While the tech press continually chases new computing form factors like tablets and netbooks for stories, reports and sales trends, it’s the humble, old-school desktop and notebook PCs that continue to keep the computing industry – and the world as a whole – ticking on. Gartner has just released their sales figures for 2010, with HP emerging the clear number one, and everybody else picking up the remainder.

62 million served

HP’s share of the overall PC market is an insane 17.9 per cent, with the company shipping 62.7 million PCs in 2010, according to Gartner (via TechRadar). Their nearest rival, Acer, was a fairly distant second, shipping 45.2 million PCs in that same period.

Dell snuck in third place, with its overall market share being 12.1 per cent of the PC industry. Lenovo’s share of 9.7 per cent was enough to give the Chinese company fourth spot in the pecking order, and Toshiba rounded up the top five with 5.4 per cent of all PC sales in 2010. The remaining PC vendors, including the like of Asus, Apple, Sony and Samsung, made up 42.1 percent of all PC sales last year.

Context is king

However, numbers in isolation don’t tell the full story. The Gartner research report shows that the HP PC market share actually fell significantly in 2010, when compared to owning 19.1 per cent of the market in 2009. For its part, Acer’s market share remained unmoved, and Dell put on 0.1 per cent growth to get that third spot.

Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo has been on an insatiable growth spurt that really turned the screws on the competition, propelling it to third place in 2010, from being a virtual unknown – to most consumers – three or four years ago.

What the HP PC sales figures show is while we may fuss over specs, and cutting edge technology, most consumers are more concerned about reliable performance paired with good pricing. And HP PCs have always ticked both of these boxes.

What do you do when your arrival as CEO of a major tech company is greeted with dissatisfaction from investors, bemusement in the tech press and a competitor CEO dubs you incompetent? You increase everybody’s salaries, that’s what, which is exactly what current HP CEO Leo Apotheker has just done, breaking away from the era of Mark Hurd cost-saving.

Reversing pay cuts

During HP’s surprisingly good earnings call, Leo Apotheker announced that salaries at the company would be reinstated to the levels they were at before Mark Hurd cut them in February 2009 as protection against recessionary pressure on the company. In addition he re-instated the 401(k) (pension plan) contribution the company previously had, as well as an employee share purchases incentive, which will allow HP employees to purchase equity in the company at a 5 per cent discount.

Performance-driven culture

Apotheker told analysts (via All Things D) that: ‘HP employees are a highly competitive group who want to win,’ adding that ‘They also want to be rewarded for their performance… I believe in the performance-driven culture, and our employees have been performing.’

Towards big achievements

In addition to increasing employee remuneration, HP CEO Leo Apotheker also announced that the company would be increasing its research spending, too. Assuming this loosening of the reins on research expenditure translates to good products coming out of HP’s labs, this could be a wise move on Apotheker’s part. During the Mark Hurd era, though the company was fiscally well run, not much innovation came out of Hewlett Packard and this was a concern for many.

In fact, the weak performance of the HP Slate 500 is indicative of this ingenuity vacuum at the company. Sure, Hewlett Packard has continued to do good by their shareholders, protecting margins while increasing revenue, but in the highly innovative computer space, was this the right approach?

Back to a time of great devices?

Apotheker clearly thought not, and has subsequently changed course a little. More importantly, HP’s core business, computing, continues to do well. While we almost always recommend HP laptops if you’re in the market for a Windows-based portable computer, we’re particularly excited to see what will come out of the HP Palm division over the next 12 months. The big takeaway here is Apotheker has won over the internal support Mark Hurd lost. If this translates to a better performing company, that’s a plus for all involved.

A few short months after the scandalous exit of former HP CEO Mark Hurd, Hewlett Packard has unveiled its new CEO, former SAP chief Leo Apotheker. He will have his work cut out for him, as analysts everywhere slate HP for the decision, and the company’s stock price drops more than 4 per cent.

Why the hate?

The investor disdain for the appointment of Apotheker comes from a number of places, but there are two primary reasons. The first reason investors are so displeased about the new HP CEO decision is because, internally, HP had talent ready and capable of running the company. This is a known. The second issue is Apotheker himself, or rather his track record. As the CEO of SAP, he was fired after less than 8 months on the job.

Could he do it?

Among all the boos, and Larry Ellison’s very vocal opposition of this appointment, certain publications, most notably The Economist, have made a case for the appointment of Leo Apotheker as the new HP CEO. SAP is widely considered one of the most innovative players in all of enterprise software, and this was true under Leo’s leadership. Many believe that now that Mark Hurd has got margins at HP to a healthy place, the company needs to revert to innovating in its core hardware business, and its increasingly important software business.

Why you should care

If The Economist’s assertion that Apotheker could be bringing some of that well-known and widely admired SAP innovation with him, HP’s entire business – both on a software and hardware front – could get a well-needed creative boost. While Hurd’s relentless cost-cutting improved margins, what you and I as consumers care about is innovation and new, smart, inventive products. We love HP laptops for their ruthless efficiency and aggressive pricing, but they sure could use some innovation in design and execution, too.

We feel for the new HP CEO, who will certainly have his work cut out for him, but who knows, perhaps this is a stroke of genius on HP’s part.

The very powerful Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 processor of this laptop speeds up the entire laptop. This processor is well renowned for supporting multitasking. Most processors do not support multitasking or the speed of the device slows down when you open a number of programmes at one go. But this processor in the HP Pavillion dv7-2230sa is well known for supporting multitasking. The whopping 500 GB hard disk memory enables you to store all sorts of data. A 500 GB hard disk is very rare especially in a cheap laptop, as most affordable laptops have very little memory and can store limited data. This is a Bluetooth enabled device as well which allows you to transfer data through it.

