Feb 16, 2011 15:02 GMT  ·  By

Surging iPad shipments have propelled Apple to a 17.2% share of worldwide mobile PC shipments in Q4 ’10, placing the company at the top of the market share ranking by DisplaySearch, a market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain.

According to preliminary results from the DisplaySearch/Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report, Apple shipped more than 10.2 million notebook and tablet PCs combined, nearly a million more units than HP in Q4 ’10, DisplaySearch, an NPD Group company, said.

Apple’s iPad is benefiting from a first-mover advantage, DisplaySearch admitted, particularly in mature markets, where its notebook PC shipment growth rate continues to exceed the industry average.

“While we anticipate increased competition in the tablet PC market later this year with the introduction of Android Honeycomb-based tablets, Apple’s iPad business is complementing a notebook line whose shipments widely exceed the industry average growth rate,” said Richard Shim, senior analyst at DisplaySearch.

“Apple is currently benefiting from significant and comprehensive growth from both sectors of the mobile PC spectrum, notebooks and tablet PCs. Cannibalization seems limited at this point.”

Toshiba was the only other company to exhibit Y/Y shipment growth, among the top five brands in the mobile PC market.

Toshiba’s shipments increased 15% year over year, to over 5.1 million units in Q4’10, as it maintained its #5 position in market share.

HP, Acer Group (including Founder shipments), and Dell took the #2, #3, and $4 spots, respectively.

According to the DisplaySearch /Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report, the top five brands accounted for 65.4% of the total mobile PC market.

The DisplaySearch /Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report covers the entire range of mobile PC products shipped worldwide and regionally.

Covering global and regional brands, the /Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report/ provides an objective, expert view of the market with insight into historical shipments, revenues, forecasts and more, DisplaySearch claims.