Mobility drives PC shipments up

Strong mobile PC sales were responsible for an 11.8 percent growth in worldwide PC shipments during 2004, according to preliminary statistics from analyst Gartner.

“Lower prices, better performance and wireless accessibility accelerated mobile sales,” said Charles Smulders, vice-president of Gartner’s computing platforms worldwide group.

“Overall fourth quarter 2004 PC sales were in line with projections, despite some weakness in the US and EMEA consumer markets.”

Dell strengthened its market share to 16.4 percent in 2004, up from 14.9 percent in 2003.

The Lenovo Group of China is expected to move up to third place in the world PC market rankings after its acquisition of IBM’s PC business.

Shipments increased 13.1 percent in the Asia-Pacific during the fourth quarter of 2004, with many vendors typically stimulating demand with aggressive prices and accessory bundles.