Good news for PC makers: Global shipments declined less than expected in the third quarter, according to two reports released Wednesday.
The results definitely exceeded our expectations. Businesses are buying PCs again, and not just to adjust to Microsoft, said Jay Chou, a senior research analyst at IDC, according to the New York Times. (Microsoft stopped supporting the Windows XP operating system recently.)
The biggest PC makers are seeing growth: No.1 Lenovo saw worldwide PC shipments rise 11.4 percent year over year, and No. 2 Hewlett-Packard saw 4.4 percent growth, according to Gartner.
Speaking of the biggest PC makers in the world, IDC said Apple climbed to the No. 5 spot for the first time, estimating that the Silicon Valley company shipped 4.9 million units in the third quarter, slightly overtaking ASUS. (Apple will report its own numbers later this month.) For those keeping track at home, IDC s Top 5: Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer and Apple. Gartner has Asus at No. 5 instead of Apple.
Overall, Gartner said global PC shipments fell 0.5 percent year over year, to 79.4 million units. IDC said shipments totaled 78.5 million units, a 1.7 percent drop.
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