By Quentin Fottrell
As sales of personal computers spiral down toward typewriter-level numbers, manufacturers are scrambling, but those actually in the market for a new laptop may have reason to cheer.
“We’re seeing prices on laptops that we’d normally see on Black Friday,” says Louis Ramirez, senior features writer on DealNews.com. “Laptops are cheaper right now, and desktops are just dying out.” In many cases, computers with Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system are actually more expensive than the latest Windows 8, he says.
Worldwide shipments of PCs fell by 14% in the first quarter of this year versus a year ago, according to data released this week by research firm IDC. Among the PCs people actually are buying are those made by Hewlett-Packard HPQ +0.10% , which still leads the pack. Its H-P Pavilion Notebook, the company’s most popular model, is probably the best-selling PC in the world, analysts say.
Although H-P shipments fell nearly 24% to 11,997, it still has a 16% share of the PC market, down from 18% a year ago. “H-P is more focused on enterprise business and is not as willing as other PC makers to compete with the magnetism of Apple’s products,” says Carr Lanphier, an analyst at Morningstar. (The company remains focused on “profitable growth,” an H-P spokesman says.)
But analysts say H-P’s dominance may not hold for long. China’s Lenovo Group is just behind H-P, in second place, according to IDC’s survey. Shipments of Lenovo PCs were flat year-over-year, reaching 11,700 in the first quarter of 2013, IDC says, but its market share rose to 15%, up from 13% a year ago. “Lenovo is not afraid to lose margins for market share because it can smell blood in the water,” says Mark Spoonauer, editor-in-chief at LaptopMag.com. “They’re getting really aggressive on price.”
Click to Play
Can 'Moonshot' bring H-P some sunshine?
A banner start to 2013 can't erase the ugly reality that still faces Hewlett-Packard, Heard on the Street's Rolfe Winkler says. Photo: Getty Images
It appears to be working. Lenovo is the only one of the top five manufacturers whose shipments did not fall in the first quarter. Dell DELL +0.39% shipments dropped 11%, Acer’s fell 31% and Asustek Computer’s dropped 19%, IDC says. “Lenovo has done the best job navigating Windows 8,” Spoonauer says. “In terms of what you’re getting for your money and the ergonomics of its keyboard, Lenovo is outgunning the competition.” (The Yoga and ThinkPad Twist are its best-selling Windows 8 devices, a Lenovo spokesman says.)
In the U.S., Apple’s pricier range of computers are still popular. Apple’s iMac ($1,200) takes the No. 1 spot on Amazon.com’s list of bestselling desktops, while Samsung’s Chromebook ($250), Apple’s MacBook Pro and MacBook Air (both ($1,130) are listed as the top three best-selling laptops. “Apple will likely gain share in a declining PC market over the long term,” says Brian Colello, an analyst with Morningstar. “To the extent that tablets cannibalize PCs even further, Apple Mac sales may fall, but Windows and PC makers would be much bigger losers.”
Others dealers say PC sales are robust. “While tablets and mobile phones are taking share from traditional budget laptops, the popularity of desktop computers and Ultrabooks are holding steady,” says Yung Trang, president of TechBargains.com. The number of searches for Ultrabooks — super thin laptops — on that site rose by 27% in March 2013 year-over-year, he says. TechBargains is currently selling a Lenovo U310 13-inch Ultrabook laptop for $500, down from $750, and Dell Inspiron 15 Intel Core laptop for $480, down from $1,089.
