FRAMINGHAM, MA – Global PC shipments rose 2.3% year-over-year in the third quarter, a positive sign for the holidays, according to several researchers.

PC shipments dropped in the first half of the year, while fourth-quarter 2008 was the worst in roughly six years, according to published reports. The most recent rise, however, is attributed to consumers buying low-priced laptops and small netbooks, says research group IDC.

IDC had previously forecast shipments to drop about 3% for the quarter.

Gartner numbers vary from IDC's in that the research firm said shipments only increased 0.5% in the third quarter.

Hewlett-Packard remained the world's leading computer maker, while Acer took over the No. 2 spot from Dell. Lenovo and Toshiba were Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, according to IDC and Gartner.

In the US, IDC said H-P was No. 1 over Dell by a small margin. Gartner said Dell remained at the top by 0.5% market share.

Acer, Apple and Toshiba were the No. 3, 4 and 5 for US PC shipments, said both firms.