HP tops Dell as world's largest computer vendor

 

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By Matt Whipp

Posted on 19 Oct 2006 at 18:24

HP has stolen Dell's crown as the world's largest computer vendor by a mere 110,000 units, according to research group Gartner.

The US giants battled out a tough Q3 in which the US market went into decline by 2 per cent. Internationally, the picture was healthier, with a 9.1 per cent increase year-on-year in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, again with HP in the lead. And Acer managed to bully Dell out of second place.

But Asia and Latin America showed the most buoyant figures, clocking a 13.7 per cent and 20 per cent rise respectively. Even so, Japan muddied the picture with a 3 per cent decline.

Mobile devices showed stronger growth than their desktop counterparts or servers in all territories. Globally, the market showed a 6.7 per cent increase, totalling 59.1 million units shipped.

'HP continues to take better advantage of the faster growth segments such as the consumer market. The company's share trajectory reflects its improvements in operational execution and changes in marketing' said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst for Gartner Dataquest's Client Computing Markets Group. 'Dell felt the effects of the weak sales in the US market, and it gave up some ground.'

Trailing Dell is Lenovo, Acer, and Toshiba, followed by other brands. However, there is a big gap between the 16-odd per cent market share of the top two and the remaining brands, with less than half that, at best.

But it's the US that tells the story of HP's ascension - the first time it has been at the top since Q4 in 2003. Dell lost more than 7 per cent while HP bolstered its market share by 6.3 per cent, shifting more than 3.6 million units.

Apple doesn't feature among Gartner's global top five brands, although comes in at number four in the US market.