For the second consecutive quarter, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has nabbed the top spot for worldwide PC shipments, and it finished 2006 tied with Dell as the leader of worldwide PC shipments, according to preliminary rankings by market research firm Gartner Inc.

HP's worldwide PC shipments increased 23.9 percent during Q4, as its market share totaled 17.4 percent. Q4 was not such a slam-dunk success for Dell, which remained in the No. 2 position although its shipments decreased 8.7 percent, resulting in its market share total of 13.9 percent.

In Dell's defense, however, Gartner said the overall PC market was impacted by stiff competition from the consumer electronics industry and the upcoming Vista launch.

"PC price erosion was a defining feature of the quarter," Mikako Kitagawa, a principal analyst at Gartner, said in a statement. "In the consumer market, the PC industry battled for wallet share against other consumer electronics products, such as  games consoles and flat panel TVs, while at the same time cutting prices to ensure market demand did not stall prior to Microsoft's Vista consumer launch in January."

Even so, PC shipments still showed growth over the quarter. According to Gartner, worldwide PC unit shipments in Q4 grew 7.4 percent compared to a year ago: 67.3 million units were shipped over the quarter, the firm said.

The budding popularity for mobile PCs has shaken up the industry. PC shipments in the U.S. decreased 3.2 percent in Q4, which the firm attributed to weaker than expected shipments into the home market. In Q4, home desk-based PC shipments declined more than 20 percent from Q4 2005, while mobile PC shipments increased more than 20 percent.

Dell reigned supreme in its native United States, where it maintained the No. 1 position in Q4, but its PC shipments declined 17.3 percent, equivalent to a market share of 29.1 percent. For its part, HP was on the rise in the U.S.: the company's shipments increased 16 percent giving it a 25.3 percent unit market share in Q4.

For the full year, worldwide PC shipments totaled 239 million units in 2006, a 9.5 percent increase from 2005. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region continued to be the largest PC region during the year. Asia/Pacific and Latin America also well exceeded the worldwide industry growth average. U.S. PC shipments were well below the worldwide average, however, which Gartner said was "clear evidence of market saturation."

Dell and Hewlett-Packard shared the No. 1 position for the full-year 2006, as both vendors had worldwide PC shipment market share totals of 15.9 percent. Toshiba moved into the worldwide top 5 table, surpassing Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens.

By: DocMemory
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