New York - Worldwide PC shipments grew in excess of 25 percent, according to reports by IDC and Gartner.

In the United States shipments increased 16.9 percent on 17.5 million units shipped, said IDC, while Gartner pegged the increase at 20.2 percent on slightly fewer units shipped, compared with the first quarter of 2009.

Gartner reported worldwide unit shipments tallied 84.3 million units, while IDC turned in a slightly lower figure of 79.1 million.

The disparity between Gartner and IDC is due to differences in how each firm tracks shipments.

Gartner noted the strong first-quarter growth was due to better sales in the European, Middle East and African markets; however, the company expected slightly better results in the U.S.  and Latin markets.

"These first-quarter results indicate that the professional PC market is gradually picking up, driven by PC replacements in mature markets," said Mikato Kitagawa, principal analyst for Gartner. She expects replacement sales, driven by the recent release of Windows 7, to pick up in the latter half of 2010 and in 2011

IDC also pointed to the replacement market as a driver for the first quarter, but it gave some credit to the consumer market's continuing "persistent demand," said Loren Loverde, IDC worldwide trackers VP.

"Year-on-year growth is likely to slow in coming quarters as year-ago comparisons get more difficult. This is part of an expected recovery trend that should include strong second-quarter performance and lift growth for the year to 15 percent or higher," he said.

IDC qualified that part of the first-quarter growth spurt was due to the dismal performance the category endured during the first quarter of 2009.

Hewlett-Packard remained the top PC shipper in the United States and worldwide on both research company lists. IDC had HP grabbing 27.5 percent of the market share, a 7.8 percent increase over the previous first quarter, on 4.5 million units shipped. Second-place Dell also performed well, increasing shipments 7.5 percent.

However, the stars of the quarter in the United States were Acer and Toshiba, third and fourth place respectively on their top-five PC shipper charts.

 IDC and Gartner indicated each company increased its shipments in the 50 percent range in the United States. Worldwide, Toshiba almost touched 30 percent, IDC said, but Gartner had the notebook maker at 35.8 percent.

Gartner's preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q10 (Thousands of Units)

1Q10 Shipments 1Q10 Market Share (%) 1Q09 Shipments 1Q09 Market Share (%) 1Q10-1Q09 Growth (%) Company HP 15,319 18.2 12,773 19.3 19.9 Acer 12,003 14.2 7,779 11.7 54.3 Dell  10,209 12.1 8,406 12.7 21.4 Lenovo 6,977 8.3 4,384 6.6 59.2 ASUS 4,647 5.5 2,164 3.3 114.8 Toshiba 4,623 5.5 3,404 5.1 35.8 Others 30,565 36.2 27,309 41.2 11.9 Total  84,344 100 66,220 100 27.4   Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs. Source: Gartner (April 2010)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IDC Top 5 Vendors, United States PC Shipments, First Quarter 2010 (Preliminary) (Units Shipments are in thousands) 

 

Rank Vendor 1Q10 Market 1Q09 Market 1Q10/1Q09           Shipments Share Shipments Share Growth               1 HP 4,453 25.40% 4,130 27.50% 7.80% 2 Dell 4,220 24.10% 3,925 26.20% 7.50% 3 Acer Group 2,298 13.10% 1,576 10.50% 45.80% 4 Toshiba 1,506 8.60% 1,008 6.70% 49.40% 5 Apple 1,130 6.40% 1,043 7.00% 8.30%                 Others 3,936 22.40% 3,324 22.20% 18.40%                 All Vendors 17,542 100.00% 15,007 100.00% 16.90%   Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, April 14, 2010