Asus has overtaken rival
Dell in terms of
PC shipments to Western Europe, according to new figures from Gartner.
The technology research firm’s data revealed that Asus' shipments in the region grew by 20 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, giving the company the third largest share of the Western European market at 10.6 per cent.
HP continued to hold top spot with just under a quarter of the market (23 per cent), despite shipments slipping 7.5 per cent over the three months.
Acer also saw a fall in shipments, although it remained in second place with a 15 per cent share.
Dell dropped to fourth place behind
Asus, accounting for 9.8 per cent of shipments, while
Apple moved up to fifth spot with 7.6 per cent of the market.
Overall, PC shipments in the Western European market continued dropped by 11.4 per cent compared to the same three-month period last year, while total shipments to the UK market declined by 11 per cent.
"Over the last year as HP's, and particularly Acer's, dominance has begun to shrink, the next tier of vendors, headed by
Samsung and
Apple, have been making the consumer market much more competitive with increased choices on retailers' shelves," Gartner said.
Analyst Meike Escherich added: "The results in the third quarter of 2011 make unpleasant reading for the PC industry, as the third quarter is traditionally a strong consumer quarter, driven by back-to-school
sales ."