Smartphone shipments overtook client PC shipments for the first time in 2011, according to new data from market research firm Canalys. Vendors shipped a total of 158.5 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, representing a 57% increase compared to the 101.2 million units shipped in the same quarter a year earlier. Shipments for the full year of 2011 rose 63% to 487.7 million units, up from 299.7 million shipped in 2010. The PC market only grew 15% to 414.6 million units in 2011, which included an astonishing 274% increase in tablet shipments — tablets accounted for 15% of all PC shipments last year according to Canalys. The firm expects growth in the smartphone market to slow in 2012, with vendors putting more focus on profitability. Canalys’s press release follows below.

Smart phones overtake client PCs in 2011

•       Vendors shipped 488 million smart phones in 2011, compared to 415 million client PCs
•       Apple was the leading smart phone vendor in 2011, following record Q4 shipments

Palo Alto, Shanghai, Singapore and Reading – 3 February 2012

Canalys today released its full, detailed Q4 2011 country-level smart phone shipment estimates to clients, so completing the picture for the year. One notable result was that total annual global shipments of smart phones exceeded those of client PCs (including pads) for the first time.

Vendors shipped 158.5 million smart phones in Q4 2011, up 57% on the 101.2 million units shipped in Q4 2010. This bumper quarter took total global shipments for the whole of 2011 to 488.0 million units, up 63% on the 299.7 million smart phones shipped throughout 2010. By comparison, the global client PC market grew 15% in 2011 to 414.6 million units, with 274% growth in pad shipments. Pads accounted for 15% of all client PC shipments in 2011.

“In 2011 we saw a fall in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads,” said Chris Jones, Canalys VP and Principal Analyst. “But pads have had negligible impact on smart phone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011. Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone. In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition. The greater availability of smart phones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices.”

However, Canalys expects to see smart phone market growth slow in 2012 as vendors exercise greater cost control and discipline, and put more focus on profitability. Notably, even vendors who have focused on conquering the low-end of the market with aggressive pricing, such as Huawei, ZTE and LG, are now placing greater attention on the higher tiers. Flagship models aimed at raising selling prices and improving margins will feature more heavily this year.

Apple’s impressive end to the year resulted in it becoming the leading smart phone and client PC vendor in Q4 2011, with shipments of 37.0 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs. It also smashed the record for the most smart phones shipped globally by any single vendor in one quarter, beating Nokia’s previous record of 28.3 million shipped in Q4 2010. Moreover, Apple’s performance meant that it displaced Nokia, for the first time, as the leading smart phone vendor by annual shipments. Apple shipped 93.1 million iPhones in 2011, representing growth of 96% over 2010. The iPhone 4S benefitted from pent-up demand resulting from the launch coming in October rather than June, but Apple’s overall volume was also buoyed by continued shipments of the now more aggressively priced iPhone 4 and 3GS models.

Samsung also finished 2011 with a flourish. It shipped 35.3 million smart phones in Q4 2011 under its own brand, bringing its total to 91.9 million for the year, compared to just 24.9 million in 2010. This excludes shipments of rebranded products, such as the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, which Canalys counts under the Google brand. Samsung continued to spend big on marketing activities, and its strong product portfolio – particularly the Android-based Galaxy S II – performed well.

Despite a disappointing set of financial results, Nokia’s smart phone performance in the fourth quarter gave cause for optimism. It shipped 19.6 million smart phones, down 31% from the record high of a year earlier, but up 17% on Q3 2011. The total was helped by 1.2 million and 0.6 million shipments of its Windows Phone and MeeGo-based products respectively, as well as improved Symbian Belle volumes from competitively priced devices such as the Nokia 500, 700 and 701. Its total smart phone shipments for the year came in at 77.3 million globally.

“Its first Windows Phone products, the Lumia 800 and 710, along with the recently announced Lumia 900 through AT&T in the US, have improved the outlook for Nokia,” said Canalys Senior Analyst, Tim Shepherd. “They are well-designed, competitive devices that demonstrate innovation is still alive within Nokia. But the battle is not over and it has huge challenges ahead. Nokia must continue to build out its Lumia portfolio with devices tailored to address all price points and all the markets in which it aims to compete. It must hasten its transition from Symbian to Windows Phone around the world and, with Microsoft, promote and generate excitement for the platform and new products. And it must succeed in attracting more developers to build high quality, locally relevant apps.”

