Mobile PC shipments grew 43% in 1Q/2010

Shipments to the consumer segments continued to be the main growth driver, but there was an uptake in the professional segment. Gartner expects to see higher growth in the professional market toward the end of 2010 and into 2011 as part of a larger refresh cycle. "Mini-notebook PCs were a big part of the bump in mobile PC shipments in the first quarter of 2010, with shipments growing 71% over the same period last year," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "However, mini-notebooks' share slowed in some regions as consumers begin to understand the limitations of mini-notebooks, especially in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks." "The average selling price (ASP) of mobile PCs was $732 in the first quarter of 2010, a 15.7% decline from the 1Q/2009, when the ASP was $868," Ms. Kitagawa said. "The ASP for mobile PCs is expected to stabilize as sales into the professional market will grow, resulting in slightly higher ASPs compared to consumer mobile PCs." HP continued to be the No. 1 vendor in worldwide mobile PC shipments, as it accounted for 19.2% of shipments in the 1Q/2010. However, HP and Dell were the only vendors in the Top 5 to grow below the industry average. ASUS and Acer experienced the strongest growth rate among the top-tier vendors with shipment increases of 113% and 48.4%, respectively. Gartner analysts said this growth was driven by sales in the low-end consumer market. Image source: Dell