Global PC shipments rise 12-15 pct in 1st quarter

(Recasts throughout, adds PC market share figures from Gartner)

SAN FRANCISCO, April 16 (Reuters) - Worldwide PC shipments rose between 12 percent and 15 percent in the first quarter as weak growth in the United States due to a slowing economy was offset by brisk growth in emerging markets, two leading technology research firms said on Wednesday.

Unit shipments of PCs gained 14.6 percent to 69.5 million units in the first quarter, above the previous estimate for growth of 13.2 percent, market researcher IDC said on Wednesday. Rival research firm Gartner said global PC shipments rose 12.3 percent to 71.1 million units. The two figures differ because of different methodologies used to track shipments.

But growth in the U.S. market moderated, where year-over- year unit PC shipments in the first quarter rose 3.5 percent, about half what IDC was expecting, said analyst David Daoud with IDC.

"International markets fared better than we expected," Daoud said by telephone. "In the U.S., obviously the economic issues are creating obstacles to the PC industry."

Said Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa: "The Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia/Pacific regions showed stronger than expected results."

As with previous quarters, much of the growth came from the notebook PC market, a trend that Intel highlighted when it reported quarterly results on Tuesday, and which both Gartner and IDC reiterated on Wednesday.

IDC said the U.S. market struggled when compared with other regions, noting this dynamic is indicative of the U.S. market becoming less an influence while emerging markets are growing in importance.

Specifically, IDC said the U.S. share of the worldwide market fell more than 2 percent to 23 percent versus the same period last year.