RIM’s demise in 2011 has been over played by some, with the company ending the year as the fourth largest smart phone vendor and delivering annual unit growth of 5%. “There is no denying that RIM has had a tough year,” said Canalys Principal Analyst, Pete Cunningham. “But when you consider that it is transitioning to a new platform it has done well to increase volume while remaining profitable; the latter point being something that many other vendors struggle with. The appointment of Thorsten Heins as CEO will bring new energy to the company while ensuring that it does not radically deviate from its overall strategy in this transitional year. However, 2012 will become even more competitive and RIM needs BlackBerry 10 devices out there to ensure it retains its status as a major player.”

At a platform level, Android accounted for 52% of global smart phones shipments in Q4 2011, with iOS representing 23% and Symbian 12%. Android was also the leading smart phone platform by volume for the whole year, accounting for 49% of all devices shipped in 2011 and ahead of iOS with 19% share and Symbian with 16%. Collectively, Android smart phone shipments grew 149% year on year in Q4 2011 to 81.9 million units, resulting in a total of 237.8 million for the full year, up 244% on 2010. Samsung’s success and focus on Android have contributed substantially to the growth of the platform, but other vendors, such as Sony Ericsson, Huawei, Motorola, LG and particularly HTC, have also seen significant growth in their Android volumes over the course of 2011.

Apple pulled ahead of HP in the fourth quarter to become the largest player in the client PC market, a new report suggested Monday. The Cupertino-based company shipped more than 15 million iPads and 5 million Mac computers last quarter, and those figures represented 17% of all PCs shipped around the world during the fourth quarter. The report, which comes from market research firm Canalys, said PC shipments grew 16% annually to reach 120 million during the quarter, and the firm’s categorization of “PC” includes desktops, notebooks, netbooks and tablets in its figures. Tablets drove PC growth, however, and Canalys said the market would have declined by 0.4% without taking tablets into consideration. Read on for more.

Overall, Acer, Dell and HP lost market share while Apple and Lenovo increased their respective shares. “Currently, HP is pursuing a Windows strategy for its pad portfolio, producing enterprise-focused products, such as the recently launched Slate 2, until the launch of Windows 8,” said Canalys analyst Tim Coulling. “However, questions remain over Microsoft’s entry into the consumer pad space. While early demonstrations of the Window 8 operating system seem promising, Microsoft must focus its efforts on creating an intuitive user experience that is far less resource intensive.”

Another Canalys analyst, Michael Kauh, said that he expects to see “limited adoption” of new thinner and lighter Intel-powered ultrabooks during the first half of this year but that adoption should increase in the second half as prices fall. ”In the short term though, vendors will experience more pressure in the netbook and notebook segments, especially with Apple’s annual iPad refresh approaching,” Kauh said. Canalys’s full press release follows below.

Apple storms past HP to lead global PC market

120 million PCs shipped globally in Q4 2011, up 16% year-on-year

Shanhai, Palo Alto, Singapore and Reading – Monday, 30 January 2012

Canalys today announced that Apple, after reporting stellar results, became the leading worldwide client PC vendor in Q4 2011. Apple shipped over 15 million iPads and five million Macs, representing 17% of the total 120 million client PCs shipped globally in Q4. Overall, the total client PC market, including desktops, netbooks, notebooks, and pads grew 16% year-on-year. Excluding pads, the client PC market declined 0.4%. The floods in Thailand, that impacted hard drive assembly plants, caused mild disruption to shipments during the quarter, but the side effects are likely to be felt in the first half of 2012.

Among the other top five PC vendors, only Lenovo managed to increase its market share, by a relatively modest two points, compared to Apple’s six-point gain over the same quarter a year ago. Acer, Dell and HP – the hardest hit – all lost market share.  Now the second largest client PC vendor worldwide, HP will struggle to compete with Applefollowing the end of its Touchpad.

“Currently, HP is pursuing a Windows strategy for its pad portfolio, producing enterprise-focused products, such as the recently launched Slate 2, until the launch of Windows 8,” said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. “However, questions remain over Microsoft’s entry into the consumer pad space. While early demonstrations of the Window 8 operating system seem promising, Microsoft must focus its efforts on creating an intuitive user experience that is far less resource intensive.”

