Mobile devices drive global PC sales

Strong demand for mobile devices pushed global PC shipments by 14.8 per cent year on year to 48.9 million units in the second quarter of 2005, Gartner revealed today.

The worldwide PC market exceeded the analyst's previous projections by two percentage points.

"Demand for mobile form factors accelerated sales during the second quarter, " said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide Group.

"Aggressive price cutting was also a significant factor in driving demand for desktop PCs."

Dell extended its lead in the worldwide market, accounting for 17.9 per cent of global PC shipments.

The direct PC giant experienced much higher growth rates outside the US, but also grew ahead of the market rate in its domestic market, where the bulk of its shipments are made.

HP's PC shipment growth rate exceeded the worldwide average, as the company performed well in the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions.

The quarter was described by Gartner as "transitional" for HP following Mark Hurd's appointment as chief executive in April, and the Personal System Group's split from the Imaging and Printing Group.

"While the shipment picture was better than Gartner expected, it was another quarter of intense price competition for the PC vendors," said Smulders.

"Even so, we expect the operating environment to get more difficult in the second half of 2005 as PC replacement opportunities decline."

In the EMEA region, PC shipments increased 18.6 per cent in the second quarter as aggressive PC pricing by vendors resulted in strong shipment growth.

PC shipments in the US totalled 15.6 million units, a 10 per cent increase from the second quarter of 2004, while in the Asia/Pacific region shipments increased 17.3 per cent in the second quarter.