Notebooks outsell desktops

Notebook sales have exceeded desktops for the first time ever in the third quarter, according to research by iSuppli. Notebook shipments exploded by almost 40 percent to 38.6 million devices, while desktop distribution fell 1.3 percent to 38.5 million. Despite the feeble economy, the research group raised its overall yearly growth forecast for PC units from 12.5 percent to 13 percent. Shipments of combined computers gained 15.4 percent for the quarter, totaling 79 million devices.

HP held the top position amongst manufacturers, shipping 14.9 million PCs and establishing a market share of 18.8 percent. Dell came in second with 11 million units and a share just under 14 percent, while Acer closed the gap with 9.7 million shipped devices and a share of 12.2 percent. The Taiwanese company showed the largest gains, adding 3 million additional PCs and growing its market share 45 percent for the quarter.

Although Apple's market share fell slightly to 3.2 percent, the company could still benefit from the current trends as it focuses a considerable amount of its efforts into updating and marketing notebooks.

A netbook release could prove beneficial for the Mac-maker, although Steve Jobs commented in a financial conference call that the devices represent a "nascent market" and his company would "see how it goes." Considering that netbooks accounted for nearly all of Acer's market share growth and 3 million additional units, there is now more evidence to consider.

By Electronista Staff

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