Lenovo continued to close the gap on HP, thanks to successful investment outside of core markets. The acquisition of Medion in Germany helped Lenovo double its shipments in Western Europe during the second half of 2011. The vendor’s decision to use Android for enterprise and consumer pads gives it a better opportunity than HP to continue gaining market share.

Dell placed fourth among the top five PC vendors, followed by Acer. Acer’s shipments continued to decline, as a result of the pad’s impact on the netbook market. It did, however, make headlines at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in January, when it revealed its S5 Ultrabook. Unsurprisingly, Acer and other vendors have been quick to announce their support for the new Ultrabook form factor, with the view of driving innovation and renewed customer interest in notebooks.

“We expect Ultrabook volumes to see limited adoption through the first half of 2012, before finally gaining momentum later in the year as price points decline and Intel launches a new line of processors and embarks on an aggressive marketing campaign,” said Canalys Research Analyst Michael Kauh. “In the short term though, vendors will experience more pressure in the netbook and notebook segments, especially with Apple’s annual iPad refresh approaching.”

Pads accounted for 22% of total PC shipments during Q4 2011. In addition to Apple’s strong performance, the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet by Barnes and Noble boosted volumes in the U.S. market, allowing both vendors to claim spots among the top five worldwide pad makers, in second and fifth place respectively.

All regions grew year-on-year with the inclusion of pads. Excluding pads, however, shipments in Europe, Middle East and Africa and North America declined, due to weaker consumer demand in Western Europe and the United States, despite the traditional Q4 sales periods. Vendors and channel partners took a cautious approach to inventory levels in Q4, as many had expected a slow quarter. Notebook volumes grew slightly, at approximately 1% in these regions, but continued their impressive rise in Asia Pacific and Latin America, as more consumers embraced mobile computing.

“The consumerization of IT continues to be a significant disruptive force in the PC industry, but many of the leading vendors have failed to capitalize on the trend to date,” said Coulling. “This year will be a pivotal year for those vendors that were slow to launch pads. It is not just the product that they need to get right, business models are equally important – driving revenues from content delivery can help vendors reach lower price points in a market that is incredibly price sensitive.”

Capcom announced recently that Resident Evil 6 will launch on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 20th, and that a PC version will follow soon after. The company said the game will take place in a world where bioterrorist attacks are occurring around the globe, inciting fear everywhere and turning everyone into zombies. The President of the United States decides to address the U.S. until he, too, is attacked and becomes a zombie. Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield will work together to save the world alongside new characters, and we hope to give the game a whirl later this year during E3 — provided it’s on display, of course. The Resident Evil series made its debut in 1996 and the series has achieved global sales in excess of 47 million units. The trailer and press release for Resident Evil 6 follow after the break. 

Capcom® Confirms Latest Installment of the Resident Evil® Franchise Coming to Home Consoles This November

SAN MATEO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, is very proud to announce that Resident Evil® 6 is in full development and scheduled for release on the Xbox360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system on November 20, 2012 with a Windows PC version to follow. Blending action and survival horror, this latest instalment in the multi-million selling franchise, is the most ambitious, immersive and feature rich title of the series to date and promises to be the dramatic horror experience of the year.

Resident Evil 6 portrays a world where an escalation in bioterrorist attacks across the globe has led to widespread fear among the population. In an attempt to quell the panic and curb the bioterrorist activity the President of the United States has decided to speak to the nation but not before the very location of the address itself comes under attack. With the President’s safety compromised the situation for the rest of the world seems hopeless.

In a first for the franchise, Resident Evil 6 sees series favourites Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield come together to face this unprecedented threat. They will be joined by new characters, each with their own unique perspective and involvement in this relentless dramatic horror experience enacted on a global scale.

Since the landmark release of Resident Evil in 1996, the franchise has firmly established itself as a truly worldwide entertainment brand and mainstay of contemporary culture with a series of live action movies, CG anime, manga, novels and numerous merchandising lines. To date the Resident Evil series of videogames has achieved global sales of over 47 million units, while the live action movies starring Milla Jovovich have grossed in excess of $525 million dollars at the box office.

Tablet owners spend big bucks online according to a new report. In fact, the new study published by Adobe Digital Marketing Insights suggests that tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase than smartphone owners on retail purchases, and over 20% more than PC users. The study found that smartphone owners spent about $80 per purchase on average but tablet owners spent an average of $123. Laptop/PC users spent $102 per retail purchase on average in 2011. Tablet owners are three times more likely to make a purchase on a retail website than a smartphone user is, too. Adobe Digital Marketing Insights gathered its data from more than 150 U.S. retailers last year and more than 16.2 billion transactions made online.

