PC shipments decline

Worldwide PC shipments totalled 84.3 million units in the first quarter of 2011, a 1.1% decline from the first quarter of 2010, according to preliminary results from Gartner.

Although the first quarter is traditionally a slow one for PC sales, these results indicate potential sluggishness, not just a normal seasonal slowdown and the figures are below Gartner's earlier forecast for 3% growth in the first quarter of 2011.

In Asia-Pacific, PC shipments surpassed 28.2 million units in the first quarter of 2011, a 4.1% increase from the first quarter of 2010. PC purchases by consumers remained weak, especially in China and Taiwan.

PCs were not high on consumers' shopping lists during the Chinese New Year holiday. In India, consumers were distracted by the Cricket World Cup. They also preferred to upgrade or purchase new TVs or other home electronics.

HP performed below the worldwide average, but maintained the no. 1 position, accounting for 17.6% of worldwide PC shipments in the first quarter of 2011. HP was impacted by weak consumer PC demand, as well as growing issues in Asia-Pacific.

Acer continued to face challenges as the mini-notebook market was impacted by media tablets. Acer shipments declined 12.2%.

In the first quarter of 2011, Dell saw a decline and underperformed in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Latin America, but it achieved strong growth in Asia-Pacific.

Lenovo experienced the strongest growth among the top five vendors (16.6%) as it continued to price its products very competitively in both the consumer and professional sectors. It achieved strong growth across all regions.

Weak demand for mini-notebooks continued in the mature PC markets as media tablets took centre stage. Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab were the prominent models, but there were also some offerings from vendors such as ViewSonic and Huawei.