Selectively skint
In the latest study of the Western European PC market from Gartner, one fact stood out above all others: Apple is one of the top five UK PC vendors for the first time.
This is especially ironic, and galling, for the other PC OEMs because a big reason for the decline in PC sales will be the increasing use of mobile devices as computing tools. And who has pioneered that? Apple, of course.
So as well as damaging the whole PC market, Apple is taking an increasing share of what's left. That's got to smart.
Of course it's not all the fault of smartphones and tablets. A downturn in the PC market had been predicted long before it became clear that the iPad was going to be a success. But if everyone's so worried about money, why is Apple is selling more Macs than ever?
"2011 will be a defining year for the consumer device market," Meike Escherich, principal analyst at Gartner. "Vendors and service providers will have to rethink how they retain customers and attract new ones if they want to survive in this highly competitive environment."
Here are the figures for the whole of Western Europe.
Western Europe: PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q10 (Thousands of Units)
|
Vendor |
4Q10 Shipments |
4Q10 Market Share (%) |
4Q09 Shipments |
4Q09 Market Share (%) |
|
|
HP |
4,287 |
22.1 |
4,310 |
21.2 |
-0.5 |
|
Acer |
4,041 |
20.8 |
4,673 |
23.0 |
-13.5 |
|
Dell |
1,899 |
9.8 |
2,004 |
9.9 |
-5.3 |
|
Asus |
1,850 |
9.5 |
1,631 |
8.0 |
13.5 |
|
Apple |
1,203 |
6.2 |
1,062 |
5.2 |
13.3 |
|
Others |
6,118 |
31.6 |
6,611 |
32.7 |
-7.5 |
|
Total |
19,398 |
100.0 |
20,291 |
100.0 |
-4.4 |
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs. Media tablets are excluded.
Source: Gartner (February 2011)
In the UK, Apple's entry into the top five was apparently fuelled by demand for the new MacBook Air. Despite this, Gartner blamed the falls on people feeling skint. "Uncertain economic factors and unemployment influenced consumers to delay or be conservative with discretionary spending," said Ranjit Atwal of Gartner. It seems people can always find money for Apple products.
United Kingdom: PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q10 (Thousands of Units)
|
Vendor |
4Q10 Shipments |
4Q10 Market Share (%) |
4Q09 Shipments |
4Q09 Market Share (%) |
4Q09-4Q10 Growth (%) |
|
HP |
847 |
23.1 |
712 |
18.9 |
19.0 |
|
Acer |
610 |
16.7 |
721 |
19.1 |
-15.3 |
|
Dell |
601 |
16.4 |
620 |
16.5 |
-3.0 |
|
Toshiba |
313 |
8.5 |
391 |
10.4 |
-20.0 |
|
Apple |
228 |
6.2 |
202 |
5.4 |
12.9 |
|
Others |
1,065 |
29.1 |
1,120 |
29.7 |
-5.0 |
|
Total |
3,664 |
100.0 |
3,766 |
100.0 |
-2.7 |
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs. Media tablets are excluded.
Source: Gartner (February 2011)
