For the first time ever notebook sales surpassed their desktop counterparts in the U.S. market. The trend of transitioning to notebooks has been around for years, but for the first time the market actually gobbled up more notebooks than desktops in a single quarter.

According to an IDC report, 55.2 percent of all computers shipped in Q3 were notebooks. Total computer shipments for the quarter amounted to 9.5 million units, an 18 percent increase over Q3 2007.

Big vendors, such as Sony, Lenovo and Acer, are reporting notebook sales accounted for more than 65 percent of total shipments.

The economic slowdown doesn't seem to be having as much impact on retail IT sales as originally expected. However, analysts expect the holiday season will one of the weakest in the past decade, although sales of consumer electronics are expected to grow by 4 percent.

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