Global PC shipments up 3.1% in Q4 2010: Gartner

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 93.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 3.1% from the fourth quarter of 2009, according to preliminary results by Gartner Inc. These figures were below Gartner’s earlier forecast of 4.8% growth for the fourth quarter of 2010. "Overall, holiday PC sales were weak in many key regions due to the intensifying competition in consumer spending. Media tablets, such as the iPad, as well as other consumer electronic (CE) devices, such as game consoles, all competed against PCs," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "The bright side of the PC market during the fourth quarter of 2010 was a steady growth in the professional market driven by replacement purchases. For all 2010, the results indicate the PC market recovered from the recession, as it returned to double-digit growth, compared to low single-digit growth in 2009."

HP maintained the No. 1 position in worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010, but its shipment growth was below the worldwide average. Acer faced challenges in the fourth quarter of 2010 due to a slowdown in the overall consumer mobile PC market. Dell benefited from professional PC refreshes across key regions. For the year, worldwide PC shipments totaled 350.9 million units in 2010, a 13.8% increase from 2009. This growth rate was an improvement from 2009 when PC shipments increased 5.5%. Among top five PC vendors, Lenovo’s shipment growth well exceeded the worldwide average. Lenovo’s growth was driven by strong professional growth as well as expansion into consumer space outside of China.