iPad made Apple the No.3 PC maker worldwide

Yesterday firm Canalys has revealed the results of its financial research, where it is said that in the Q4 of 2010 Apple became the number third PC seller in the world if iPad and Mac sales are combined.

The company's computer sales showed 241% increase year over year, as 11.5 million units were shipped in the above-mentioned quarter. That appears to be enough to edge out Dell that shipped only 11.4 million units.

With those results it means that now Apple has 10.8% of market share in global PC sales market and targets to edge out the number two worldwide PC maker Acer, the company that sold 13.6 million units in the Q4 of 2010.

Daryl Chiam, who is a senior analyst at Canalys, explained why he included the iPad in PC sales.

"Any argument that a pad is not a PC is simply out of sync. With screen sizes of seven inches or above, ample processing power, and a growing number of applications, pads offer a computing experience comparable to netbooks. They compete for the same customers and will happily coexist. As with smart phones, some users will require a physical keyboard, while others will do without."

Tim Coulling from the same company also revealed that pads play a role of additional devices at household.

"Pads gave consumers increased product choice over the holiday season. While they do not appeal to first-time buyers or low-income households, they are proving extremely popular as additional computing devices."

The top vendor of the fourth quarter of 2010 became HP that sold 18.7 million units and thus earned 17.7% of the market. Its sales showed only 2.9% increase year over year.