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Apple on Thursday released an updated version of its iTunes software following a series of announcements made during the company’s press conference in New York City. The Cupertino, California-based firm unveiled its new interactive iPad textbook product alongside iBooks 2 Thursday morning, and it also took the wraps off of an updated iTunes U service that includes new tools for teachers and a new iPad app. To accommodate Apple’s new features, the company also pushed out iTunes 10.5.3, which is available for download immediately. Apple’s official change log follows below.

What’s new in iTunes 10.5.3

iTunes 10.5.3 allows you to sync interactive iBooks textbooks to your iPad. These Multi-Touch textbooks are available for purchase from the iTunes Store on your Mac or from the iBookstore included with iBooks 2 on your iPad.

iBooks textbooks are created with iBooks Author — now available as a free download on the Mac App Store

For information on the security content of this update, please visit:support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Horace Dediu of Asymco put together a graph plotting the history of personal computing over the last 37 years. Dediu took PC data published by Jeremy Reimer and added smartphone stats along with updated PC and Apple numbers from research firm Gartner. From the data we can see that when combined, Android and iOS account for a higher shipment volume than the entire PC industry. When excluding Macs, the PC industry accounted for just 336 million units shipped in 2011, in comparison to 358 million Android and iOS units. Dediu added that the iPad cannot be considered a niche product. “The absolute volume of units sold after less than two years is enough to place it within an order of magnitude of all PCs sold,” said Dediu. “We can also observe that it has a higher trajectory than the iPhone which became a disruptive force in itself.”

[Via 9to5Google]

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During the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Best Buy announced that it will reorganize part of its business to focus on sales of connected devices such as tablets, smartphones and computers. Best Buy has created a new retail “connectivity business group,” Forbes said Friday, that will sell the aforementioned devices in Best Buy Mobile and Best Buy retail stores with 3G and 4G wireless service plans. Forbes explained that the connectivity business group (CBG) is similar to Best Buy Mobile but incorporates more devices and will include 15,000 employees from Best Buy Mobile and another 20,000 from Best Buy retail stores who previously worked to sell tablets and computers. Consumers likely won’t see any form of CBG branding and the changes will mostly affect Best Buy’s training practices for its Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores. Both stores will sell the products and Best Buy Mobile will likely begin offering connected laptops and tablets in addition to its current smartphone catalog.

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Despite the launch of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system and the introduction of ultra-thin Intel-powered ultrabooks, Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes thinks the PC industry will see little or no growth in 2012. Reitzes recently said that he expects PC unit growth to hover around just 0.8%, down from his original forecast of 5.1%. He argued that hard drive shortages “could impact some supply” during the first half of next year and that tablets and smartphones will “continue to cannibalize the PC market — especially as docking options become more robust.” Recent flooding in Thailand affected two major hard drive suppliers, Western Digital and Seagate, causing a hard drive shortage that impacted much of the industry. Reitzes also blames the poor economy for his lowered estimates, and he argued that corporations are less likely to refresh their PCs since unemployment is still high. The analyst’s figures aren’t that far off from other industry predictions. IDC recently said the flooding in Thailand could cause PC shipment growth to fall to between 2.2% and 3.4%, down from the firm’s original forecast of 5.1% growth over 2011.

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Hewlett-Packard’s webOS hardware is dead and buried but the fate of the platform itself remains to be determined. HP may hold on to the OS and use it on printers and PCs, and there have been plenty of rumors surrounding talks the company is having in an effort to license the platform to other firms. According to an interview in French newspaper Le Figaro, HP CEO Meg Whitman has gone on record in stating that a decision regarding the fate of webOS will be made within two weeks. HP took possession of webOS when it acquired Palm for $1.2 billion in 2010, and that buy yielded one failed tablet that was discontinued shortly after launching, three failed smartphones and soon, perhaps, the death of webOS itself. The promising mobile platform BGR once heralded as a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant smartphone market now finds itself an afterthought in a space dominated by two major players: Apple and Google. As RIM prepares a fresh new OS in an attempt to regain momentum and Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform looks ready to take off, HP and any potential webOS licensees certainly have their work cut out for them.

