Fourth-quarter PC sales soar 22%

San Francisco : The personal computing sector came roaring back in the fourth quarter of 2009, with the number of machines shipped globally jumping by as much as 22 per cent for the biggest yearly gain in seven years.

While the last quarter of 2008 was especially weak due to the financial crisis, the comeback nevertheless gave an unexpectedly strong indication of a broader recovery.

Although Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system came out during the quarter, it "did not create additional PC demand", said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa.

Instead, the biggest sales driver continued to be less expensive portable machines, including netbooks, which have smaller screens and less processing power than traditional laptops. The average selling price for computers globally in the quarter had been projected to fall to $660 (Dh2,422), Kitagawa said, "with very strong growth of low-priced systems" during the period.

The actual figure is likely to prove even lower. The comparable figure in 2008 was $771. The average selling price in 2009 was $709.

Gartner placed the overall unit growth at 22 per cent from the end of 2008, while rival market researcher IDC put the gain at 15 per cent. Both firms had Hewlett-Packard keeping its position as the top vendor by volume, with 20-21 per cent of the market. Acer is second and Dell third, followed by Lenovo and Toshiba.

After four quarters of declining shipments, Dell returned to modest unit growth of 5 per cent, IDC said. The Texas company has refused to compete on price as much as its rivals, and has ceded market share instead of profits.

Dell had about 12 per cent of the market by volume in the fourth quarter, down from more than 13 per cent at the close of 2008. It remains at number two in the US market.

The surge in PCs was most pronounced in the US, pushed by lower prices, said IDC analyst David Daoud.

— Financial Times