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Worldwide PC shipments for the first three months of the year were slightly better than expected, reports market tracker IDC Corp.

The report adds to the enthusiasm for personal computer industry turnaround generated by Intel Corp.'s (INTC) Chief Executive Paul Otellini's comments about PC sales hitting a bottom.

Otellini drew attention to the PC market on Tuesday, when he said during a call to discuss the company's latest quarterly earnings that the PC industry had bottomed out during the first three months of the year. IDC reported Wednesday that while the economic crisis continues to unfold, worlwide PC shipments for the first three months of the year were down 7.1%, which is better than the 8.2% drop they had expected. Mini-computers called netbooks and lower prices sparked the sales surprise, IDC says.

Also during the first three months of the year, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) over-took Dell Inc. (DELL) as the number one PC seller in the United States. Apple Inc. (AAPL) shipped fewer computers during the quarter, but was able to slightly improve its U.S. market share.

The surprising results makes IDC optimistic that PC sales growth will return by the end of they year, based on continuing demand for inexpensive and compact netbooks and falling prices.

The PC industry's coming off a quarter in which worldwide PC shipments fell after six years of consecutive growth, down 0.4% compared to the last three months of 2007, which was enough to erase the usual bump PC sales seen from the end-of-year rush, and the growing interest in buying low-cost netbook portable computers.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com