Looking for some good economic news? See laptop sales
Eee PC maker Asus rose to No. 8 in total laptops sold.
Odds are the last computer you purchased was not a desktop but a laptop. Laptops have outpaced desktops in total units sold since 2005, and that trend seems to be only escalating. According to DisplaySearch, all the major laptop vendors save Sony enjoyed double-digit growth in the first quarter of this year compared with Q1 2007. Total units sold in Q1 2008 were 31.1 million, which represents 35 percent growth over the 23.1 million laptops sold in Q1 2007. The nine largest vendors accounted for more than 85 percent of the laptop market share, with an annual unit growth rate of 39 percent for the quarter. Here's how they stacked up for Q1 2008:
| Rank | Vendor |
Units sold (in millions) |
Market share | Y/Y growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HP | 6.460 | 20.8% | 40% |
| 2 | Dell | 4.683 | 15.1% | 45% |
| 3 | Acer | 4.527 | 14.6% | 33% |
| 4 | Toshiba | 2.890 | 9.3% | 21% |
| 5 | Lenovo | 2.321 | 7.5% | 58% |
| 6 | Fujitsu | 1.612 | 5.2% | 26% |
| 7 | Apple | 1.433 | 4.6% | 61% |
| 8 | Asus | 1.330 | 4.3% | 67% |
| 9 | Sony | 1.321 | 4.2% | 3% |
HP maintained its lead, while Dell showed strong growth (I'd wager its increased emphasis on retail sales played a role), reclaiming the No. 2 spot from Acer. Acer's sales include the Gateway brand, it should be noted. Asus was the biggest gainer, fueled by its Eee PC I'd imagine, moving 67 percent more units than in the same quarter last year. Apple, too, showed big growth and moved up a spot to No. 7, while Sony fell to No. 9 (it was No. 6 as recently as the third quarter of 2007). DisplaySearch attributes Sony's poor growth to declining international sales; it's up by more than 40 percent in North America year-over-year.
