PC shipments surge in Asia-Pacific

Period from July to September saw 16.1 percent rise

The Asia-Pacific PC market has bounced back with a 16.1 percent rise in July to September compared to the same period last year, according to analyst firm, Gartner.

Shipments across the region hit 25.2 million units driven by strong demand in China, which was estimated to have surged by 28.5 percent.

Globally shipments totalled 80.9 million for a 0.5 percent increase from the third quarter of 2008. The result represents a jump from Q2, which saw global shipments suffer a 2 percent decline. (Australia-specific figures were not provided.)

Worldwide, HP lead Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba in market share.

"These are good results especially given that PC shipments for the third quarter of 2009 are being compared to a very strong third quarter from 2008," Gartner principal analyst, Mikako Kitagawa, said in a statement. "Sequentially, third quarter shipments grew 18 percent, which is higher than the historical seasonal growth from the second to third quarter.

"The consumer market continued to lead unit shipment growth, driven by low priced mobile PCs. Ongoing price declines continue to be a major issue in the PC industry. PC vendor performance cannot be determined solely by unit market share gains as related revenues and margin performance are key to surviving in very competitive market."

In early October, IDC reported Australian PC monitor shipments rose 15 percent in the April to June period of 2009 over the previous quarter.

Year on year, Q2 shipments fell by 10 percent in Australia, but the picture was more positive across Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan).

For the six months to the end of June, the region shipped 29.5 million units - a rise of 4.8 percent over the first half of 2008 and 7.6 percent up on the July to December period last year.