The downturn in desktop PC sales appears to have struck the notebook market too, according to the latest figures from NPD Intelect covering the US retail arena.

Notebook sales through that channel in February grew just 2.3 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Bucking the trend was Apple. Its new Titanium PowerBook G4, launched right at the end of January, boosted the Mac maker's notebook sales 31 per cent year on year. That more than balances the year-on-year 10.8 per cent drop in notebook sales the company experienced in January.

NPD's figures also show that notebooks took 30 per cent of Apple's overall sales through retail during February, up from the usual 20 per cent. The Titanium PowerBook accounted for 16 per cent of Apple's sales, suggesting that its older models, such as the iBook, have seen something of a revival too. ®