JANUARY 17--Based on new third-party market-share data released recently, Hewlett-Packard (HP; Palo Alto, CA; www.hp.com) reclaimed the No. 1 position in global PC markets during the fourth calendar quarter of 2002, marking the second consecutive quarter the company has recorded positive growth and grown faster than the overall PC industry. The report reflects HP's momentum in a fourth quarter that began only five months after completing its merger with Compaq Computer Corporation, providing another market indicator that HP continues to successfully execute its post-merger plan.
The report also shows that HP sustained positive quarter-to-quarter growth across all regions and in all major categories, reinforcing the strength of HP's worldwide position and market momentum. According to International Data Corp. (Framingham, MA), HP grew at 20.8% worldwide in total PC shipments quarter-over-quarter and 17.9% in the United States.
During the fourth quarter, HP introduced several new products including the Compaq Tablet PC, the HP Media Center PC, two new iPAQ Pocket PCs, as well as several notebook and desktop PC offerings.
In addition, the company introduced its Digital Media Receiver at last week's Consumer Electronics Show, creating new ways for consumers to interact with their digital content across their PCs, TVs, and stereo systems. The device uses wired or wireless technology to play digital music and view photo libraries stored on PCs from TVs and stereo systems, regardless of the rooms where the equipment is stored.
