You like it or not, that’s the fact. According to DisplaySearch HP remained in first place for the seventh consecutive quarter, with a lead of nearly 2 million units over Dell. HP’s share of the market worldwide was over 20% for the sixth consecutive quarter. HP is the best selling notebook in the world.

Dell has been concentrating on expanding in China and achieved a 15% share in that country, the first time they have seen above that mark since Q4 2006. Globally Dell has only a small lead over Acer, and with Acer’s recent acquisitions of Gateway and Packard Bell, the competition should be more interesting.

Rankings in the notebook market have changed hands among smaller brands. Apple took the #7 slot after being #8 for four quarters, and ASUS moved to #8. Most of the top ten brands have maintained their rankings over the past year, except for Sony. Sony has gone from #6 in Q3 2007 to #7 in Q4 2007, and down to #9 in Q1 2008. Sony’s shipment volumes have declined by 27% in areas where Acer, Dell, and HP have grown by more than 50%.

Below are the Notebook shipments by brand in Q1 2008

 15.4-inch WXGA (1280×800 pixels) screens continue to be the most popular size, accounting for almost 50% of shipments in the quarter, followed by 14.1-inch WXGA panels which came in second place with a 22% share.

Source: DisplaySearch