HP, Dell and Acer PC sales down as iPad boosts tablet sales

PC sales slumped by over 11 million units during the first quarter of 2011, thanks in part to increased interest in tablets such as the iPad, according to figures from IHS iSuppli.

The analyst firm expressed surprise at the quarter-on-quarter decrease to 81.3 million units, as PC shipments had reached a quarterly high at the end of 2010 on the back of corporate demand.

HP retained its position as the number one manufacturer with shipments of 15.3 million units at the start of the year. HP's sales were down by 14.7 per cent compared to the fourth quarter, but the vendor maintained an 18.6 per cent market share.

Dell held onto the number two spot with 10.5 million shipments, and Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba rounded out the top five.

Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms research at IHS iSuppli, explained that the iPad and other high-profile tablets contributed to the PC decline in the first quarter.

"All the attention surrounding tablets contributed to weak consumer demand for PCs in the first quarter, but IHS believes that the jury is still out on exactly how much tablets are cannibalising PC sales," he said.

Meanwhile, year-on-year PC shipments were also hit as as tablets such as the iPad began to dominate the market.

Worldwide PC shipments topped out at 81.3 million units in the first quarter of 2011, down 0.3 per cent from 81.6 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Acer, in particular, struggled as its netbook PCs face direct competition
from tablets, IHS iSuppli said. The manufacturer saw its first-quarter shipments decline dramatically by 20.4 per cent to 9.2 million units year on year.

The analyst firm forecasts that global PC shipments will rise by eight per cent this year to 373 million.