After two quarters of positive growth, worldwide PC shipments totaled 92.2 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011. This is a 1.4 percent decline. Meanwhile, Apple gained 11.6 percent of the market, with shipments of almost 2.1 million units. An growth of 20.7 percent over the same period in 2010.
MacDailyNews reports:
Hard-disk drive (HDD) shortages triggered by the October 2011 floods in Thailand had a limited impact on fourth-quarter PC shipments and prices. However, Gartner analysts said a major impact will be felt, and this is expected to materialize in the first half of 2012, and potentially continue throughout 2012. These shortages will temporarily lower PC shipment growth during 2012.
“Ultrabooks were quietly introduced into the market during the 4Q11 holiday season,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “Ultrabooks didn’t seem to draw consumers’ attention. Consumers had very little understanding and awareness of ultrabooks, and only a small group of consumers was willing to pay the price premium for such models. However, as has been seen this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) show, 2012 is a big debut stage for ultrabooks.”
Despite a shipment decline of 16.2 percent year over year, HP retained its No. 1 position in the fourth quarter of 2011. HP had to battle against aggressive pricing from competitors and deal with weak consumer PC demand in the holiday season.
Lenovo had the strongest growth among the top five, as its PC shipments grew 23 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, helping to cement its place as the No. 2 vendor in global PC shipments. The company’s growth was attributed to its aggressive pricing in both the professional and consumer markets.
Dell had a good quarter with shipment growth in most regions. The consumer market remained a weak point, but Dell enjoyed growth in the professional sector, mostly driven by upgrades to Windows 7.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon.
