14 DAY TRIAL // Dell may have gone through some rough times last year, but it appears to have regained its footing if the information found by IDC on the state of the global PC market is anything to go by.
Market analysts periodically look at the state of the market, and its individual segments, and keep track of how companies fare against each other.
For the last quarter of 2010, the impression that IDC got seems to have been a mixed one, or so the recent press release suggests.
On the one hand, with PC shipments reaching 92.1 million, the market grew by 2.7 percent compared to the same period of 2009.
On the other hand, the increase was slower than what initial expectations hinted at, even though a new high was attained.
HP, of course, kept its position as leading PC supplier, although its shipments did slow down by 0.9 percent (market share was of 19.5 percent).
Acer secured a share of 10.6 percent and has meanwhile slipped to the third position (and is poised to keep losing share).
Meanwhile, Dell succeeded in retaking its spot as second greatest in the world, thanks to a share of 12.1 percent (sales of 11.1 million units).
Once again, tablets are seen as at least partially to blame for the decreased interest in PCs.
"The US market was expected to shrink year over year given the exploding growth experienced in the fourth quarter of 2009,” said David Daoud, research director, US Quarterly PC Tracker and Personal Computing.
“Growth steadily slowed throughout 2010 as weakening demand and competition from the Apple iPad constrained PC shipments.:
“In addition to relatively high market penetration and a 'good-enough' computing experience with existing PCs, consumers are being more cautious with their purchases and competing devices have been vying for consumer dollars,” he added.
“This situation is likely to persist in 2011, if not worsen, as a wave of Media Tablets could put a dent in the traditional PC market," Daoud went on to saying.