Worldwide PC shipments increased 1.9 per cent in the second quarter, to 87.3 million units, according to data from research analysts Gartner.
Gartner said that the EMEA region performed "better than expected" with the region making up 28.2 million sales, up 6.7 per cent year-on-year. Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew faster than worldwide PC sales, Gartner revealed.
Gartner research chief Ranjit Atwal put the region's stronger performance down to "solid demand from the professional market as organisations executed long-awaited Windows 7 plans."
There were no upsets to the usual ranking of the world's top PC manufacturers but world number one HP managed to extend a market share lead over Acer and Dell. Lenovo continued to be the largest growing manufacturer with an impressive 48.1 per cent growth year-on-year, putting the Chinese brand within spitting distance of 4th place Asus.
In all Gartner's results paint a picture of a PC market bucking some of the previously established trends such as the fall of the desktop PC and the stagnation of developed markets and growth in emerging markets.
On the apparent strong demand for desktop PCs, Gartner said that desktops in EMEA will make up 40 per cent of PC shipments this year. "The desk-based PC isn't dead yet," said Atwal.

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