PC sales data shows growth across the board, Asus surging


The second quarter PC shipment data from IDC has hit, and it makes for interesting reading. First of all, sales are up all over the place; no one appears to be losing volume, though market share is shifting. The biggest upset has to be Asus, whose astonishing 83.6% growth over last year’s quarter puts it within a nose of overtaking Toshiba as the fifth-largest shipper of PCs in the world.

What else is going on in there? Apple shows healthy growth, but its volume is still peanuts compared with everyone else, and its share is highly concentrated in the US. I wouldn’t be surprised if Asus starts creeping up on them as the brand catches on a bit here.

The enormous growth suggests that people are opening up their wallets again after a couple years of thrift. PCs are cheap (especially Asus PCs) and you’ve got to upgrade sometime. Growth isn’t always sustained, though, and this could be a blip, especially considering the international economy issues.

Fortune cookie say, may you live in interesting times. All the big PC vendors sure are doing just that.

More info and analysis over at IDC.