While Apple has just inched its way to number 3 among the top smartphone makers, it is a different story when it comes to mobile PC (which constitutes laptops and tablets). Market research firm NPD reports that Apple dominates the global market in the fourth quarter of 2011 with a 26.6 percent share, largely thanks to the popularity of the iPad.
Based on preliminary data, Apple shipped 23.4 million mobile PC units last quarter–nearly 80 percent of which were iPads. The list is followed by HP with just 9.9 percent share, Dell with 7.9 percent, Acer at 7.7 percent, and Lenovo with 7.2 percent.
In the tablet PC front, Apple grabs the majority of the market with 59.1 percent share. Amazon becomes a formidable rival with its Kindle Fire, which resulted to a respectable 16.7 percent share. Samsung takes third place with 6.7 percent, while Asus is at fourth place with 4.6 percent. Amazon’s foremost e-book tablet foe, Barnes and Noble, crawls into fifth on the list with 3.5 percent mainly because of its Nook Tablet.
However, if we look solely on laptops, HP remains the most-shipped brand with a 15.5 percent market share. Apple falls to fifth place with just 8.3 percent. Dell and Acer are tied at second place with 11.8 percent, while Lenovo holds the number 4 slot.