April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co., already the biggest personal-computer maker worldwide, took the top spot in the U.S. market from Dell Inc. last quarter for the first time since 2001, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

Hewlett-Packard had 27.7 percent of U.S. PC shipments in the first quarter, compared with 26.2 percent for Dell, Gartner said today in a report. In a separate study, research firm IDC also pegged Hewlett-Packard as No. 1 in the country.

Hewlett-Packard’s gains in the U.S., the world’s largest PC market, signal that Dell’s retail strategy hasn’t helped it rebound. Dell lost the global PC lead to Hewlett-Packard in 2006 after its direct-sales strategy failed to attract enough consumers and laptop buyers. Dell changed its approach, enlisting the help of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retailers.

“Dell still faces some challenges in its efforts to reignite its business,” Bob O’Donnell, an analyst for IDC, said in a statement.

PC makers are trying to entice shoppers during the recession by cutting prices and adding new models, including scaled-down notebooks called netbooks. Global PC shipments fell 7.1 percent in the period from a year earlier, IDC said, better than the 8.2 percent decline it had projected. Gartner put the drop in shipments at 6.5 percent.

Up and Down

Though industry sales fell, Hewlett-Packard managed to increase its worldwide shipments 2.9 percent to 13 million last quarter, IDC said. Dell’s orders dropped 16.7 percent to 8.65 million units.

Taiwan’s Acer Inc. ranked third in both U.S. and global sales, according to IDC and Gartner.

U.S. shipments dropped at a smaller rate than the rest of the world, falling 3.1 percent to 15 million last quarter, Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC said. Stamford, Connecticut- based Gartner said U.S. shipments were little changed.

“The U.S. PC market proved to be surprisingly resilient this quarter as notebooks were still seen as important purchases by many U.S. consumers,” IDC’s O’Donnell said.

Apple Inc., maker of the Macintosh computer, ranked fourth in U.S. PC sales. Its shipments declined about 1 percent, according to both Gartner and IDC. Apple’s higher average selling prices “created challenges for it in the tough economy,” Gartner said.

Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, California, rose 73 cents to $34.85 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, dropped 27 cents to $10.20 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Cupertino, California-based Apple fell 67 cents to $117.64.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Turner in San Francisco at nturner7@bloomberg.net; Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 15, 2009 20:05 EDT