Despite ongoing legal troubles, Hewlett-Packard has slipped ahead of Dell, to become the world's largest manufacturer of PCs. According to Gartner, HP shipped 9.6 million units, or 16.3 percent of the total number of PCs sold worldwide, while Dell shipped 9.5 million, or 16.1 percent. IDC, however, called it a "statistical tie," estimating that HP and Dell shipped 9.831 million units and 9.803 million units respectively--both of which are equivalent to a 17.2 percent share of the market. Both firms placed HP's growth over the past year at around 15 percent, compared to 3.6 percent for Dell. Regardless of who you believe, it's clear that HP is continuing to make inroads in the PC market, corporate scandal notwithstanding.

For more on HP's rise to the top of the heap:
- check out this article from ComputerWorld