Dell pulls ahead of HP in U.S. sales

They must be popping the champagne in Round Rock, Texas today: according to Q4 2007 sales data from analyst firms Gartner and IDC, Dell has managed to inch ahead of HP as the largest vendor of PCs in the United States. Dell shipped 5.5 million units in the U.S. in Q4, accounting for 29.6 percent of all PCs sold during that period. HP, meanwhile, shipped 4.5 million units, accounting for 24.3 percent marketshare. Rounding out the top four were Acer, with 1.5 million units and Apple, with 1.06 million units.

While the folks at Dell must certainly be happy to have wrested the #1 spot in the States back from HP, the battle isn't quite over yet: HP still rules the roost in International sales, with 14.7 million PCs shipped worldwide. Dell was number two with 11.3 million; Acer was number three with 7.4 million; and Lenovo was number four with 5.8 million. A rising star to keep an eye on here is Acer, which saw strong growth in both U.S. and International sales thanks to its acquisition of Gateway and Packard Bell last year.

For more on the latest sales data:
- see this PC World article