New PC sales figures from IDC for the third quarter of 2010 show the worldwide PC market is still being hit by economic doldrums, but nonetheless managed double digit growth: overall global PC sales were up 11 percent for the quarter compared to the same quarter last year. However, there is a surprise in the U.S. computer market: Apple Inc. managed to edge out Acer for the number three slot in the U.S. market, with Apple accounting for 10.6 percent of computer shipments during the quarter. However, in the U.S., HP and Dell are still well-ensconced in the two two slots, accounting for 24.3 and 23.1 percent of the U.S. market, respectively.
“Apple’s influence on the PC market continues to grow, particularly in the U.S., as the company’s iPad has had some negative impact on the mini notebook market,” said IDC vice president for Clients and Displays Bob O’Donnel, in a statement. “But, the halo effect of the device also helped propel Mac sales and moved the company into the number three position in the U.S. market.”
During the third quarter of 2009, Apple saw a 24.1 percent growth in computer shipments compared to the same period a year ago, and—except for number five Toshiba—was the only computer marker to keep up with overall PC market growth for the quarter, let alone exceed it. Dell actually saw a 4.9 percent decline in unit shipments year-to-year, while HP managed to tally up a 2.7 percent increase.
Globally, HP remains the world’s largest computer maker, although for the third quarter the company remained almost flat compared to the same period in 2009, losing 0.1 percent of market share to account for 17.6 percent of the world PC market. Acer came in second place, accounting for 13 percent of the world PC market, which represents a 7 percent year-on-year increase. Dell came in third with 12.4 percent of the market, which represents a 9.7 year-to-year increase: Acer knocked Dell from the worldwide number-two position earlier this year. Lenovo, Asus, and Toshiba rounded out the top six PC markers with 10.3, 5.3, and 5.2 percent of the worldwide market, although all three figures represent double digit growth for all three companies, with both Lenovo and Asus racking up gains of over 30 percent. However, overall the world PC market failed to live up to estimates, with Japan was the only region to exceed its forecast sales figures owing to increased enterprise and small business technology purchases.
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