Taiwan-based Acer Leads W. Europe PC Shipments in Q1

Taipei, May 31, 2010 (CENS)--Personal computer (PC) shipments in Western Europe totaled 18.1 million units in the first quarter of 2010, a 19.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase, according to Gartner Inc., the major technology research and advisory company based in the U.K.

Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst at Gartner, pointed out that Western Europe recovered quicker than expected from the weak performance experienced in 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, the PC market defied economic conditions as consumers continued to purchase PCs to the detriment of other consumer electronic products.

In the first quarter of 2010, the Western European market showed strong growth, Gartner said, although that growth rate is based on a weak first quarter in 2009. The consumer PC market continued to drive growth and, despite further economic issues in Greece, consumers continued to purchase mobile PCs. The mini-notebook (netbook) market continued to be significant, retaining 20% of the mobile PC market.

"The shift to the next Intel mobile road map also drove demand, as products were renewed and new marketing efforts were put in place by vendors and Intel," said Atwal.

According to Gatner's data, Taiwan-based Acer moved to the No. 1 position with 23.4% market share in the first quarter. Acer continued to show strong growth in the consumer market with both desk-based all-in-one (AIO) products supporting mobile and netbook growth. Another Taiwanese brand Asus showed the strongest growth of the top-five vendors in the region in the first quarter and almost doubled its PC shipments.

Atwal said that with both consumer and professional markets experiencing stronger growth in the first quarter, he expects the PC market in Western Europe to sustain growth.

W. Europe PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q 2010* (Thousands of Units)
Company	1Q10 Shipments	1Q10 Market Share (%)	1Q09 Shipments	1Q09 Market Share (%)	1Q10-1Q09 Growth (%)
Acer	4,216	23.4	2,931	19.4	43.8
HP	4,088	22.6	3,492	23.1	17.1
Dell	1,811	10.0	1,627	10.8	11.3
Asus	1,432	7.9	729	4.8	96.4
Toshiba	1,069	5.9	1,037	6.9	3.1
Others	5,441	30.2	5,305	35.0	2.6
Total	18,057	100.0	15,121	100.0	19.4
*: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs. Source: Gartner (April 2010)