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Speaking at an investor meeting recently, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed that his company is working with Microsoft in an effort to deploy Windows 8-powered computers that run on Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon processors. “We’re going to see some interesting stuff going on,” Jacobs said. “Windows 8 on ARM is a big opportunity.” It’s not an easy task: Microsoft’s previous operating systems, and the existing applications, are designed to run on x86 processors. Qualcomm is optimistic that Snapdragon PCs will be available by the end of next year however, and that developers will rewrite applications to run properly on ARM processors. “For the apps that you really care about, I don’t see it as a significant growth inhibitor in terms of ARM vs. Windows,” Qualcomm chief operating officer Steve Mollenkopf said according to CNET. “I don’t think the impact is as significant as what others believe.”

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Head of sales and marketing for Samsung’s personal computer business Uhm Kyu Ho confirmed recently that his company will launch a Windows 8-powered computer during the second half of next year. The device will offer a touchscreen and will likely serve as the successor to the company’s Series 7 slate PC, Bloomberg said Wednesday. Samsung isn’t the only one ready to deploy the new operating system. Recent rumors have suggested that Dell has a device scheduled to launch during third quarter of 2012, and HP CEO Meg Whitman confirmed that her company will sell a Windows 8 computer sometime next year. Additionally, smartphone maker HTC is also rumored to be working on a Windows 8 tablet. On September 13th, Microsoft announced that it was beginning to ship its brand new Windows 8 operating system to developers. The OS offers a number of enhancements over Windows 7, most notably the company’s new “Metro” user interface.

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HP personal systems group (PSG) chief technology officer Phil McKinney announced recently that he will be retiring from the company. A few days ago, HP confirmed that it no longer had plans to spin off its personal systems group, an idea that was originally hatched by former CEO Léo Apotheker. “My time at HP started out as an advisor on innovation that turned into a request to join for a year or so to “help grow the innovation culture at HP”,” McKinney explained in a public letter published on his personal blog. “That was 9 years ago. I can honestly say that I’ve done everything that is within my power to fulfill that objective. I’m also excited that once again, I will be able to take on board seats, advisory roles and mentoring opportunities since I will no longer have to worry about conflict of interest and other corporate restrictions.” His final day with HP will be December 31st, 2011.

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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. Best Buy announced on Monday that customers who purchase an HP or Compaq laptop, desktop or all-in-one computer can opt to purchase an HP TouchPad tablet for an additional $149. The deal, which gives a small breath of life to a tablet that has already been killed-off by HP, kicks off on November 1st. Interested buyers can also purchase the TouchPad for $599.99, the tablet’s initial launch price, without buying an HP computer. As a quick refresher, the TouchPad offers a 9.7-inch XGA display, 32GB of storage, a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and NFC. Read on for the full press release from Best Buy.

HP Drops Bundle of a Deal in Customers’ Laps at Best Buy

Get a 32GB HP TouchPad for $149 with purchase of an HP or Compaq laptop, desktop or all-in-one computer

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 28, 2011 – Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) today announced that beginning Tuesday, Nov. 1 customers can get the HP TouchPad for the low, low price of $149 with the purchase of an HP or Compaq laptop, desktop or all-in-one computer.1 Customers can take advantage of this deal online at BestBuy.com® and at all Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile® standalone stores nationwide.

The HP TouchPad is designed to work like you do, so individuals can accomplish more, letting you connect, play, surf and share more easily. It provides the ability to seamlessly move back and forth between apps without losing your place while automatically grouping similar activities together. The HP TouchPad functions on the webOS operating platform and comes with 32GB of storage space.

Best Buy is advancing growth of the tablet category by combining the most tablets under one roof2 with a shopping experience that allows customers to easily try and compare devices. These devices are emerging as priorities on holiday gift lists, as more consumers consider how each can contribute to a faster, easier or more mobile entertainment, work or connections experience.

1. HP TouchPad available for individual purchase, outside of the bundle offer, for $599.99.
2. Based on a comparison to National Retailers as of June 11, 2011.

Global shipments of PCs grew slightly but less than analysts had predicted during the third quarter of 2011, Gartner said recently, citing preliminary findings of a new research report. 91.8 million PCs were shipped during the quarter, a 3.2% jumped from the same quarter of last year. The figures are lower than Gartner’s original estimate, which suggested PC vendors would ship 5.1% more units during the quarter. Gartner said the lower sales can be attributed to a weak Western European PC market. Read on for more.

