The combined desk-based and mobile PC market in India totalled nearly 2.9 million units in the second quarter of 2012, a 17 percent increase over the second quarter of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc.

“Consumer buying accounted for 50 percent of total PC sales in the second quarter of 2012,” said Vishal Tripathi, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner. “Consumer PC sales grew 24 percent sequentially, which emphasises the fact that media tablets are not yet cannibalising the PC market in India like in the West. Consumer growth is being primarily being driven by entry level products. Vendors such as HP, Lenovo, Asus and Samsung registered more than 50 percent growth in the consumer segment. Ultrabooks are still finding it difficult to penetrate the market. However, with the availability of the new Intel processor and declining price points, we expect adoption to increase in coming quarters.”

Gartner expects PC shipment growth to continue in the third quarter of 2012 owing to the festive season and education buying, coupled with some more fulfilment of the Tamil Nadu Government order.

Mobile PCs, which grew 54 percent compared to the second quarter of 2011, helped drive overall market growth. White boxes (including parallel import), which accounted for 45 percent of the overall desktop market, declined 18 percent in the second quarter of 2012 in comparison to the second quarter of 2011.

Execution of a substantial part of the Tamil Nadu government order, very aggressive price points and increased channel activities helped Lenovo’s PC shipments grow 86 percent and retain its No. 1 position in the second quarter of 2012. HP’s PC shipment grew 36 percent while Dell’s shipments declined by 10 percent compared to the second quarter of 2011. The top four multinational brands (Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo) contributed 56 percent of the market. Local vendor HCL’s PC market share saw a flat growth of 0.2 percent, and its market share dropped to 5.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012.