PC Shipments Up, Apple Sees Growth

Market research firm IDC on Monday said PC shipments worldwide grew by 17 percent in the third quarter, higher than previous forecasts.

In the United States market, which grew 11 percent year over year, industry leaders Dell and HP held their ground with market shares of 18 and 16 percent worldwide, and 33 and 28 percent in the U.S., respectively.

"We continue to see remarkable growth in the PC market and relative independence from broader economic trends," Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, said. "What we're seeing now is a combination of PC replacements and new users responding to low-price milestones."

In the U.S., IDC said that growth in the notebook sector was a key driver, with the back-to-school season doing better than expected.

However the big winner in the U.S. this past quarter was Apple, which saw 45 percent growth year over year and increased its share of the market to 4.3 percent, just short of fourth place Lenovo with 4.5 percent of the market.

IDC credited Apple's success to the "halo effect" surrounding the company's music business. "Growth was particularly strong in its retail outlets and in Europe, although growth in the Americas and Japan was also healthy," the firm said.

Also, Gateway continues to make a significant recovery in the PC business, aided by its recent acquisition of eMachines. IDC said it expects continued growth from Gateway in the fourth quarter.

The firm did warn, however, that next quarter's results might not be as impressive, as energy costs continue to put a strain on the economy and consumer confidence continues to fall.