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Worldwide PC shipments totaled 68.1 million units in the second quarter of 2009, Garter is reporting. The number represents a 5 percent decline from the second quarter of 2008.
IDC, in a separate July 15 report, estimates second quarter 2009 numbers – including desktops and portable PCs but excluding x86 servers – are down just 3.1 percent from the same quarter in 2008, which in a statement it called “a notable improvement over an expected decline of 6.3 percent.”
The IDC statement went on to say, “All regions either met or surpassed expectations. Although the global downturn is still making its effects felt in the PC industry, the slump has been mitigated by a PC market which has seen the computing experience evolve to be more personal, portable and cost-oriented, rather than performance driven.”
Research firm iSuppli, reporting on the same day, also found notebooks to the bright spot in a PC market it said was suffering a contraction in unit shipments for the first time since the dot-com bust of 2001.
For the quarter, Hewlett-Packard again came out on top, with its international business out-performing U.S. sales.
“Dell and Acer once again effectively tied for the second position in the global market,” Gartner reported. “On the revenue side, however, Dell’s shares were expected to be much higher than Acer’s. This is because Acer’s shipments were mainly fueled by low cost systems, while Dells shipments had broader product coverage from low to high priced systems.”
According to Gartner, second-quarter 2009 worldwide shipments totaled 13.4 million for HP, 9.3 million for Dell and 9.2 for Acer. Fourth and fifth positions went to Lenovo, with 5.7 million units and Toshiba with 3.4 million.
Further, Gartner estimates that, worldwide, HP holds 19.6 percent of the 2009 second-quarter market share, and attributes 13.6 percent to Dell, 13.5 percent to Acer, 8.4 percent to Lenovo and 5 percent to Toshiba.
In the U.S. market, Dell pulled ahead of HP. According to IDC, in the second quarter of 2009 HP shipped 4.2 million units, HP shipped 2.1 million and Acer shipped 2 million. Toshiba, in fourth place this time, shipped 1.23 million, followed by Apple with 1.21 million.
Gartner, however, gave fourth place to Apple, estimating shipments for the quarter at 1.4 million units, to Toshiba’s 1.1 million.
As for U.S. market share for the quarter, IDC estimates that Dell holds 26.3 percent, followed by HP with 26.0 percent, Acer with 12.6 and Toshiba and Apple with 7.7 and 7.6, respectively.
Gartner, conversely, gives 8.7 percent of the U.S. market share to Apple and 6.8 percent to Toshiba.
Despite continued contraction from a year ago, the U.S. market managed a better-than-average sequential performance – an indication of a stabilizing or improving market,” said IDC’s Bob O’Donnell.
“While the sequential growth may be a hint of recovery, the market’s focus on lower-price PCs and mini notebooks is likely to drag the value of the market to lower levels.”
Mini notebooks aside, said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa, “Some vendors had very aggressive pricing of regular mobile PCs below $500 at U.S. retailers. Aggressive pricing determined the winners and losers for market share gains in the U.S. consumer market.”