News

Laptop surge by Acer knocks Dell down to third place, and threatens HP in mobile computers

by Joe Fay | posted on 04 December 2007

Dell was kicked into third place in the worldwide laptop market last quarter, as Acer and its associated brands took second slot behind HP.

A grand total of 29 million laptops were shipped in the third quarter, according to researcher firm Displaysearch, up 42 per cent on the year. The firm expects full year shipments to hit 103 million.

The figures show HP consolidating its lead in the third quarter, shifting 6.22 million units, up a whopping 72 per cent on the year. This gave it 21.4 per cent of the market.

Dell shifted 4.01 million units, up just 12 per cent on the year, giving it 13.8 per cent of the market.

Acer shifted 3.72 m units, up 54 per cent and grabbing 12.8 per cent of the market. However, once shipments by recent purchases Gateway and Packard Bell are included, the Taiwanese firm’s shipments come to 4.7 million, giving it 16.2 per cent of the market.

Toshiba took 9.1 per cent of the market, while Lenovo was close behind with 8.9 per cent.

The research noted that the third quarter was heavily influenced by the back to school quarter, giving it an extra consumer tinge. This is arguably to Acer’s advantage, as it sells mainly through the channel and retail, while its Gateway and Packard Bell brands are both retail stalwarts.

However, Displaysearch notes that Dell has also been pushing into consumer, striking retail partnerships.

While Sony and Asus were out of the top five with market shares of 5.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively, they showed the biggest growth rates in the market, at 94 per cent and 73 per cent.