Dell edges out HP on strong mainland sales
Dell, boosted by a 50 per cent year-on-year increase in Chinese revenue in the quarter to June, has moved ahead of Hewlett-Packard to become the mainland's No 2 personal computer brand.
And the Texas-based company could put more pressure on HP, the world's leading supplier of personal computers, and other rivals when its two new mobile internet devices - the 'Streak' tablet computer and 'Aero' 3G smartphone - are launched across Asia.
'China was clearly a standout performance with over 50 per cent growth, and in India we hit almost 80 per cent growth,' said Stephen Felice, the president of Dell's consumer and small and medium business operations. 'There's nothing but good news coming out of Asia.'
Market research firm International Data Corp (IDC) estimated that Dell took a 9 per cent share on the mainland in the second quarter to edge HP, which had an 8.2 per cent share.
That helped Dell, the world's No 2 personal computer brand, secure a 9.6 per cent market share and third-place ranking in the larger Asia-Pacific market, excluding Japan, according to IDC. HP remained No 2 in Asia, with an 11.6 per cent share.
Mainland computer maker Lenovo Group had a commanding 28.7 per cent share in its core domestic market and led in Asia-Pacific with a 20.3 per cent share.
Research firm Gartner estimated total personal computer shipments in Asia last quarter exceeded 27.8 million units, up 25.4 per cent year on year. In the same quarter, Dell's Asia-Pacific and Japan revenue grew 38 per cent.
Dell's much-anticipated, 3G and Wi-fi-enabled Streak, a touch-screen tablet that runs the Google-developed Android operating system, has just been released in the United States and is marketed as a competitor to Apple's popular iPad.
'We have not yet announced the expansion plans for the Streak in Asia. I suspect the early part of next year [is when] we'll see that product,' Felice said.
Dell's Aero smartphone, another Android-powered device, is all set to be introduced. 'Most of Asia will see distribution of that product by the end of the year,' Felice said. 'We're doing staged rollouts; we have timetables. It looks like the November-December time frame we should see the product hit Asia.'
Dell has already released the initial version of the Aero, which is known as Dell Mini 3i on the mainland.
It partnered with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network operator, in a year-long development programme that culminated in the global launch in November last year of the Mini 3i, which became available nationwide early this year.
'With China Mobile, we used the mainland as our launching point to introduce a smartphone,' Felice said in May.
