Dell is left behind in Q4 PC and laptop growth

HP, Acer and Toshiba all triumphed at the expense of Dell in the fourth quarter UK PC rankings, figures from research house Canalys reveal.
Overall market growth was lukewarm as total Q4 shipments rose a muted 7.6 per cent year on year to 3.5 million. However, notebook unit sales remained impressive, surging 30 per cent while desktop sales dropped by 13 per cent.
Toshiba was the quarter’s big winner as the notebook specialist saw its market share leap from six to nine per cent. HP increased its lead over the chasing pack, growing two points to 22 per cent, while Acer made headway on Dell, which stayed at 18 per cent.
Robert May, managing director of VAR Ramsac, said Toshiba’s massive growth went hand in hand with the surge in notebook sales.
He added: “Toshiba’s growth does not surprise me. It introduced a scheme offering to replace a laptop and refund the purchase price if a user needed to call during the 12-month warranty. That was very aggressive and compelling.”
Andy Buss, principal analyst at Canalys, said of the Q4 figures: “It was a bit less than we were expecting as we had anticipated double-figure growth. It does lead to an uncertain start to 2008, but it was a good healthy year for the channel overall.”
Throughout 2007, Dell remained the market leader with a share of 22 per cent, down two points from 2006. HP benefited from this, moving from 19 to 21 per cent and Toshiba was also up to eight per cent.
Overall, units shipped in the UK in 2007 were up 10.5 per cent, from 10.6 million to 11.7 million.
HP clings onto top spot in PC market