FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Fourth quarter PC sales rose 8.7% year-over-year, with Hewlett-Packard retaining its top spot, according to preliminary market share data from IDC.

For the quarter, HP had a share of 18.1%, well ahead of second-place Dell's 14.7%.

Lenovo (7.3%) was third, followed by Acer (7.1%) and Toshiba (3.7%).

HP's unit sales rose 24% year-over-year, its fastest pace since 2000 and three times the market rate. Dell's shipments fell 9%. Apple's unit growth was 28% -- despite a 10% increase in average selling prices -- giving the company a 2.4% worldwide share.

According to Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore, "We believe Dell's unit weakness is the result of efforts to improve mix/margins by exiting the low-end market, particularly $300 consumer. We expect this strategy to pressure revenues in the near term but support Dell's profitability over the next few quarters."

In the U.S., Apple's shipments rose 32% and now accounts for 4.7% of the market, up from 4.1% a year ago.

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