Shipments of PCs in the first quarter of 2009 slightly beat IDC's expectations, dropping 3.1 percent from 2008. The analyst firm had previously forecast a decline of 6.3 percent, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

The PC market, as defined by IDC, includes desktop and portable PCs, but excludes x86 servers.

"These results are a very positive indicator for the second half of the year," Loren Loverde, program director for IDC's Tracker Program, said in a statement. "We are seeing continued demand from consumers and limited impact from supply chain factors such as inventory balancing. New product launches in the second half of the year combined with seasonal growth and greater economic confidence resulting from factors such as government stimulus, a more liquid housing market, relatively stable stock market and interest rates, and progress in the auto and financial industries, should support the expected return to growth by year-end."

But even bright spots can come with a little bit of bad news. The IDC report points out that consumer spending is still sluggish, acting as a drag on growth, and that the consumer segment is still marked by conservative spending.

"Despite continued contraction from a year ago, the U.S. market managed a better-than-average sequential performance -- an indication of a stabilizing or improving market. While the sequential growth may be a hint of recovery, the market's focus on lower-price PCs and mini notebooks is likely to drag the value of the market to lower levels," Bob O'Donnell, vice president, clients and displays for IDC, said in a statement. "The market continues to rely on consumer purchases, with a substantial weakness in the commercial space. We expect to see more of the same as we enter the busy shopping season of the second half of the year. In the longer term, an expected recovery in the commercial segment should boost growth in 2011."

From the first quarter of 2008 to 2009, several PC manufacturers saw growth in the market, with notable increases in units shipped. Hewlett-Packard grew 3.6 percent year over year worldwide; Acer made the biggest gains worldwide, growing 23.7 percent; Toshiba grew by 10.5 percent; and even Lenovo grew by 2.9 percent.

Dell, meanwhile, took a hit from 2008 to 2009 in the worldwide market. The PC maker went backward, with shipments dropping 17.1 percent, which IDC says is mostly due to the slow consumer market. However, even with the decline in shipments, Dell was able to regain the title of biggest PC maker in the U.S., claiming 26.3 percent of the market -- even though its domestic shipments fell 18.9 percent -- edging out second place HP by 0.3 percent.

IDC's conclusions were similar to Gartner's outlook of the PC market in 2009, with both confirming a drop in sales with the potential for an upswing later in the year.