PC Sales Rise 16% in 1st Quarter

The worldwide market for personal computers rose 16% in the first quarter, an increase from the 13% growth rate recorded in the year-earlier period, a market research firm said. Compaq Computer Corp. led the market for the sixth quarter in a row, followed by International Business Machines Corp., according to International Data Corp. of Framingham, Mass. Dell Computer Corp. gained market share to become the third-largest shipper of PCs in the quarter, while Packard Bell NEC lost market share and slipped to fourth. Toshiba Corp. ranked fifth on the strength of its portable computer sales. U.S. PC shipments rose 20% from the 1996 quarter, the best increase since the fourth quarter of 1995, IDC said. Compaq also led in the U.S. “New products drove sales in the first quarter,” said Eric Lewis, manager of PC research for IDC. Compaq increased its market share to 11.1% from 10%, while IBM’s share increased to 8.8% from 7.4% in the year-earlier period, the report said.