Dynamic Business

Business is going mobile with market research firm iSuppli reporting that in the third quarter of 2008, global laptop computer shipments topped those of desktops for the first time ever.

Laptop shipments rose nearly 40 percent while desktop shipments declined 1.3 percent, both compared to the same period the previous year.

“Momentum has been building in the laptop market for some time, so it’s not a complete surprise that shipments have surpassed those of desktops,” Matthew Wilkins, an iSuppli analyst, said.

“However, this marks a major event in the PC market because it marks the start of the age of the laptop,” he said. “The laptop PC is no longer a tool only for the business market, or a computer for the well-off consumer; it’s now a computer for everyman.” And everywoman.

Hewlett-Packard retained its top ranking position with shipments of 14.9 million units and market share of 18.8 percent. Next was Dell, then Taiwan’s Acer, followed by Lenovo and Toshiba. Apple, with a market share of 3.2 percent was seventh overall.

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