HP maintains the largest PC market share with a 17.7 grip on the industry, a 5.3% increase from the same period last year, and the company shipped 16.2 million units during the quarter. Lenovo had the largest increase in market share and jumped 25.2% to a 13.5% share. Dell (11.6%), Acer (10.6%), and ASUS (6.2%) followed in the market share rankings.

“The inventory buildup, which slowed growth the last four quarters, mostly cleared out during the third quarter of this year; however, the PC industry has been performing below normal seasonality,” Gartner principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa said. “As expected, back-to-school PC sales were disappointing in mature markets, confirming that the consumer PC market continues to be weak. The popularity of non-PC devices, including media tablets, such as the iPad and smartphones, took consumers’ spending away from PCs.”

In the U.S., HP was the top PC vendor in the third quarter with 28.9% of the market followed by Dell with 21.9%, Apple with 12.9%, Toshiba with 8.4% and Acer with 7.8% of the market. Gartner’s full press release follows below.

Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Grew 3.2 Percent in Third Quarter of 2011

For the First Time, Lenovo Moved Into the No. 2 Position and Asus Became the No. 5 Vendor

STAMFORD, Conn., October 12, 2011—

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 91.8 million units in the third quarter of 2011, a 3.2 percent increase from the third quarter of 2010, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. These results are slightly lower than Gartner’s earlier projection of 5.1 percent growth for the quarter. The EMEA region contributed to lower-than-expected growth led by a weak Western European market.

“The inventory buildup, which slowed growth the last four quarters, mostly cleared out during the third quarter of this year; however, the PC industry has been performing below normal seasonality,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “As expected, back-to-school PC sales were disappointing in mature markets, confirming that the consumer PC market continues to be weak. The popularity of non-PC devices, including media tablets, such as the iPad and smartphones, took consumers’ spending away from PCs.

“As the PC market faced a slowdown, vendor consolidation has become a more apparent trend in the industry. Lenovo’s recent merger with NEC, and its acquisition of Medion, as well as HP’s announcement that it may spin off or sell its PC business, underlined this trend during the quarter.”

HP, the No. 1 vendor based on global PC shipments, grew faster than the industry average, and its market share reached 17.7 percent in the third quarter of 2011 (see Table 1). Despite announcing in the middle of 2Q11 the potential spinoff of its PC business, HP experienced strong growth in the U.S., while outside the U.S., growth was relatively weak or average.

Lenovo became the second-largest PC vendor in the worldwide market for the first time. The company’s expansion was boosted in part by the joint vendor with NEC in Japan. However, its aggressive marketing to both the professional and consumer PC markets accelerated its shipment volume.

Table1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q11 (Units)

Company	3Q11 Shipments	3Q11 Market Share (%)	3Q10 Shipments	3Q10 Market Share (%)	3Q10-3Q11 Growth (%)
HP	16,231,528	17.7	15,419,654	17.3	5.3
Lenovo	12,352,194	13.5	9,867,917	11.1	25.2
Dell	10,676,360	11.6	10,829,115	12.2	-1.4
Acer Group	9,686,853	10.6	12,612,822	14.2	-23.2
Asus	5,693,146	6.2	4,802,481	5.4	18.5
Others	37,146,785	40.5	35,420,559	39.8	4.9
Total	91,786,865	100.0	88,952,547	100.0	3.2

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs, including mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad. Final estimates will be subject to change.
Lenovo shipments include NEC shipments, but not Medion’s shipments.
Source: Gartner (October 2011)

Dell’s performance was below the industry average in most regions, as the company faced intensified competition in the professional space, where Dell has been traditionally strong. Acer mostly cleared its inventory buildup in the EMEA region by the third quarter of 2011. However, channels have been adopting a conservative position in regard to placing orders following the inventory issues. Asus widened the gap with Toshiba, the sixth-largest vendor. Asus achieved strong growth in China.

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 17.8 million units in the third quarter of 2011, a 1.1 percent increase from the third quarter of 2010. The U.S. PC market experienced year-over-year growth for the first time in three quarters. While the consumer market continued to be weak with disappointing back-to-school sales in the third quarter, the inventory was kept mostly in check as industry expectations were relatively low.

