Notebooks outship desktops globally

iSuppli claims that for the first time, notebooks have out-shipped desktops globally in Q3 2008. Last quarter, global notebook shipments reached 38.6 million units, while desktop PC shipments stood at 38.5 million units.

The research firm says third quarter shipments were better than expected, and raised its 2008 growth forecast from 12.5 percent to 13 percent. However, for next year the firm expects a growth of only 4.3 percent.

That's not such an impressive victory until you consider growth numbers: whereas laptop shipments increased by "almost 40%" between Q3 2007 and Q3 2008, desktop shipments actually fell by 1.3%. At this rate, laptops will out-ship desktops by a lot more than 100,000 units before too long.

iSuppli has compiled market share numbers, as well. HP stayed in first place with 18.8% of global PC shipments last quarter, while Dell snagged 13.9% of shipments, Acer secured 12.2%, and Lenovo came in fourth place with 7.5%. Last, but not least, Toshiba ended up in fifth place with just 4.6% of shipments.

Source: The Tech Report