Acer top PC vendor in Europe

Acer has emerged as the top PC vendor in Europe as sales from all vendors in the region defied the global downturn with increased sales.

Shipments of PCs and notebooks rose 27 per cent in the three months up to October, compared with the same period last year.

Sales of notebooks alone rose 52 per cent thanks to the popularity of the new low-cost ultra-mobiles, according to the IDC quarterly PC tracker.

Eszter Morvay, senior IDC research analyst, said an estimated two million mini-notebooks were shipped in Europe during the back-to-school season alone. Sales have been further boosted by machines being bundled 'free' with mobile and broadband deals.

Asus dominated the mini market earlier in the year but Acer came in strong with its Aspire One. Now the two companies share 80 per cent of the mini market.

Acer's top spot is also thanks to its takeover of Packard Bell, Gateway and E-Systems. Last month, Acer said these brands would be retained and targeted at different markets.

HP showed 21.3 per cent growth overall but did not benefit from the mini-notebook boom.

The top five vendors, with percentage market share in brackets, were: Acer (21.3), Hewlett-Packard (18.7); Dell (9.5), Asus (7.4), Toshiba (5.8).