Dell Recaptures #2 Spot from Acer; Sony Slips to #9
DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in display market research and consulting, revealed in its recent release of the Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report that the notebook PC market shrank 6% Q/Q but was up 35% Y/Y in Q1’08 to 31 million units. HP remained #1 in the notebook PC market for the seventh consecutive quarter, maintaining a lead of almost 2 million units over #2 Dell.
HP’s share of the market was over 20% for the sixth consecutive quarter. As a result of an increased focus on retail sales and a substantial focus on growing their business in China, Dell grew to 15% share, a mark they last held in Q4’06. However, Dell’s lead over Acer is small, and with Acer’s acquisitions of Gateway and Packard Bell, we can expect to see them put renewed effort on growing those brands.
There has also been a significant shift among the smaller brands. Apple, after four quarters as the #8 notebook brand, surged to #7 in Q1’08, while Asus grew to #8. Most of the other top ten brands have maintained their ranking over the past several quarters, with the exception of Sony. As recently as Q3’07, Sony was #6; however they slid to #7 in Q4’07 and now to #9 in Q1’08.
Although Sony’s notebook shipment volumes have increased by more than 40% Y/Y in North America, DisplaySearch analysis indicates that their volumes have declined by 27% in EMEA and more than 40% in APAC and Japan. By contrast, Acer, Dell and HP have all grown by 50% or more in EMEA and APAC.
Table 1: Q1’08 Notebook PC Shipments by Brand
| Rank | Brand | Q1’07 | Q1’08 | Y/Y Change | Q1’08 Share |
| 1 | HP | 4.608M | 6.460M | 40% | 20.8% |
| 2 | Dell | 3.228M | 4.683M | 45% | 15.1% |
| 3 | Acer | 3.415M | 4.527M | 33% | 14.6% |
| 4 | Toshiba | 2.399M | 2.890M | 21% | 9.3% |
| 5 | Lenovo | 1.473M | 2.321M | 58% | 7.5% |
| 6 | Fujitsu-Siemens | 1.275M | 1.612M | 26% | 5.2% |
| 7 | Apple | 0.891M | 1.433M | 61% | 4.6% |
| 8 | Asus | 0.796M | 1.330M | 67% | 4.3% |
| 9 | Sony | 1.281M | 1.321M | 3% | 4.2% |
| Others | 3.759M | 4.529M | 21% | 14.5% | |
| Total | 23.124M | 31.108M | 35% | 100% |
Note: Acer’s Q1’08 Y/Y growth compares Acer’s volume with Q1’07 volumes from Acer, Gateway and Packard Bell.
The most popular panel size and resolution continues to be 15.4″ 1280 × 800, which accounted for almost 50% of all notebook PCs shipped in the quarter. In a distant second position was 14.1″ 1280 × 800 with 22% share.
There are significant regional differences in notebook panel size. In Greater China and the Asia Pacific countries, 14.1″ notebook PCs have twice as much share (45% or more). By contrast, 15.4″ 1280 × 800-equipped notebooks have approximately 60% share in the EMEA and Latin America regions. Many brands have recognized this trend and have regional sales product strategies based on panel size preference.
“Historically, notebook volumes decline Q/Q in the first quarter of the year, and Q1’08 was no exception. However, not all brands followed this trend in 2008. Dell, perhaps as a result of an increased focus on retail and Greater China, as well as Toshiba, avoided this trend. Also of particular note were Apple’s 7% and Samsung’s 15% Q/Q growth. Apple’s entry-level notebook starts at more than $1,000, while Samsung, at present, only sells notebooks in APAC, EMEA and greater China,” said John Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research at DisplaySearch.
Looking at 2008, DisplaySearch expects notebook PC shipments to continue to grow, with total notebook PC shipments exceeding 135M units for the year.
Additional details from Q1’08 as well as forecasts by size and resolution are in DisplaySearch’s Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report including a detailed look at all aspects of the notebook PC market, long-term forecasts by size and resolution, the notebook PC display supply chain and market share by brand.
For more information on the Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report, please contact sales@displaysearch.com, or contact your regional DisplaySearch offices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China.
About DisplaySearch
DisplaySearch, an NPD Group company, has a core team of 59 employees located in Europe, North America and Asia who produce a valued suite of FPD-related market forecasts, technology assessments, surveys, studies and analyses. The company also organizes influential events worldwide. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, DisplaySearch has regional operations in Chicago, Houston, Kyoto, London, San Diego, San Jose, Seoul, Shenzhen, Taipei and Tokyo, and the company is on the web at http://www.displaysearch.com/.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
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