PC sales rise in spite of Vista malaise

Global sales of desktop and laptop computers are continuing to grow and outstrip analyst expectations, despite missing out on a sales bump from the release of Windows Vista.

The market continued to be driven by strong demand, notably for laptops.

But while sales rose by 11.7% in the past 12 months (1.1% more than the predicted figure), Windows Vista's impact has been minimal, analyst firm Gartner claims.

"The essential criteria [for people making a buying decision] is not based on specific hardware or software, it's very much based on how they're using the PC," Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst for Gartner Dataquest's Client Computing Markets Group in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Asia), told PC Pro.

"In some cases, it's a case of managing their digital content better, accessing the information they require," said Atwal. "Maybe wireless connectivity is a key criteria, as is battery life and email or internet access. Vista helps with all of those a little bit, but there's nothing you can say that Vista does supremely differently [to XP]."

HP retained its top spot with 18.2% of shipments. The California firm grew faster than the worldwide average rate for the ninth quarter in a row. Dell on the other hand experienced lower-than-average growth rates, particularly in the consumer market.

"This quarter saw both the consumer and professional mobile PC markets exhibit strong growth, and the top five vendors performed well - with the exception of Dell."

HP maintained its number one spot, widening the gap to Acer. The company shipped nearly every fifth PC in the EMEA market and doubled its consumer mobile volume quarter on quarter.

"The combination of Hewlett-Packard's business models, supported by an adaptable supply chain, allowed it to achieve strong growth across all segments and geographies," Mr Atwal said.

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