Context reports EMEA PC shipments show unexpected Y-o-Y decline of -10.7% for Q1 2011, exceeding the analyst's own expectations the period being a "soft quarter".

W. Europe continues to be the weakest region of them all, as vendors still struggle with both lower consumer demands and the channel's higher inventory levels.

All but one of the top 5 vendors see losses in the region for the quarter.

HP remains market leader, even if it sees declines of -8.4% to ship 5.16m units. Acer reaches 2nd place, Continue reading...

Jon Peddie Research says the graphics segment shows an increase in WW shipments of 10.3% for Q1 2011 from the last quarter, with shipments totalling 125m units-- raising concerns of inventory buildup that will run down in Q2 2011.

NVidia loses both growth and market share in the graphics segment, as its Q1 2011 market share totals 20% (from Q4 2010's 22.5%) and shows Y-o-Y growth of -28.4%. This is due to its losing (shipments-wise) to Intel and AMD, companies both showing growth this quarter within Continue reading...

The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) says 2010 hardware sales recovery is slower in Europe than the US, according to data aggregated by CONTEXT, even if it also says its members are "generating solid overall financial performance".

The slow European recovery is due to greater seasonal fluctuations, as well as the region's diverse economies moderating total regional results. The GTDC says IT distributor sales are trending higher in northern countries while trending lower further south. Continue reading...

Whereas Gartner has divided out tablets (leaving PC sales down for the first time since Q3 2009), Canalys decides to leave tablets in and show WW PC sales up 7.7%, with shipments reaching 88.6m units.

Meanwhile WW PC shipments for Q1 2011 total 84.3m units-- a 1.1% Y-o-Y. That means tablets could reflect 9% of total PC sales.

HP still leads the WW market, with 16.6% share (down by -5.8% from Q1 2010). Following are Acer (12.8% market share and -6.5% Y-o-Y growth) and Dell (11.3% market share Continue reading...