STAMFORD, CT – Worldwide PC shipments increased by 8.9%, totaling 62.7 million units in the first quarter of 2007, according to Gartner.

The U.S., Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America performed better than the previous forecast, while Asia/Pacific and Japan shipments were lower than expected. Asia/Pacific surpassed the U.S. For the first time, PCs will take second place in shipments.

In the first quarter, HP's worldwide PC shipment growth outpaced the industry average, increasing 28.7%. Meanwhile, Dell experienced below-average growth across many regions. Acer moved into the third position for worldwide PC shipments, exceeding the industry average across all regions. Lenovo dropped to fourth, but achieved its highest year-over-year growth rate since acquiring IBM's PC division.

In the U.S., PC shipments grew 2.9% for the quarter year-over-year. These results were higher than Gartner's forecast of 0.6% growth. Dell maintained the lead in U.S. shipments; however, HP narrowed the gap for the top spot in the U.S. market.

PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa totaled 21.6 million units, a 13.7% increase from the same period last year. In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments reached 15.7 million units, a 10.3% increase year-over-year. The PC market in the first quarter in China grew 15.2%, with desk-based PC growth of 10.1% and mobile PC growth of 38.3%. PC shipments in Latin America totaled 5.1 million, a 21% increase year-over-year; mobile PC shipments increased 86%. Japan surpassed 4 million units in the first quarter, a 6.8% decline from the same period last year.