Sales of notebook and desktop computers made impressive sales gains Thanksgiving week, thanks to strong Black Friday sales, according to a report released Friday by Current Analysis.

The research firm found that U.S. retail sales of personal computers rose 35 percent in terms of units, while revenue increased 11 percent. That represented a turnaround from Thanksgiving week 2004, when PC unit sales increased only 7 percent and revenue decreased 3 percent.

Notebooks led the way, with unit sales jumping a whopping 48.6 percent and revenue by 21 percent during Thanksgiving week. Notebooks sold more units, 52 percent, compared to desktops at 48 percent, the first time this happened during the holiday period.

Desktop computer sales did not surge as much as notebook sales, but they still rose a respectable 23 percent year-over-year compared to Thanksgiving week 2004.

However, falling prices and aggressive holiday promotions accounted for a 4 percent decline in desktop retail revenue compared to Black Friday week last year.

Several of the top computer makers benefited from the Black Friday holiday sales.

Sales of those models were likely strong sellers, as well as $400 Toshiba Satellite notebooks that were heavily promoted by several retailers. Wal-Mart also brought in hordes of customers with a $400 HP laptop. Current Analysis did not list the sales of individual computer models, though.

The survey did not include Dell, which does not sell computers through retail channels in the United States. Dell did heavily advertise sales of $300 desktops and $400 notebooks during Thanksgiving week, however.

“HP, Gateway, and Toshiba all had very solid weeks,” said Matt Sargent, senior director of research for PCs at Current Analysis. “The emphasis in the notebook segments drove the growth, but also strong growth in desktops based on where they’ve been in the past.”

Best Week Ever for LCD Sales

Last week also saw the strongest retail sales week ever for LCD monitors, according to a report released Thursday by Current Analysis. Retail LCD monitor sales jumped 36 percent from Thanksgiving week 2004 to 2005.

Resellers and vendors alike slashed monitor prices by as much as $250 for Black Friday, dropping prices for 17- and 19-inch LCD monitors to as low as $149 and $169 respectively, and spurring the sales.

Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Office Depot, Staples, and Fry’s were among the retailers cutting the price tags on monitors from manufacturers such as Samsung, ViewSonic, Sony, MAG, Norwood, Envision, Emprex, KDS, Star Logic, and Famous Maker.

“The low advertised prices for 19-inch LCDs allowed the segment to capture a record 41 percent of all retail LCD monitor sales in the week of Black Friday 2005, compared to a 10 percent share during the same period in 2004,” wrote Current Analysis analyst Christian Dias.

He pointed out, however, that while 17-inch LCD sales were able to capture a 44 percent market share compared to 19-inch LCDs, that was a 28 percent decline in share from last year.

Driving the strong overall LCD sales were the heavy promotions and advertising by retailers, with promotional placements up 89 percent (from 46 to 87) compared to the same week last year.

Proview took the lead in LCD monitor sales for Thanksgiving week, capturing 24 percent market share, followed by Samsung in second place, with Hewlett-Packard combined with its Compaq division and Gateway combined with its eMachines division tying for third place at 17 percent.

However, both Proview and Samsung lost market share compared to Thanksgiving week 2004.

LCD monitors, with their lower prices, accounted for 76 percent of all retail monitor sales during the week, compared to 66 percent during Thanksgiving week 2004.

The lower prices minimized the price disparity between LCD and older CRT monitors, so they could gain more traction among entry-level PC buyers looking for monitors that take up less desk space.