Apple retains third place in US PC sales, gains 5.4 percent
updated 06:00 am EST, Tue January 15, 2013
Windows 8 fails to kickstart PC sales in Q4 2012
Preliminary PC shipment data produced by Gartner shows that Apple has held on to the number three position in the US market in the fourth quarter of 2012. Although PC shipments declined in the US by 2.1 percent year over year dropping to 17.5 million units, Apple managed to boost its sales by 5.4 percent over its 2011 fourth quarter results. HP retained its number one position in the US, boosting its sales by 12.6 percent, while Dell retained second position but went backwards with 16.5 percent fewer sales for the quarter.
On a global basis, HP still retook an overall lead on the back of softer than expected global sales for the quarter. While the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 was expected to give PC sales a boost during the quarter, worldwide PC sales dipped by 4.9 percent. HP shipped 14.6 million PCs worldwide, which was slightly lower than it achieved for the same period in 2011. Lenovo slipped back to second place overall, but still managed to increase its sales by 8 percent over its Q4 results last year.
“The launch of Windows 8 had no impact on PC demand, especially as ultramobile products were both limited in supply, as well as being priced too high,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. “The holiday season mostly saw retailers clearing Windows 7 notebook inventory or driving volume of low-end notebooks. Furthermore, the increasing choice of tablets at decreasing price points no doubt became a favorite Christmas present ahead of PCs.”