“The main contributor to the weak consumer PC market in the U.S. was intensified competition for consumers’ money,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “Media tablets and smartphones took center stage in the U.S. retail sector, and the expectation is for continuing demand for these devices throughout the holiday season.”

HP showed strong growth in the U.S. PC market, as shipments increased 15.1 percent in the third quarter, and its market share totaled 28.9 percent (see Table 2). Despite the potential spinoff of its PC business, HP executives’ efforts to give the appearance of “business as usual” seemed to work in the quarter.

Dell struggled as shipments declined 7.2 percent in the third quarter of 2011. “Dell’s issue has been balancing profitability and market share gain, a difficult task in a PC industry where high volumes and low margins are the norm,” Ms. Kitagawa said.

Gartner’s early study shows that Apple experienced the strongest growth among the top five vendors in the U.S. PC market. Apple’s PC shipments increased 21.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011. The robust growth of the MacBook Air continued to lead Apple’s overall growth in the U.S. market.

Table 2
Preliminary United States PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q11 (Units)

Company	3Q11 Shipments	3Q11 Market Share (%)	3Q10 Shipments	3Q10 Market Share (%)	3Q11-3Q10 Growth (%)
HP	5,132,614	28.9	4,459,120	25.4	15.1
Dell	3,886,864	21.9	4,188,687	23.8	-7.2
Apple	2,300,000	12.9	1,893,600	10.8	21.5
Toshiba	1,486,100	8.4	1,545,630	8.8	-3.9
Acer Group	1,378,768	7.8	1,848,511	10.5	-25.4
Others	3,580,989	20.2	3,635,684	20.7	-1.5
Total	17,765,335	100.0	17,571,232	100.0	1.1

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs, including mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad. Final estimates will be subject to change.
Source: Gartner (October 2011)

PC growth in EMEA reached 26.6 million units in the third quarter of 2011, a 2.9 percent decline from the second quarter of 2010. It was the third consecutive quarter that the EMEA region has experienced negative growth. However, analysts said vendors may have seen the end of backed-up inventory issues, which have been pulling down growth. The consumer PC market in Western Europe remained weak, with consumer confidence permanently shaken by the economic issues spreading across most of the region. Furthermore, the market share of mini-notebooks continued to decline, especially in Western Europe, which also contributed to the weak year-over-year comparison.

In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments reached 31.8 million units in the third quarter of 2011, a 6 percent increase from the same period last year. Vendors continued to stimulate demand aggressively with promotions and prices, benefiting buyers looking for good prices. It also provided an opportunity for some consumers to buy their first mobile PC.

The PC market in Latin America grew 19.6 percent in the third quarter of 2011. Mobile PC shipments grew 31.1 percent year over year, and desk-based PC shipments increased 6.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011.

PC shipments in Japan grew 3 percent, with shipments reaching 3.9 million units. The consumer market received a boost in demand with the introduction by vendors of new consumer models in September. There was also a rebound in production for the professional market, after a drop in enterprise demand because of the higher prioritization for business continuity plans that coincided with the earthquake and tsunami in March.

These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe. Additional research can be found on the Computing Hardware section on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/it/products/research/asset_129157_2395.jsp.

In a recent interview with CRN, HP chairman Ray Lane outlined situations in which HP may hang on to its PC business. “If we don’t make that decision [to spin off], it’s because of two things: We can’t offer a better proposition to customers and investors,” Lane said. “If we can’t it stays inside HP.” If the company does decide to spin-off its personal systems group, Lane has suggested the company call it the “HP PC Business.” HP has the “largest and most profitable [PC] business in the world,” Lane explained during the InformationWeek 500 conference in California. “I am lobbying, and I don’t have to lobby very hard, to call it the HP PC Business. Call it HP. It will be a sister company,” Lane explained, pointing to HP’s spinoff of Agilent. “Agilent was a better business once spun off, because it was a very different business from what the rest of HP was doing.” Read on for more.

Lane believes the personal systems group will be more successful outside of HP, since it is on a different track than HP’s enterprise business. The company announced the possibility of a PSG spin-off to avoid a leak in the press, Lane explained. “We can’t afford to have hundreds of people working on a project without some kind of leak, and then we’re having to explain it to the press anyway,” he said. “So we thought it best that we go out and explain that we are going to look at this option for the benefit of that business model, the customers and the investors.” Early reports on Tuesday suggested HP had started to lay off as many as 525 employees from its Palm branch.

[Via CNET]

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