Customers at the midtown fifth avenue Apple Store look at the new MacBook Air on sale in February
© AFP/Getty Images/File Spencer Platt

NEW YORK (AFP) - IDC said notebook sales made up 55.2 percent of computer sales in the July to September quarter, 18 percent growth over the same period last year and the first time they have surpassed 50 percent.

It said a record 9.5 million notebooks were shipped during the quarter.

"These figures were reached amid a relatively active back-to-school season and the burgeoning financial crisis, which captured headlines but did not immediately affect the PC market's performance," the IDC said.

"The consumer market continued to be the top driving factor in the notebook offensive but the commercial sector played a critical role too," IDC research manager David Daoud said.

"Prolonged economic tension could have an adverse effect on the PC space leading to reduced growth, but the good news is that virtually every buyer considers PCs as must-have products and not a secondary wish-list items," he added.

©AFP