Global PC shipments reach 90.4M units in Q3 2011, growing by just 2.6% Y-o-Y (from 88.1M in Q3 2010) according to IHS iSuppli-- lower than earlier forecasts from the analyst of 6.8% Y-o-Y growth.
"The attainment of any growth at all represents a victory for the market," iSuppli says as it tries to find the silver lining at a time of "weak consumer sales and a strong challenge from alternative platforms [tablets]."
Europe remains a struggling market as economic conditions in both Eurozone and elsewhere remain weak, to say the least.
One vendor showing surprisingly strong growth is Lenovo-- beating Dell to reach 2nd place in the global Q3 2011 PC vendor rankings, thanks to strong PC demand in home market China (the one territory truly showing growth). Lenovo Q3 2011 shipments total 12.5M with 14.5% Y-o-Y growth and 13.9% WW market share.
HP remains on top, with shipments growing by 2.6% Y-o-Y to reach 16.3M units, despite uncertainties for the HP PC unit's future under ex-CEO Léo Apotheker.
Dell now lies in 3rd place, with Q3 2011 shipments totaling 11.1M units and a -0.3% Y-o-Y decline. Dell WW market share now amounts to 12.5%. According to iSuppli, 4th placing Acer also takes a beating in Q3 2011, with a -20.9% Y-o-Y decline and shipments reaching 9.5M units.
Meanwhile Asus-- another "Asian Tiger"-- shows the strongest Q3 2011 growth among the top PC vendors, growing by 27.1% Y-o-Y. iSuppli says Apple (7th) and samsung (8th) also show strong Y-o-Y growth of 27% and 36% respectively.
