HP Takes Over Top Perch in U.S. PC Shipments from Dell

According to two top market analysis firms, Dell is no longer the number one PC manufacturer in the United States: now the title belongs to Hewlett-Packard.

A few years ago, computer maker Dell was widely acknowledged as the top PC maker, both in terms of worldwide product shipments and computers shipped in the United States market. But declining sales and a resurgent Hewlett Packard eventually started nipping at Dell’s heels, and the company lost its number-one ranking as the top PC maker worldwide to HP in late 2006. However, Dell did manage to retain its number-one ranking in PC shipments in the United States…at least, until the first quarter of 2009. Now, industry analysis firms Gartner and IDC say HP has taken over the top spot in U.S. PC shipments as well.

“The U.S. PC market proved to be surprisingly resilient this quarter as notebooks were still seen as important purchases by many U.S. consumers,” said IDC vice president for clients and displays research Bob O’Donnell, in a statement. “HP’s dethroning of Dell as the U.S. market share leader and extending its worldwide market share lead is a testament to the company’s solid record of business execution over the last several quarters and indicates that Dell still faces some challenges in its efforts to reignite its business.”

Dell has been working to revitalize itself since re-installing Michael Dll as CEO in early 2007; the company has launched new retail initiatives to put Dell merchandize in major electronics retailers instead of relying on its formerly-famous direct sales strategy. The company has also partnered with a number of overseas retailers in efforts to develop markets in Europe, China, and India.

For once, Gartner and IDC both agreed on who the top five PC vendors worldwide were during the first quarter: in order, they were HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, and Toshiba. The main surprise in the worldwide rankings came in Gartner’s assessment of Acer’s sales, which were only one tenth of a percent behind Dell. If trends continue, Dell may be looking to slide from the number two to number three position in worldwide sales.

In the United States, the top five PC vendors were HP, Dell, Acer, Apple, and Toshiba.