Global PC shipments were 87 million, up by 2.3 percent year over year, IDC said. IDC had forecast a decline of 0.9 percent, due to a shortage of hard drive supplies in the wake of floods in Thailand. Gartner reported PC shipments grew by 1.9 percent, compared to predictions of a 1.2 percent drop.

Gartner noted that EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) shipments, with a 6.7 percent jump, were especially strong, though shipments in the U.S. dropped by 3.5 percent, while Asia-Pacific performed below forecast due to slower-than-expected growth in India and China -- one of the reasons the stock market has been skittish this week.

"History has shown that periods of slower growth are followed by recovery as improving technologies make replacements as well as new purchases increasingly compelling," said Loren Loverde of IDC, in a report. "As a result, we expect PC shipments to pick up significantly by the fourth quarter and beyond as HDD supply and pricing are normalized, Windows 8 is launched, and replacements pick up."

In M&A news, , the maker of the popular mobile photo-sharing app, for $1 billion in cash and stock. The deal highlights some of the main drivers for M&A this year.

"The primary drivers for mergers and acquisition include the convergence of service and communications on mobile devices," said Rob Fisher, PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. technology leader for transaction services, discussing PwC's report on M&A last month.