After Dell reclaimed the title of world's number two computer maker from Acer last quarter, it wasn't clear whether this was just a flash in the pan, or if the company could maintain its recovery.
Now that iSuppli has published its sales figures for the third quarter, it appears that Dell has managed to stay on the road to recovery despite a dissapointing back-to-school season. Although its market share slipped by 0.1 per cent compared to last quarter, the Texas-based company increased the number of PCs it shipped by 7.2 per cent this quarter for a total of 11.3 million units.
Acer performed similarly, meaning that the two companies are still separated by 0.4 per cent of the global market share. However, while Acer's total number of shipped units has shrunk year-on-year, Dell has managed to grow by almost ten per cent.
Lenovo remains in fourth place this month, but it's quickly closing the gap on the top three. Having recorded year-on-year growth in excess of 30 per cent for every quarter this year, the company has managed to ship 9.2 million units worldwide in Q3 and claim 10.5 per cent of the market, putting it almost within reach of third-place Acer.
The other big news is that ASUS has joined the top five after recording 29 per cent growth compared to last year, pushing Toshiba off the table and into sixth in the process. Unsurprisingly, HP has managed to remain on top for another quarter, shipping almost 16 million units - close to 50 per cent more than its closest competitor.
However, the best news is for the PC industry in general. As a whole, the market continued to grow this quarter, shipping eight per cent more systems than Q2 and ten per cent more than this quarter last year, marking a clear recovery from the trying conditions of last few years.
