Notebook Market Still Buzzing

Chicago (IL) - It is no secret that notebooks are driving PC sales these days, but first quarter numbers may have even surprised the most optimistic analysts. With the exception of Sony, all large notebook manufacturers achieved double-digit growth year-over-year. Dell is back in #2 and Apple has climbed to #7.

Overall notebook unit sales were 31.1 million in the first quarter of this year, up 35% from 23.1 million in the Q1 2007, Displaysearch said. The world’s nine largest vendors now account for more than 85% market share and an average annual unit growth rate of 39%.

HP remained in the lead with 6.46 million sold notebooks, a market share of 20.8% and 40% annual growth. Dell came in second with a 15.1% share (45% growth), followed by Acer with a 14.6% share (33% growth). Apple has improved its position to #7, growing its sales by 61% to 1.4 million units. The company was outpaced by EeePC manufacturer Asus, which increased its shipments by an astonishing 67% to 1.3 million units and is ranked #8, just behind Apple. Lenovo (#5) also had a good quarter, growing its unit sales by 58%.

Companies that grew slower than the industry average included Toshiba (#4, +21%), Fujitsu-Siemens (#6, +26%) and Sony (#9, +3%). One year ago, Sony was ranked at #6 and has been surpassed by Fujitsu-Siemens, Apple and Asus.