Overall India personal computer (PC) sales touched 27.9 lakh units during the July-September 2010 quarter, recording a 27% year-on-year (YoY) and an 18% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase, according to the 3Q 2010 PC Industry tracker by the leading IT Intelligence firm, IDC India.

A press release from IDC India said desktop PC sales accounted for nearly 60% of total PC sales at 16.7 lakh units, representing a 15% increase YoY. The sales of notebook computers grew at 52% YoY to cross 11.1 lakh units for the quarter, it said.

According to the report, in the overall PC (notebooks and desktops combined) market, Dell retained the market leadership with an increased market share of 16.7% while both Hewlett Packard (HP) (13.7%) and Acer (10.6%) retained the second and third spots, respectively, albeit with reduced market shares.

In terms of desktop PC sales, Dell clinched the top position in the India PC market for the first time with a share of 9.8%, followed by HP and Acer in second and third spots respectively, during 3Q 2010, the quarterly IDC study showed.

For the notebook PCs, Dell retained its top position with a market share of 27% in 3Q 2010; HP and Acer remained at the second and third places, respectively, it said.

"Normally, the July-September quarter shows a sales growth driven by both the consumer and commercial segments. A double-digit sequential growth of 18% in overall India PC sales in 3Q 2010, points to the strength of the economic recovery and an increasingly positive consumer sentiment," Mr Anirban Banerjee, Associate Vice President, Research, IDC India, said.

"Large Enterprises responded to the improving global economic cues by ramping up IT infrastructure spending, resulting in overall improved traction, particularly for desktop PCs. With the momentum likely to continue in 4Q 2010, release of revised rate contracts for government sector buying should further bolster the prospects of the commercial PC segment," Mr Sumanta Mukherjee, Lead PC Analyst, IDC India, said.

"Launch of multi-colour models, complemented with aggressive promotions and discounted bundling schemes augmented consumer PC spend, especially in the portables segment," he said.

"However, the rate of growth of mini notebook PC shipments dipped marginally in 3Q 2010. This points to the need for vendors to add more functionalities to cater to evolving consumer demand," Mr Mukherjee added.