HP is top of the PC shipment pops

LIKE TWO WOMEN at a wedding wearing the same dress, both IDC and Gartner have chosen to announce their PC shipment statistics today.

It's Christmas come early for anyone that follows the market, or follows the market that follows the market, as both analysts have gone into detail about who ships what and where.

Both firms put HP at the top of their best sellers charts, though Gartner said its lead was slipping a bit. Both agreed however that PC markets are strong, despite being in recovery after the economic slowdown.

"The PC market remains robust, and in a recovery phase, despite challenges to a broader economic recovery, such as slow job growth and a more conservative outlook in Europe and Asia/Pacific," said Jay Chou, research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

"The factors which led to the recent PC rebound - an aging commercial installed base, a proliferation of low-cost media-centric PCs, and low PC penetration through much of the world - remain key drivers going forward," he explained.

Meanwhile, in the opposing Gartner Tower, principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa countered, "The preliminary second quarter results indicate ongoing improvement of the PC market, and it marks the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth on a year-over-year basis."

The top sellers lists are almost mirrored by both parties. HP has between 18 and 20 per cent market share, depending on which analysts you trust, then it's either Dell in second place - IDC gives it about a 13 per cent slice - or Acer, to which Gartner attributes an 11 per cent share.

Both IDC and Gartner reckon that Apple is fourth in the US sales market and has about 10 per cent share, proving that there is no accounting for taste. µ