Apple Computeris worldwide market share fell to 1.87% in the third quarter of this year from 2.19% a year ago, and dropped to 3.33% from 3.75% in the U.S., that according to market analysis firm IDC. The numbers are similar to those released by the research company Gartner in its market share report first reported by The Mac Observer in late October.

According to the numbers obtained first by TMO, Appleis worldwide market share ranking was tenth with a 1.87% share on unit sales of 833,687. In Q3 of 2003, Apple posted a 2.19% share on sales of 869,909 Macintosh personal computers.

Compared to other PC vendors, Apple had a 4.16% decline in unit growth worldwide from the previous quarter. While Apple declined, its competitors gained an average 13.78% in unit growth from Q2. Year-to-year figures showed Apple with a 5.35% jump, as other vendors rose an average 14.25% in unit sales.

No other PC vendor in the top ten posted a decline in quarter-to-quarter unit growth worldwide but Apple.

The leader in worldwide market share was Dell in first place with a 18.04% share, followed by HP with 16.07% and IBM at 6.05%.

In the U.S., Appleis ranking was sixth after its market share fell to 3.33% in the quarter on unit sales of 509,737 from 3.75% in the same quarter a year ago on 494,820 Macs sold.

Quarter-to-quarter growth in terms of units sold for Apple was 3.0%. Competitors surged in the quarter with an average 17.39% growth from Q2. In year-to-year figures, Apple climbed 8.46%, while its competitors rose an average of 6.92% in unit sales.

The leader in U.S. market share was Dell in first place with a 32.85% share, followed by HP with 20.49% and Gateway at 5.23%.

Last month, Gartner reported very similar numbers. Appleis worldwide market share fell to 1.8% in the third quarter of this year and dropped to 3.2% in the U.S., the research group reported.