Canalys announces Apple is the biggest global PC vendor in Q4 2011, beating leader HP-- but only if one counts tablets as PCs.
Other analysts (such as Gartner and IDC) do not add tablet shipments to their overall PC market statistics.
According to Canalys Apple Q4 2011 shipments total 15M tablets and 5M Macs, taking over 17% of total Q4 PC shipments reaching 120M units.
The global PC market (including tablets) shows 16% Y-o-Y growth in Q4-- but excluding tablets WW PC shipments are down by -0.4% Y-o-Y, with declines in W. Europe despite traditional holiday sales.
EMEA notebook sales are up by a slight 1% as vendors and channel partners take the cautious approach to inventory levels. Canalys expects "limited adoption" of ultrabook shipments throughout H1 2012, but momentum should kick in later in 2012 due to price drops and aggressive marketing campaigns.
When it comes to vendors, Lenovo is the only PC maker (other than Apple) increasing in market share-- by 2%, with W. European shipments doubling thanks to the Medion acquisition. Meanwhile Acer, Dell and HP continue losing market share.
