Lenovo beats HP as top global PC vendor (by shipments) according to Gartner, taking over 15.7% of the Q3 2012 market with 9.8% Y-o-Y growth while HP shipments contract by -16.4% to 13.5 million units.
HP global PC market share for Q3 2012 totals 15.5%, down from 17% in Q3 2011.
However not all analysts agree on the Q3 2012 vendor rankings-- as HP points out, IDC Q3 2012 market analysis has HP on top with 15.9% share (Lenovo follows with 15.7%). However one has to keep in mind IDC adds the "very important" workstation segment to its PC market analysis, while Gartner does not.
The analysts might not agree on top Q3 2012 vendor, but both agree on a more important matter-- PC shipments continue to decline in EMEA and beyond. Gartner says Q3 2012 sees "the worst decline in EMEA PC shipments over the past 4 years," with shipments dropping by 8.7% Y-o-Y to 25.8m units.
HP is the top EMEA vendor but Lenovo is the best performing, with double digit growth. Perhaps predictably Gartner describes W. European shipments as"very weak" due to retailers reducing Windows 7 inventory in anticipation for Windows 8.
"The lack of appeal and innovation in PCs, combined with a challenging economic environment, led the consumer spend to move to other devices," the analyst continues, an all too common sentiment from all taking an even casual look at the market. Ultrabooks failed to materialise any profit-related promises (in no small part due to non-competitive pricing) while future product launches have to wait for Windows 8... and Q4 2012.
On a global level Q3 2012 PC shipments total 87.5m units-- an 8.3% Y-o-Y decline due to both a "continuing slowdown" in consumer PCs, weak back-to-school sales and the transitional nature of the period.
