Shipments of personal computers in the Asia-Pacific region reached 8.9 million units in the first quarter of the year, with Hewlett-Packard Co outpacing Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) to lead the market, researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said in a report released yesterday.
Excluding Japan, PC shipments fell 5 percent from last quarter but enjoyed 13 percent growth from a year ago, the report said.
"Despite an increased potential for catastrophe as a result of multiple earthquakes and bird flu, the Asia-Pacific PC market was left unscathed," said Bryan Ma (馬伯遠), the associate director of Personal Systems Research at IDC.
HP took the top spot, accounting for 11.7 percent of PC shipments, up from 10.2 percent in the previous quarter, as the firm strived to expand its business in several key markets in the region, the report said.
Former champ Lenovo fell to second position with 11 percent of market share, a decline from 13.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year due to the slower Lunar New Year period in February, as well as high levels of inventories in channels from the previous quarter, the report said. Nonetheless, Lenovo still maintains its leading position in the China market, it said.
Other major players in the market are Dell Inc, with a 7.9 percent market share, followed by IBM, with 6.1 percent, and another Chinese maker, Founder Electronics Co (方正), with 5.2 percent, the report said.
By region, the nation's performance was below expectations as a major government tender was smaller than expected, the report said, adding that shipments in Korea grew in the first quarter as a result of seasonal trends and some large sales.
Demand from China is still strong as the education and government sectors continue to perform strongly. Another market with high demand for PCs is India, the report said.
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