'Computer market grew 30% in 2010'

New Delhi: India's personal computer market grew 30% in 2010 — the highest since 2007, research firm IDC revealed. Hewlett Packard emerged the top company in India, leading in both notebook and desktop categories. HP regained market leadership after two quarters with a 17.3% market share, taking the pole position from Dell Inc that got 14.2% of the market.

Taiwan’s Acer followed the two with 11.5% market share. Notebooks were the hottest selling category with sales growing by 49% between October and December 2010 compared to the previous year. More than 10 lakh notebooks were sold in the 2010 fourth quarter. HP grabbed the largest market share of 26.2% while Dell and Acer secured second and third places.

Nearly 25 lakh personal computers were shipped to Indian consumers, pushing up the overall sales by 26%. IDC India’s lead PC analyst Sumanta Mukherjee noted sales in 2010 to be far better than ‘dismal’ 2009. “Consumers are the main architects of this recovery, supported by renewed buying sentiments displayed by the SMB and government segments,” he said. But warned that sales of Atom processor-based mini notebooks could come under increasing pressure, as competitive offerings of rivals start becoming available in March 2011.

“Emergence of media tablets will also impact this category in the long run,” he said. Around 14.5 lakh desktop PC units were sold in the fourth quarter last calender year, a 14% increase over 2009. HP held the lead in desktop PC sales with 10.86% of the market, followed by HCL with 10.78% and Acer at the third spot.