Asia Pacific grew 13% in value after a decrease of -1%. Latin America, after a decline of 19%, recovered to +38%. Africa and Middle East grew about 15%

But this picture is in stark contrast to our European Market.

W. Europe showed slow growth of 4%, while E. Europe, expected by many to increase, continued to decline by -12%. Maybe less catastrophic than the -24% between the same period in 2008 and 2009, but disappointing.

Last year same quarter, out of Top 10 product categories, only four showed positive growth: LCD TVs (+12%), Laptops (+3%), Consoles (+7%) and Smartphones (+127%).

This year 8 out of 10 most important products are up when compared to Q1 2009. Some other products follow the same trends: Portable Media Players (+1%) and Home Audio Systems (+6%).