IDC analyst Darian Bird said the preliminary results revealed sales for the region during the quarter hit 6.52 million units - a 15 per cent rise year-on-year and the first time PC sales in the region have exceeded six million for a quarter.
The result also represents a 12 per cent rise over the second quarter figure.
The outcome flies in the face of global pessimism about the state of the PC market
Bird told ZDNet Australia the Asia Pacific region's results represented a marked contrast to worldwide trends, with demand fuelled by its relative immaturity in tech takeup. "It's still a less mature market compared to the US," said Bird. "Countries like India and PRC (People's Republic of China) are still growing - there's still a lot of room for growth."
The burgeoning takeup of tchnology in China is exemplified by the 26 percent sequential growth achieved by the regional market leader, Chinese company Legend. "Legend only sell in PRC and a couple of other countries in the region," said Bird. "They're number one in the region because PRC are such a large market in the region."
IDC anticipates a seasonal increase in the fourth quarter, particularly in the consumer market. IDC predicts the Asia Pacific market to come in just shy of 30 million units for 2003, - an 18 percent increase over 2002.
