Worldwide PC sales fall 7.1 percent

By Gabriel Madway

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Global shipments of personal computers slid 7.1 percent in the first quarter, industry tracker IDC said on Wednesday, although falling prices and the increasing popularity of netbooks helped keep sales from slipping even further.

In a break from the past, the PC market in the United States fared better than the larger global market with shipments falling just 3.1 percent, IDC said.

Separately, research firm Gartner said worldwide PC shipments fell 6.5 percent in the quarter--and were essentially flat in the U.S.

"The U.S. was surprisingly strong, it outperformed our forecast," said IDC vice president Bob O'Donnell, calling the numbers a positive sign for the overall market.

"The fact that the U.S. outperformed the worldwide totals is I think somewhat hopeful."

IDC also said the global result was slightly better than it had expected, and that PC demand has shown some resilience compared with the previous downturn.

It estimated the total global PC market in 2008 was $243 billion (162 billion pounds).

The firm expects more stable production over the coming quarters, with growth returning around the end of the year.