PC sales in the United States are strong despite the overall economic plunge, according to preliminary results by research firm Gartner, Inc. Dell remains the strongest player with 31 percent of the U.S. market, followed by HP with around 25 percent.

PC shipments grew in the first half of 2008, totaling 16 million units during the quarter, a 3 percent increase from the first quarter of 2007, another research firm, IDC, reported. Meanwhile, worldwide PC shipments grew by 12 percent to 71 million units.

"Even if there is a particularly bad U.S. market, it's becoming a smaller piece of the global puzzle," said Bob O'Donnell, an IDC vice president, quoted by AP.

Projections for the first quarter were more optimistic than the actual results, as analysts expected about 7 percent more PC sales than last year's first quarter. The average selling price of PCs is continuing to drop, due to the new market of low-cost PCs, and Apple's Mac sales continue to exceed industry growth. The Cupertino company has now a nearly 7 percent market share in the United States.

"Apple enjoyed strong retail sales, and there were indications that Apple showed decent growth in the professional market as well," Gartner said in a statement.

The only other company besides Apple which can boast a double-digit increase in PC sales is Dell. Benefiting from its decision to offer computers in retail stores, the company gained on Hewlett-Packard Co., which remains the world's largest PC maker despite its second position in the U.S. market.