If you want to buy a very personal laptop which nobody else can operate then HP Pavillion dv7-2230sa (VP999EAABU) is the best option as it is fitted with a Fingerprint Reader and Kensington Lock Support function.

The HP laptop comes in a classy black colour and has a display of 15.6 inches. You can watch all those high definition movies with the laptop owing to its display resolution of 1366 X 768 pixels that makes it an HD-ready laptop. It is powered by the Intel Core i7 720QM processor that runs all the applications quite smoothly with the 64 Bit Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. The 4096 MB RAM memory of the Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion dv6-2040sa (VS096EAABU) notebook allows you smoothly run multiple applications at the same time without any problem. Additionally, you can also expand the memory by inserting a compatible memory card and the maximum memory expansion allowed is up to 8 GB. The hard disk memory of the laptop is 320 GB and the graphics card incorporated is ATI Mobility Radeon HD4530. The networking capabilities are provided to the Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion dv6-2040sa (VS096EA#ABU) by either the LAN 10/100/1000 or the in-built Wireless-LAN facility.

The communication features of the HP pavilion notebook include an integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN and the 802.11 b/g WLAN 1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34). While for mobile entertainment there is the HP Pavilion Webcam with integrated Digital microphone. Additionally, there is a VGA low-light HP mobile remote control provided with HP Pavilion dv6-2020sa (VJ342EAABU). Some other features include an ATI Mobility Radeon HD3200 graphics card, DVD writer and a 5-in-1 Digital Media Reader. The connection ports included in the notebook are 4 x USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 Firewire (i.Link), ExpressCard/54 and ExpressCard.

The best HP business laptops include the Hewlett-Packard HP Paviliion DV7-2215SA (VJ220EA#ABU), Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion DV6-2060EA (VJ689EA#ABU), Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion DV6-2030SA (VJ340EA#ABU), Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion dv6-1330sa (VL072EA#ABU) and Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion DV6-1333SA (VJ711EA#ABU). The Hewlett-Packard HP Pavillion dv7-2110sa (VB336EA#ABU) is fitted with an AMD Turion 64 X2 RM 74 processor which enhances the overall performance of the device. The clock speed of the laptop is around 2,200 MHz and is fitted with 4096 MB of RAM, placing at the higher-end spectrum of HP laptops. Moreover, the device is fitted with a 17.3 inch display which provides a resolution of 1600 X 900 pixels. It is installed with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium operating system which further enhances the performance.

The best HP business laptops are also fitted with webcam which enables you to have a video conference. It is also equipped with a remote control. The device is very safe to use and is fitted with a number of security systems. Above mentioned HP business laptops are in great demand all over the world.

With the Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit operating system included in the HP laptop, it stands out among the laptop crowd. It comes with a NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M graphics card that takes your gaming experience to a whole new level. To keep you connected with the world everywhere, the computer comes packed with amazing features like integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, LAN 802.11 b/g/n. Moreover, the Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion DV6-2060EA (VJ689EAABU) also includes Bluetooth wireless networking, 1 ExpressCard/54 Slot and an integrated webcam. You can also hook your HP notebook to your TV owing to the HDMI port provided in the laptop.

Apart from the amazing features, the overall designing of the Hewlett Packard notebook is also quite impressive. It has a sleek and metalized surface design; the mesh imprint finish and the new ‘magical chrome’ media runway add an extra edge to the overall look and feel of the notebook.

The notebook is powered by the Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300 processor which has a clock speed of 2.10 GHz. It has a hard drive capacity of 320 GB and the operating system preinstalled in it is Microsoft’s Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. For meeting the needs of game lovers, the notebook includes an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD graphics card and a total graphics memory of up to 1695 MB. The Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion DV6-1333SA (VJ711EAABU) has a DVD-SM optical drive. The 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader is compatible with memory cards like Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards.

For mobile entertainment, the notebook is loaded with HP Pavilion webcam and an integrated digital microphone. It also has a GA low-light HP Mobile Remote Control and Altec Lancing speakers. The full size keyboard included in the Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion DV6-1333SA (VJ711EAABU) contains integrated numeric keypad Touchpad with dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down pad and the On/Off button. The networking capability of the notebook is provided by the LAN 10/100/1000 and Wireless-LAN. The notebook contains 4 ports for USB 2.0, I HDMI connector, 1 eSata + USB connector, 1 VGA port, 1 RJ45 ethernet connector, Expansion port 3, 2 headphones-out, 1 mic-in, 1 IEEE 1394, consumer IR, cable docking connector.

The HP Pavilion DV6-2030SA (VJ340EAABU) is fitted with an AMD Turion II M520 processor which ensures a hassle free performance for a number of years to come. The clock speed of the device is around 2,530 MHz as well. The HP Pavilion DV6-2030SA (VJ340EAABU) laptop is equipped with a 4096 MB of RAM which further enhances the functionality speed and can be expanded up to 8 GB. The hard disk memory is around 320 GB which is capable of storing all sorts of songs, videos and various other documents. The device is also equipped with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4530 graphics card which enables you to play all sorts of PC games on your laptop.

The networking is done through Wireless-LAN and LAN 10/100/1000. Furthermore it is also fitted with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system which enhances the overall performance. The Hewlett Packard Pavilion DV6-2030SA (VJ340EAABU) is also fitted with a webcam which enables you to video chat without connecting any external device.