As Apple prepares to show off the next big upgrade of OS X, here’s news that its Mac hardware has cracked 10% PC market share for the first time since the early 1990s.

According to market research firm Gartner, Apple had 10.4% of U.S. PC shipments in Q3, making it the fourth largest computer maker in the U.S.

Gartner didn’t even count iPads, which are a runaway hit. But they had an effect on other PC makers’ numbers. Gartner said Q3 was weak, especially in the U.S., thanks in big part to the iPad.

“Media tablet hype around devices such as the iPad has also affected consumer notebook growth by delaying some PC purchases, especially in the U.S. consumer market. Media tablets don’t replace primary PCs, but they affect PC purchases in many ways,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, in a statement. “At this stage, hype around media tablets has led consumers and the channels to take a ‘wait and see’ approach to buying a new device.”

Gartner’s full release below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Grew 7.6 Percent in Third Quarter of 2010

Softness in Consumer PC Demand Slowed Shipment Growth

STAMFORD, Conn., October 13, 2010 — Worldwide PC shipments surpassed 88.3 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 7.6 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. These third quarter results were below Gartner’s earlier market outlook. Gartner had expected third quarter PC shipments to grow 12.7 percent.

“The major growth inhibitor in the third quarter of 2010 was softness in consumer PC demand in the U.S. and Western Europe. The third quarter historically is a strong consumer quarter, led by back-to-school sales,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Consumer mobile PC demand, driven by low-priced notebooks, including mini-notebooks, slowed after very strong growth the past two years.”

“Media tablet hype around devices such as the iPad has also affected consumer notebook growth by delaying some PC purchases, especially in the U.S. consumer market. Media tablets don’t replace primary PCs, but they affect PC purchases in many ways,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “At this stage, hype around media tablets has led consumers and the channels to take a ‘wait and see’ approach to buying a new device.”

HP remained in the top worldwide position (see Table 1), but it experienced a slight decline in shipments in the quarter. HP experienced a 20 percent decline in shipments in Asia/Pacific as the company put a higher priority on profits in the region. In the U.S., the company was impacted by weak consumer growth.

Table 1

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q10 (Thousands of Units)



Company 3Q10 Shipments 3Q10 Market Share (%) 3Q09 Shipments 3Q09 Market Share (%) 3Q09-3Q10 Growth (%) HP 15,431,749 17.5 15,513,420 18.9 -0.5 Acer 11,527,716 13.1 11,726,586 14.3 -1.7 Dell 10,816,474 12.2 9,908,099 12.1 9.2 Lenovo 9,140,778 10.4 6,871,379 8.4 33.0 Asus 4,793,186 5.4 3,911,263 4.8 22.5 Toshiba 4,695,600 5.3 4,014,945 4.9 17.0 Others 31,896,091 36.7 30,106,333 37.1 5.9 Total 88,301,595 100.0 82,052,026 100.0 7.6

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs.

Source: Gartner (October 2010)

Acer experienced a shipment decline of 1.7 percent in the third quarter. Dell showed solid growth across most regions. Overall, Dell benefited from the professional PC market refresh, butNorth America showed disappointing results. Lenovo showed the strongest growth among the top five vendors worldwide. The professional PC market helped boost Lenovo’s growth in theU.S. and EMEA.

In the U.S., PC shipments surpassed 17.6 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 2.2 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009. Consumer mobile PC shipments were the weakest in the last several years.

“The weak back-to-school sales were not because students held off on PC purchases, but because nonstudent buyers, who normally are lured by massive back-to-school promotions, stayed away from PC purchases,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “These buyers were influenced by media tablet introductions, as well as the still-gloomy economy, since these buyers do not have an immediate need to purchase a PC.”

In the U.S. market, HP was the No. 1 vendor in the third quarter of 2010 as its shipments increased 2 percent (see Table 2). HP was impacted by consumer PC demand. Dell also had a challenging quarter. Apple had another strong quarter. Increasing traffic to Apple, associated with the iPad release (iPads are not included in Gartner’s PC shipment statistics), as well as iMac and Mac Pro refreshes, contributed to the growth.

Table 2

Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q10 (Thousands of Units)



Company 3Q10 Shipments 3Q10 Market Share (%) 3Q09 Shipments 3Q09 Market Share (%) 3Q09-3Q10 Growth (%) HP 4,459,473 25.3 4,372,231 25.4 2.0 Dell 4,188,688 23.8 4,447,478 25.8 -5.8 Acer 1,848,511 10.5 2,338,816 13.6 -21.0 Apple 1,831,664 10.4 1,611,000 9.3 13.7 Toshiba 1,629,100 9.3 1,427,000 8.3 14.2 Others 3,650,807 20.7 3,036,573 17.6 20.2 Total 17,608,242 100.0 17,233,099 100.0 2.2

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs.

Source: Gartner (October 2010)

In EMEA, PC shipments totaled 27.3 million units in the third quarter of 2010, an increase of 7.3 percent from the same period last year. The Western Europe PC market slowed as professional buyers and consumers held back on PC purchases. Emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa experienced good growth, but it was not enough to offset weakness in Western Europe.

In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments reached 29.7 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 10.5 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009. In the emerging markets, mobile PC demand in the consumer segment continued to grow unabated as mainstream notebooks continue to appeal to first-time PC buyers as well as those substituting notebooks for desktops. PC shipments in China in the third quarter of 2010 held steady at 62 percent of all PCs shipped in Asia/Pacific, growing 11.3 percent over the same quarter last year.

Latin American PC shipments totalled 8.2 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 9.9 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009. Back-to-school PC sales in Latin America were sluggish, and this transpired into fewer home mobile PC shipments. Consumers were searching for promotional sales that simply didn’t materialize at retailers throughout the region.

PC shipments in Japan surpassed 3.6 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 14.1 percent increase from the same period last year. Large deals in the enterprise and government sectors drove PC sales in the quarter. In the consumer market, replacement demand for primary PCs, both desktop and large-size mobile PCs, has continued to grow since the beginning of 2010.

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Market Share Alert: Preliminary PC Market Results, Worldwide, 3Q10.” The report is available on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1451731.

These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product-planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe. Additional research can be found in the Computing Hardware section of Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/it/products/research/asset_129157_2395.jsp.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the valuable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,800 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,300 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 80 countries. For more information, visit gartner.com.