Fujitsu Siemens steals number two PC spot from IBM

The merger of Fujitsu and Siemens has propelled the company into the number two spot for PC shipments in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), according to the latest figures from IDC.

The top position is still held by Compaq though, despite Dell overtaking its arch-rival in US sales for the first time. Overall, Compaq still holds the coveted number one position for global sales, with 13 per cent of the market compared to the direct vendor's 10 per cent.

In EMEA, Hewlett-Packard (HP) managed to grow 34.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter, but it is still lagging behind in fifth position.

However, Fredrick Leenhardt, European marketing manager for PC business at HP is quietly confident things will improve. He said for Dell to maintain its position and its growth, it needs to move to other parts of Europe. "Although Dell is doing well right now, it will find it difficult to expand in other parts of Europe," he said.

The direct vendor is still weaker in the German and Italian markets, as well as in the small to medium sized business sector, he claimed, adding that these are areas where HP can make up ground.