As expected, Q1 was a slow quarter for PC sales: The worldwide market fell 6.5% year-over-year to 67 million units, according to market research giant Gartner. (A year ago, it grew 12% year-over-year over Q1 '07.) The U.S. market fared better, with roughly flat shipments in Q1.
Apple's Mac business leveled out after strong growth last year. U.S. Mac shipments were down 1% year-over-year, representing 7.4% of the market, according to Gartner. But that's a significant deceleration after the company grew U.S. shipments about 33% year-over-year during Q1 '08. (And grew U.S. shipments 8% year-over-year in Q4 '08, according to Gartner.)
Meanwhile, Dell (DELL) sunk, as its shipments fell 16% to 26.2% of the U.S. market. And netbook specialist Acer grew its shipments by 49% to 13.6% of the U.S. market, third to HP and Dell.
