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According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, PC shipments grew by 15.5% in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to the 20% growth in 3Q07, driven by the back-to-school rush. Nevertheless, shipments outpaced growth in the prior five quarters. If it's the quarterly results you're more interested in, please refer to the chart below. In terms of all of 2007, however, total shipments reached 269.0 million units with a total growth of 14.3%. HP took the top spot with a volume of over 50.5 million, while Dell trailed in second with 40.0 million. Acer moved into third with 21.2 million units, excluding Gateway's business for the first three quarters and 24.6 million including Gateway. Lenovo was only a tad behind with 20.2 million.

"Fourth quarter results show a very healthy PC market. There is a lot happening with vendors repositioning their channels and going after new markets while falling prices and portable adoption continue to drive volume. Despite fourth quarter strength, projections for the next couple years anticipate slower growth. Rising concerns about economic growth are likely to reduce expectations further, although we're still likely to see double digit growth through 2008 and probably 2009," said Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.