HP retained the number one slot in both Notebooks and consumer desktops category, according to analyst firm IDC.
During the first quarter of 2005, the Indian PC market witnessed a 9 per cent sequential and 31 per cent year-on-year growth to reach 10.5 lakh units, the IDC's India Quarterly PC Market Tracker report said.
In the overall Client PC (notebooks and desktops) market, HP retained its top slot with a sequential increase of 19 per cent and a year-on-year 45 per cent growth. HCL continued to stay at second position, with a 40 per cent year-on-year growth. Lenovo (IBM PCs) occupied the third position.
The commercial desktops category witnessed 1 per cent sequential growth and 22 per cent year-on-year growth. HCL led the ranks followed closely by HP. Lenovo and Dell, however, grew faster at sequential growth rates of 31 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.
The consumer desktops segment witnessed a 16 per cent growth sequentially and 30 per cent year-on-year growth. HP has again maintained a lead while HCL was a close second.
"In the previous quarter, consumers adopted a 'wait and watch' policy due to confusion over VAT and the impact of new WTO regulations on import tariffs", it said.
The clearing of the cloud over VAT, drop in prices on account of rationalisation of duty structures and onset of summer vacations were key contributing factors to the growth displayed by this segment, says Dinender Sharma, manager, computing products, IDC India said.
The notebook PC segment was the star performer, showing massive growth, 60 per cent sequentially and 138 per cent year-on-year and crossing the one lakh barrier, yet another first.
According to Dineder, notebook PCs emerged as a preferred choice over desktops due to factors of convenience and productivity.
Centrino-based Notebooks constituted two-thirds of the total shipments. In terms of market rankings, HP stayed at the top, followed by Lenovo and Acer.
"The AMJ quarter typically is characterised by sluggishness in the desktops market. The overall desktop segment in Q1 2005, nevertheless, continued to expand. This was primarily due to the fact that a lot of deals from the earlier quarter were actually consumed during Q1", says Dinender.
With price points either falling or stabilising, IDC expects the momentum to continue in the coming months.