Dell continues to lose out in PC market

Vendor sees market lead decline further as rivals HP and Acer up the ante

Dell turned in another weak performance in the PC market for the first quarter of 2007 according to analyst firm Gartner, with an 11 per cent decline in sales.

PC shipments in Western Europe totaled 13.3 million units in Q1, a growth of 11.2 per cent compared to 2006. The figures were bolstered by demand for mobile PCs, which accounted for 50 per cent of sales and helped Acer and Hewlett-Packard (HP) fuel growth.

Dell held onto its number one spot with 22.9 per cent market share, but has both HP and Acer snapping at its heels with 19.7 and 9.9 per cent [market share] respectively.

The consumer market led the growth with a 23 per cent increase, but the professional market lagged behind with eight per cent growth, Gartner claimed.

Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst for Gartner's Computing Platform Group, said: "The PC has become an essential communication and content access device for all ages. In the UK, more than 70 per cent of households will own a PC in 2007. Some concerns remained among PC vendors who currently have to face high PC inventory levels in the channel but these should clear out as strong demand continues to thrive in the second half of the year.”