Back-to-school demand saves PC market; Slight growth in third quarter

Global PC shipments came in at 80.9 million in the third quarter, up 0.5 percent from a year ago, according to Gartner.

OK, a 0.5 percent increase is a bit of a joke in most years, but after the shellacking the tech industry took in late 2008 and early 2009, vendors will take it. Gartner was expecting PC shipments to fall 5.6 percent in the third quarter (statement). Also see: Sam's take on the IDC figures for the quarter.

Consumers continued to lead growth by gobbling up netbooks and cheap mobile PCs during back-to-school salses. Here's the worldwide scorecard for the quarter:

And the U.S. picture where Apple, Acer and Toshiba are posting the largest growth gains.