Competitors
Compaq originally competed directly against IBM, manufacturing computer systems equivalent with the IBM PC, as well as Apple Computer. In the 1990s, as IBM's own PC division declined, Compaq faced other IBM PC Compatible manufacturers like Dell Computer, Packard Bell, AST Research, and Gateway 2000.
By the mid-1990s, Compaq's price war had enabled it to overtake IBM and Apple, while other IBM PC Compatible manufacturers such as Packard Bell and AST were driven from the market.
Since 2000, with a struggling Gateway was taken over by eMachines, this left only Dell as Compaq's major competitor, however Dell became the number one supplier of PCs in 2001.
At the time of their 2002 merger, Compaq and HP were the second and third largest PC manufacturers, so their combination made them number one. However, the combined HP-Compaq struggled and fell to second place behind Dell from 2003-2006. Due to Dell's struggles in late 2006, HP has led all PC vendors since 2007 onwards.
During its existence as a division of HP, Compaq primarily competed against other budget-oriented personal computer series from manufacturers including Acer, Lenovo, and Toshiba.
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