Acer tops in MEA

Gartner's latest figures show that in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) notebook sector of the IT market, Acer Computer is the preferred brand both for consumers and business users, reports AMEinfo.

"MEA is one of the key global growth markets for Acer. The demand for mobility products is high, and our products have been very well received in the market. Customers respect the Acer brand, because it gives them better value," says Krishna Murthy, MD of Acer Computer MEA.

Acer posted its market share of 31.3% for notebooks, and an overall position of 29.3% dominance for both desktops and notebooks in the UAE.

PC shipments in France totalled 2.8 million units in the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 1.9% compared with the same period in 2008, says Evertiq.

"After a decline in the second quarter of 2009, the PC market in France returned to growth driven by strong purchases in the consumer market," says Isabelle Durand, principal analyst at Gartner.

The overall PC market in France was driven by strong mobile PC sales, which accounted for 67% of total PC shipments. Volumes increased 15% year-on-year.

According to market researcher NPD Group, Macs accounted for 18.9% of all laptops and desktops sold in US retail outlets. For computers priced above $1 000, Apple's share is 89%, writes BusinessWeek.

The NPD report overstates Apple's dominance as it excludes most sales to large enterprises, which strongly prefer high-end PCs to Macs.

Competitors such as Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Dell sell vast volumes of $500 laptops that yield razor-thin profit margins. Apple, who's cheapest MacBook sells for $999, is raking in the profits.