But IBM fell to No. 5 in the U.S. market, where it continues to struggle in the consumer sector. Just last week, IBM said it would exit the consumer retail market in the United States in early 2000 and plans to sell its Aptiva consumer family over the Internet. HP also was No. 4 in the U.S. market, IDC said. Both Dataquest and IDC agreed on their rankings for the top four vendors worldwide. But NEC was the only vendor in the top five to lose market share, IDC said.
Dataquest figures exclude PC servers, which are used to manage and control networks.
Looking to the fourth quarter, both firms agree that the final period should be strong, with the expected uptick from the holiday shopping season. It's not something we feel is industrywide. A survivor's guide. Custom News ZDNet News brings you a summary of top headlines each business day.