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Topic: Hewlett-Packard

Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

Summary: Apple is on a roll already in 2012 after nabbing the top spot of another major tech list.

Rachel King

By for Between the Lines |

Apple has zoomed past Hewlett-Packard to be named as the top dog in the global "client PC" market during the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a new report from analyst house Canalys.

That's because Apple shipped more than 15 million iPads and five million Macs combined -- representing 17 percent of the total 120 million client PCs shipped globally during the fourth quarter.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is on a roll already in 2012.

Two other news items found that Apple not only regained its crown at the top of the global smartphone market (at least on a quarterly basis) as well as the fact that Apple is now the top semiconductor chip company.

Apple recently reported record first fiscal quarter earnings, including outstanding sales numbers from its Mac unit at 5.2 million Mac computers sold -- a 26 percent increase over the first fiscal quarter of 2011.

Manufacturers in this field likely suffered a bit in Q4 because of the flooding in Thailand causing a hard drive shortage worldwide, but Canalys warns that this will have a wider effect during Q1 2012.

Canalys research analyst Michael Kauh mentioned in the report that Ultrabooks might also shake things up:

We expect Ultrabook volumes to see limited adoption through the first half of 2012, before finally gaining momentum later in the year as price points decline and Intel launches a new line of processors and embarks on an aggressive marketing campaign. In the short term though, vendors will experience more pressure in the netbook and notebook segments, especially with Apple’s annual iPad refresh approaching.

The total client PC market (desktops, netbooks, laptops, and tablets) did grow by 16 percent year-over-year, but if you leave out tablets, it actually declined by 0.4 percent. Even if you broke it down regions, tablets had a huge effect on shipment numbers and proved that they are a major force to be reckoned with in this category going into 2012.

Lenovo was the only other company in the top five besides to post gains, and Dell and Acer rounded out the quintet.

Related:

Topics: Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Hardware

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53 comments
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  • And if Canalys adding tablets to their definition of "client PC"

    did not place Apple ahead of HP, would they have added iPhones to the "client PC" list?
    Tim Cook
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

      @Mister Spock

      Yup. And if that didn't work, there would always be iPod Touches, iPod Nanos and Apple TV's ready for inclusion in that client PC list.

      Whatever it takes. Grin.

      Seriously, Mister Spock, why even comment on this article?
      kenosha77a
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

      @Mister Spock

      No different than the mad dash by the Android fanbase to count Kindle Fire sales towards their marketshare. Yeah, yeah, I know that Amazon used some bastardized version of Android as the basis for the Fire's OS, but that's allot like getting fall down drunk in the streets on St. Patrick's day because you're great-great grandfather happened to be Irish. Nevermind the fact your last name is Sanchez and your mother's 100% Swedish.
      piousmonk
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

        @piousmonk Spoken by someone that doesn't code.
        blarelli
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

        @blarelli

        Spoken by someone who shouldn't speak for us programmers.
        tk_77
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

        @piousmonk

        you shouldn't speak when you don't know of what you're talking about.
        The OS IS android, they just have a skin on top of it. Apps are Android OS written apps.

        htc has Sense UI
        motorola has Motoblur
        Samsung has TouchWiz

        all skinned . please, they counted iPads so they can inflate Apple's numbers is nothing short of a joke.

        and deep down you know it.
        jonandkelly
        Reply Vote

    • You shocked me there for a second!

      I thought you were talking about REAL computers!
      Whew! ;-)
      kd5auq
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

      I appreciate technically it maybe but to call a tablet a PC is something of a stretch. A big stretch.
      bradavon
      Reply Vote

    • I think we all know tablets are PCs

      @Mister Spock Heck, that's what Steve Ballmer calls the category - "tablet PCs." He made a passionate defence for "ipad as computer" at All Things Digital in 2010. I certainly use my Playbook as a very portable computer. It certainly does not replace my phone!
      Mac_PC_FenceSitter
      Reply Vote

      • And?..

        @rbethell

        It definitely [b]does not [/b] replace my notebook :O
        rhonin
        Reply Vote

      • So Apple and Steve Ballmer call it a TabletPC?

        @rbethell

        I think alot of people will still disagree that an ARM based tablet is a client PC in respect to x86 based computers
        William Farrel
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

        @William Farrel I don't think anyone has ever defined the PC category as consisting solely of x86 computers - particularly since even Intel's own Xeons don't qualify!! Certainly there've been too many PPC, Motorola 6080, and Alpha-based computers in the last twenty years for that to be seriously considered as a criterion regardless.

        Given Windows 8 itself will run on Arm, any x86 based barrier seems to be a capricious one devised solely for the purpose of preventing Apple from claiming the top PC spot.
        Mac_PC_FenceSitter
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

        @rhonin It doesn't need to replace your personal notebook, in order to qualify. If a tablet generally does computerish stuff for its users, and does not generally do phone-ish stuff, and I would argue that iPad use cases generally tend to the former, then its a PC - whether you personally would wish to replace yours with it or not.
        Mac_PC_FenceSitter
        Reply Vote

      • Then why didn't they include smartphones?

        @rbethell <br><br>Isn't that a "client PC", in an even smaller form factor?
        I would have grouped the iPad with 'Mobile devices" which is where I think that Canalys made their mistake.
        William Farrel
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

      @Mister Spock

      yup it's nothing more than manipulation and biased reporting to include iPads.

      and of course Zdnet ate this up and was loving it.

      It's a joke.
      jonandkelly
      Reply Vote

      • Funny joke..

        @jonandkelly

        I'm pretty sure that most PC manufacturers don't consider the significant loss of sales in the traditional PC market to the iPad as a joke. Maybe that's why they included the iPad in the PC market sales numbers (because it's taking a huge part of the market segment's sales).
        delete-my-account
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

    Not to take anything away from Apple but, HP didn't exactly do themselves any favors.
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

      @Peter Perry - Yeah, HP did almost everything they could to screw up their own business. They abandoned their own tablet within days of shipping it, they scared customers off with the idea of abandoning the PC market, and finally they came in dead last in quality and support ratings last year. We are buying non-HP laptops for the first time in five years because of it.
      terry flores
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

    With almost 39 years in IT (February 1973), the iPad is the most personal computing device that I have ever used. BTW, if you define a NetBook as a PC, then a tablet as useful as an iPad has to be defined as a PC. I draw the line at screen size. A handheld calculator, a smartphone, or 5 inch tablets have too small of a screen to be useful as a computing device, but based upon my own use, an iPad is as useful as a NetBook.<br><br>On HP, well Terry Flores said it all, HP didn't just shoot their big toe off, the used a shotgun and blew their whole foot off. Next to Netflix and RIM, I would estimate that HP is a close runner-up for what not to do. And as an example, because of a vendor we have one HP server that was installed last year and we will never have another installed. Service was worse than a junior high kid building his first computer.
    TBeckner
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Canalys: Apple topples HP in global client PC market

      @TBeckner - The problem with your stance is that you are comparing the iPad to a netbook, which is also not a full blown personal computer.

      iPads aren't even close to doing what true personal computers can do.
      Would you replace your work desktop or high powered laptop computer with an iPad full time? Of course not. Because they aren't comparable at all.

      The iPad has many uses, and does some things quite well...but the thing about iPads is people sacrifice functionality for convenience/portability. iPads need to be in the Mobile device category (along with true netbooks), not the personal computer category.

      Come on people.
      Xander_Crews
      Reply Vote
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