Q2 EMEA RESULTS SHOW FURTHER LAPTOP GROWTH 03/08/2005

With the second half of 2005 upon us, the eyes of the laptop industry are fixed firmly on sales results for the second quarter of the year. As technology develops and prices fall, the competition is hotter than ever, and with the preliminary IDC results in for the EMEA (Europe, Middle-East and Africa) region, it’s time to take stock of the past three months.

As expected, laptop technology has shown its growing popularity with strong sales and rising year-on-year growth. With 5.1 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2005, laptop sales in EMEA have increased by 45.8 percent in comparison to the same period in 2004. While sales of business laptops have grown by 23.9 percent, consumer laptop growth shows an outstanding 58.1 percent rise year-on-year, with the United Kingdom providing the greatest volume of computer shipments of the entire EMEA region.

While HP continues to hold first place for EMEA shipments of both desktop PC’s and desktop/laptop systems combined, UK-based Acer maintains the top spot for laptop shipments that it so notably secured in the first quarter. Shipping over a third more units in Q2 2005 than the same period last year, Acer’s aggressive pricing in both the retail and SMB (Small & Medium Business) channels have maintained its success, with HP, Dell, Toshiba and Fujitsu-Siemens following closely behind.

With more than 100 percent growth shown in the Central Europe and Middle African laptop markets, sales are sure to increase yet further as we head into the third quarter of 2005. With consumer demand further encouraged by the increasing level of entry-level laptops currently available on the market, we can expect to see equally positive figures appearing in the run up to Christmas.

Whatever the result, one thing remains clear - the age of desktop PC dominance is a thing of the past. With the future lying firmly in mobile computing, What Laptop will continue to provide the best, unbiased reporting on market progressions as they occur.