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Boston: Anaemic US growth did not prevent computer makers from posting another double-digit gain in shipments worldwide in the first quarter, according to two technology research firms that both said the increase beat their forecasts.
IDC and Gartner on Wednesday also said Dell's recent initiative to offer computers in retail stores is helping it gain ground on Hewlett-Packard, which wrestled the title of world's largest PC maker from Dell in late 2006.
Both firms ranked Dell the US market leader, however, with about 31 per cent of the market to HP's nearly 25 per cent.
Even with growth in US sales slowing to around 3 per cent, overseas gains boosted global first-quarter PC shipments 14.6 per cent, according to IDC, and to 12.3 per cent by Gartner's count. That's because the US accounted for just 23 per cent of global shipments in the first quarter compared with 25 per cent a year ago.
Puzzle
"Even if there is a particularly bad US market, it's becoming a smaller piece of the global puzzle," said Bob O'Donnell, an IDC vice-president.
IDC estimated Palo Alto, California-based HP's global market share at 19.1 per cent and Round Rock, Texas-based Dell's share at 15.7 per cent. Gartner estimated an 18.3 per cent share for HP, compared to 14.9 per cent for Dell.
According to IDC, Apple claimed a 6 per cent share of the US computer market in the first quarter, while Gartner saw Apple with a 6.6 per cent share. Both research firms ranked Apple fourth in US market share after Dell, HP and Taiwan-based Acer. Acer ranked third worldwide too.
Apple posted strong shipment growth in the United States at 25.1 per cent, according to IDC, and 32.5 per cent, according to Gartner. "Apple experienced the strongest growth rate among the top five vendors in the US market," Gartner said in its report, noting there were "indications" that Apple's appeal is growing in the professional market.
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