Move over Acer, Mac is taking over the PC market. Apple’s Mac is second only to HP in the PC race, new figures reveal.

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HP is still at the top of the pile but Apple has nobbled Acer and Dell for the first time to grab the No. 2 PC spot in Australia and New Zealand, analysts IDC announced today.

So, the league table now looks like HP 22%, Apple 15%, followed by Acer 14% and Dell 13%, meaning Cupertino didn’t beat rivals by much but still enough to knock previous holder Acer off the spot.

The figures for the third quarter of 2011 indicate unit shipments, as opposed to sales.

But it appears, computer kings HP have also suffered during the quarter due to the “unfortunate ‘PSG spin off’ debacle” which helped rivals like Apple gain share.

And the ascendancy of the Mac was thanks to Apple’s retail store expansion and Macbook Air Sandy Bridge refresh, the analysts say.

Overall the ANZ PC market, dropped by 8% compared to the same time last year, to 1.61 million units, as expected.

Aggressive promotions initiated by retailers such as Harvey Norman’s 2 for 1 sale were key drivers in encouraging demand which pushed the market 3% higher than Q3 2010, IDC noted.

Concerns over the proposed carbon tax and the deteriorating European economy, coupled with unexpected shortages in the supply of AMD processors brought the market in below forecasts.

In New Zealand, although the Rugby World Cup was a boom to the overall economy and consumer sentiments, IT sales were affected as spending was diverted to non-IT products.

1    HP    22%
2    Apple    15%
3    Acer    14%
4    Dell    13%
5    Toshiba    9%
     Others    26%
    

While most vendors took a hit in Q3, HP in particular took the strongest hit, said IDC market analyst Amy Cheah.

“There were delays in government project roll outs while HP’s channels cut back in stock intake as a precautionary measure in view of market softness.”

“The unfortunate ‘PSG spin off’ debacle also momentarily affected confidence in HP’s strategic outlook which opened a window of opportunity for competitors such as Apple.”

IDC expects the ANZ PC market to grow 10% quarter-on-quarter to 1.77m shipments due to year end sales and education rollout for 2012.

Despite severe flooding in Thailand, which have hit Hard-Disk Drives supply, this wont affect Christmas sales and large education deals in Queensland and New South Wales should only see “minor disruption.”

“Consumers who are generally more price sensitive will feel more of the pinch when the higher cost of HDD is passed on to end users,” Cheah added.

“Industry leaders with the economies of scale advantage and flexibility to manage allocation may see competitive opportunities arise out of this situation.”