HP has taken Dell's crown for the most global PC shipments in the third quarter of 2006, Gartner has reported.

According to preliminary results from the analyst firm, HP took the lead for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2003, shipping 110,000 more units than its rival.

Dell experienced the lowest year-over-year growth in its history. The company's worldwide PC shipments increased 3.6 per cent in the third quarter, but its worldwide PC market share slipped to 16.1 per cent.

Dell's shipment growth rates were below the industry average in the US and EMEA regions.

HP performed well across all regions, increasing worldwide PC shipments in the third quarter of 2006 by 15.4 per cent year-over-year, and upping its market share to 16.3 per cent.

"HP continues to take better advantage of the faster growth segments such as the consumer market," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner Dataquest's Client Computing Markets Group.

"The company's share trajectory reflects its improvements in operational execution and changes in marketing. Dell felt the effects of the weak sales in the US market, and gave up some ground."

Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst for Gartner's computing platform group in EMEA, added: "Overall, Dell has under-performed the market for the first time since 2000.

"Dell saw a decline in desk-based PC shipments as purchases in large businesses slowed down, and was impacted by a very strong performance by HP this quarter, which has achieved growth across the consumer and business segments."

The news was not all bad for Dell, however. The vendor managed to hold onto the number one position in the US PC market in the third quarter of 2006 despite a 7.1 per cent decline in shipments year-over-year.