PC shipments in the Asia-Pacific region shrank 5 percent annually last quarter to 31.4 million units, falling short of industry expectation on flagging global economies, market researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said.
That was sequential growth of 5 percent, according to IDC’s preliminary survey released yesterday.
For this quarter, IDC said PC companies would pin their hopes on replacement demand for new computers running on Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8 operating system.
“Ongoing sluggishness in economies across the region continued to weigh down on consumer sentiment, with channels, choosing to clear out old inventory before taking in fresh stocks of the upcoming Windows 8-based PCs, all leading to an unusually quiet third quarter,” IDC said in a report.
The report showed China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) remained the world’s No. 1 PC brand last quarter. The company shipped 9 percent more PCs last quarter than a year ago with a market share of 25.3 percent, up from 22.1 percent the year before, which IDC attributed to the Chinese firm’s aggressive price cuts and promotions, as well as the introduction of several new models in China.
Acer Inc (宏碁) ranked the No.2 last quarter, but the company’s market share shrank to 9.9 percent from 11.3 percent the prior year, after its shipments plummeted 16 percent year-on-year, IDC tallies showed.
Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) seized the third position with market share dropping to 9.3 percent from 9.7 percent last year, after shipments fell 9 percent year-on-year, while Dell Inc shipped 10 percent fewer PCs last quarter from a year ago to claim the No. 4 place.
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) still ranked No. 5, but its PC shipments expanded 10 percent year-on-year, helping to boost its market share to 8.1 percent last quarter from 7 percent a year earlier. IDC said strong growth in the Chinese market helped offset Asustek’s weakness in the Southeast Asian and Indian markets.
“With 2012 having been quiet so far, October 26 will carry a lot of expectations, not just for Microsoft, but for all PC vendors who are anxious to see the new operating system deliver on its promise of fueling another momentum in the PC market,” IDC senior analyst Handoko Andi said in the report. “However, 2013 will continue to be a challenge for PC industry vendors as they still need to jockey for consumer mind-share in a rapidly expanding variety of device choices.”
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