 percent U.S. market share and a Gartner-reported 25.7 U.S. market share.

Dell and HP have been
locked in a tight struggle for top spot both globally and in the U.S. for most
of the past year, with IDC and Gartner proclaiming a virtual tie as recently as January of this year.

For IDC, mobility is responsible for the growth.

“The appeal of portable PCs in all regions continues to propel the PC market
at a remarkable pace and sets the stage for a very strong fourth quarter,”
said Loren Loverde, director of IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, in a
statement.

“Falling costs, aggressive vendor competition, and rising
commercial spending in all regions, along with relatively low penetration
and rising consumer income in emerging markets, will sustain high growth
over the next couple years.”

But Gartner points to the consumer market that’s helping fuel the growth.

“Back-to-school sales were a major growth factor in mature regions, although
U.S. sales were softer than expected,” Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst
for Gartner’s client computing markets group, said in a statement.