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HP loses ground in Europe -- Acer, Asus, Apple gain

Hewlett-Packard is generating a lot of bad news this week. Its plight in Europe doesn't improve the picture.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Hewlett-Packard lost ground to Acer, Asus, Apple, and others in key markets in Europe, according to market researcher Gartner.

The Western Europe PC market recorded weak overall PC shipments across all countries, according to Meike Escherich, principal analyst at Gartner.

But some are doing better than others. Acer is gaining on HP in Europe and increased its market share by 2.7 percentage points. Asus was the top performer among the top five vendors and moved up to the No. 3 slot, according to Gartner.

HP lost more than two percentage points of market share in Europe. Asus and Acer saw solid gains.
HP lost more than two percentage points of market share in Europe. Asus and Acer saw solid gains. Gartner

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In the U.K., which is one of the worst markets, "the real worry...is whether it will ever return to solid growth," said Ranjit Atwal, an analyst at Gartner. "Windows 8 and Ultrabooks now look even more important."

Despite the U.K. market's doldrums, Apple grew its market share from 6.2 percent to 7.4 percent. Toshiba saw the highest growth in the U.K., but that sharp increase was because of "a very weak second quarter of 2011," Atwal said.

HP saw almost 12 percent negative growth in the U.K., while Apple saw 10 percent growth.
HP saw almost 12 percent negative growth in the U.K., while Apple saw 10 percent growth. Gartner

In Germany, HP got pummeled by Acer, with the former's share dropping from 16.2 percent to 13 percent. Acer's share rose to 14.5 percent from 10.7 percent.