European PC market pulls clear of recession

Notebook PC sales increased by around 18 per cent during the quarter

The European PC market is showing positive signs of recovery, according to the latest PC channel sales figures from IT market research company Context.

First-quarter sales grew by 16 per cent, and prices have stopped dropping, which may not be welcome news for IT buyers.

"The first quarter is looking good. The best news is that revenues moved out of negative territory for the first time since the end of 2008 and were up 10 per cent, while average selling prices stopped dropping and held steady at €443 [£388]," said Context co-founder Jeremy Davies.

Consumer PCs saw the strongest sales with a rise of just under 40 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2009. Business PC sales also grew, but were still down when compared against a 2008 high point.

Notebook PC sales increased by around 18 per cent during the quarter, and traditional laptops by six per cent.

In terms of vendors, Lenovo performed well on the back of strong sales of its ThinkCentre 158 desktop to business customers.

Apple increased sales by 64 per cent, while eMachines and Packard Bell won favour among consumers with sales growth of 160 per cent and 69 per cent respectively.