Europe continues to be the last hot area for growth in PC sales, with the region showing an increase in unit sales of 19.5% in the second quarter, according to research published by Dataquest. That figure compares to growth of just 12% in the US. Compaq Computer Corp took the biggest slice of the pie, with a 15.5% market share, on shipments to distributors that rose roughly 26%. Compaq says that the figure is misleading, though, because it had held back about a month’s worth of shipments during the quarter in an effort to reduce inventory in the channel. Accounting for the actual sell-through to end users, the company figures its unit growth was closer to 40%, or double the overall average. Dell Computer Corp claimed the number two spot from IBM Corp, thanks to phenomenal growth of 79%, while Big Blue’s shipments edged up just 9%. Rounding out the top five were Hewlett-Packard Co and Siemens AG. Average selling prices for PCs in the corporate sector leveled off during the quarter, while ASP’s in the consumer space continued their erosion, dropping by about 15% to 20%.
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