PC shipments in Q1: Could have been much worse

PC shipments in the first quarter didn't scorch any growth charts, but they did avoid a predicted decline.

According to Gartner data, PC shipments in the first quarter checked in at 89 million units, up 1.9 percent from a year ago. Gartner has projected a 1.2 percent decline. IDC data shows PC unit growth of 2.3 percent in the first quarter.

In other words, the PC patient has a pulse despite a tablet onslaught.

However, there are plenty of things to worry the PC industry. For starters, India and China growth wasn’t that great. Europe Middle East and Africa PC shipments were up 6.7 percent in the first quarter compared to a year ago. In the U.S., PC shipments were 15.5 million, down 3.5 percent from a year ago.

Globally, HP grabbed share with 17.2 percent of the market. HP has been able to secure hard drive supplies and that helped a good bit. Overall, the hard drive shortage didn't hurt PC sales too much.

Lenovo delivered the most growth with 28 percent first quarter unit growth. Lenovo is now the No. 2 PC maker worldwide.

In the U.S. HP had 29 percent market share, followed by Dell and Apple.